ARTFIXdaily News Feed - Breaking News from the Art World

Gurlitt's Matisse Confirmed as Nazi Loot

Wall Street Journal / June 12th, 2014

A German task force charged with reviewing the provenance of artworks amassed by Munich hoarder Cornelius Gurlitt have confirmed that a Henri Matisse was stolen by...

Getty, Mellon Trusts Add $13 Million to Help Save Detroit's Art

LA Times / June 11th, 2014

After U.S. automakers announced a combined $26 million pledge to save the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts from the city's creditors, two charitable foundations followed suit on Wednesday with...

The Frick Announces Expansion Plans

ArtfixDaily / June 10th, 2014

The Frick Collection is planning a major expansion and renovation of its Gilded Age-era mansion on New York's Upper East Side. The museum wants to add a six-story ...

Battle Ensues Over 'Adam and Eve' at Norton Simon Museum

ArtfixDaily / June 9th, 2014

An ongoing legal battle over Lucas Cranach the Elder's 'Adam and Eve' (circa 1530) has again erupted in a Nazi restitution case brought by...

Art Dealer Nahmad Sued Over Modigilani Painting

ArtfixDaily / June 8th, 2014

Manhattan art dealer Hillel "Helly" Nahmad, who is serving prison time for his role in running an illegal gambling ring, has been sued by a Frenchman for...

Detroit Takes Action to Protect Art from Creditors

Times Herald / June 5th, 2014

Detroit's City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a transfer of city-owned art and other assets at the Detroit Institute of Arts to a charitable trust as part of a proposal to protect the art from being sold off...

Swiss Museum Will Review Gurlitt Art Before Accepting Gift

ArtfixDaily / June 4th, 2014

The Swiss museum that German collector Cornelius Gurlitt designated as his sole heir will vet his collection of artworks prior to accepting the gift. Some of the artworks bear dubious...

Art Dealer Robbed at Knifepoint in New York

NY Post / June 2nd, 2014

A handyman put a knife to his employer's throat on New York's Upper East Side to steal $300 cash while millions of dollars worth of art went untouched.

San Francisco Fraudster Accused of $11 Million Art Scam

ArtfixDaily / May 29th, 2014

A San Francisco man previously convicted of tax evasion and trout poaching has been charged with mail fraud for allegedly saying he would pay $11 million for art delivered to him from a New York dealer.

Professor Contends National Gallery London Has Misattributed a Real Rembrandt

Guardian / May 27th, 2014

An academic known as the world's leading expert on Rembrandt contends that the National Gallery London has relegated to storage an important work by the artist.

Recently Found Van Gogh is 'one of the worst fakes'

ArtfixDaily / May 26th, 2014

A painting that Spanish tax authorities said was Vincent van Gogh’s Cypress, Sky and Country (1889) is in fact a fake...

Gardner Museum's Stolen Masterpieces Sighted, Says FBI

ArtfixDaily / May 23rd, 2014

The theft of $500 million worth of masterpieces from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum nearly a quarter century ago is not a cold case, says the FBI.

Art Hoarder Gurlitt's Will Dubbed a "Snub"

Wall Street Journal / May 14th, 2014

Awaiting heart surgery, 81-year-old Cornelius Gurlitt was lamenting the German government's seizure of his art collection, which he called his "only love." He then had his lawyers draft a will...

Bankruptcy Expert Claims Detroit's Art-for-Pensions Deal is Illegal

Washington Post / May 11th, 2014

The $816-million art-for-pensions deal that a federal judge helped craft for Detroit does not hold up from a legal standpoint, according to...

Lost van Gogh Painting Discovered in Bank Vault

ArtfixDaily / May 11th, 2014

A painting believed to be by Dutch master Vincent van Gogh was found by Spanish tax inspectors inside a safety deposit box. The rediscovered oil is thought to be...

Bern Art Museum Named as Gurlitt's Sole Heir

ArtfixDaily / May 8th, 2014

Son of a Nazi-era art dealer, Cornelius Gurlitt, who died Tuesday at age 81, amassed an art collection estimated to be worth 1-billion euros. He named the Bern Art Museum in Switzerland as his sole heir.

Delaware Art Museum Sends Pre-Raphaelite Painting to Auction Block

ArtfixDaily / May 7th, 2014

The Delaware Art Museum has revealed that the Pre-Raphaelite painting Isabella and the Pot of Basil by William Holman Hunt (1827–1910) will be the first artwork to be deaccessioned in a controversial decision...

Munich Art Hoarder Cornelius Gurlitt Has Died

ArtfixDaily / May 6th, 2014

Cornelius Gurlitt, the man who kept hidden a cache of nearly 1,300 artworks for several decades, died on May 5 at age 81. His trove of art, some Nazi-looted...

Art Dealer Helly Nahmad Gets Prison Time for Gambling Ring

ArtfixDaily / May 1st, 2014

Scion of the billionaire art-dealing family, Hillel "Helly" Nahmad did not get the leniency he sought from a judge in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Wednesday. Nahmad was sentenced to...

Art Dealer Says His Family Culture Caused Gambling Problem

ArtfixDaily / April 24th, 2014

A scion of the billionaire art-dealing Nahmad family blamed his upbringing for a gambling addiction that got him busted as part of a $100 million high-stakes poker ring.