ARTFIXdaily News Feed - Breaking News from the Art World

Judge Rules for The Met to Keep Contested $100 Million Picasso

Courthouse News Service / February 8th, 2018

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled for the Metropolitan Museum of Art to retain Pablo Picasso's painting "The Actor." A descendant of a German couple who fled the Nazis and sold the Picasso to finance an escape from World War II Europe, claimed the painting should be returned to her, or its $100 ...

'Jasper Johns: Something Resembling Truth' Retrospective to Open at The Broad

ArtfixDaily / February 7th, 2018

“One hopes for something resembling truth, some sense of life, even of grace, to flicker, at least, in the work.” Jasper Johns, 2006. Jasper Johns, 87, is considered among the foremost living artists, and his six-decades of work has placed him in the pantheon of American artists since his first ...

Berkshire Museum Art Sales Case Heads to State Supreme Court

ArtfixDaily / February 5th, 2018

An extension for the Massachusetts Attorney General office's investigation into the Berkshire Museum art sales concluded Monday. The museum and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office will next file a petition with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to hear the case over the ...

Boston's Copley Masterpiece Heads to Philadelphia After Eagles Win Super Bowl

ArtfixDaily / February 4th, 2018

While the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles played the Super Bowl on Sunday, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Philadelphia Museum of Art had their own, equally contentious, Museum Bowl. At stake was a prized painting wagered from their permanent collections. A fourth ...

Researchers Discover an Astounding Maya 'Megalopolis'

National Geographic / February 4th, 2018

Researchers say LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) technology projected from above 800 square miles of jungle in Central America has revealed a remarkable discovery. National Geographic reports: "In what’s being hailed as a 'major breakthrough' in Maya archaeology, researchers have identified ...

Exhibition Dedicated to Delacroix to Open at Louvre With Over 180 Works

ArtfixDaily / January 31st, 2018

In partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, in spring 2018, the Musée du Louvre will be hosting an exhibition dedicated to the artistic career of Eugène Delacroix. For the first time since the 1963 exhibition celebrating the 100-year anniversary of his death, this event ...

The Louvre Displays Nazi-Looted Art in Restitution Effort

CNN / January 31st, 2018

The Louvre Museum has opened an exhibit of artworks that were once seized by the Nazis during their occupation of France. Some 31 French-owned paintings are shown in an effort to reconnect the works of art with the heirs of their rightful owners. Each artwork is documented in ...

Iran Sentences American Art Dealer, Spouse to Lengthy Prison Terms

Washington Post / January 31st, 2018

Iran has sentenced Iranian-American art dealer Karan Vafadari and his wife, Afarin Neyssari, to prison, according to a New York-based rights group on Wednesday. They were arrested in July 2016. The couple, who are Zoroastrians, were allegedly targeted for their faith and their ties to ...

Saudi Arabia Plans Mega-Sized Arts Center

ArtfixDaily / January 30th, 2018

Artist Ahmed Mater is spearheading a new arts intiative backed by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud. The goal is to make Saudi Arabia an arts hub, with a center to promote contemporary art making and viewing, reports Bloomberg.  On Monday, ...

Massachusetts AG Seeks to Extend Berkshire Museum Injunction

NEPR / January 30th, 2018

The Massachusetts attorney general has asked a state appeals court to extend an injunction blocking the Berkshire Museum from selling artworks for one more week. A trove of artworks, including two prized Norman Rockwell paintings, have been halted from being sold by the museum. ...

National Gallery of Art Postpones Chuck Close Exhibition Over Misconduct Allegations, Debate Ensues

New York Times / January 29th, 2018

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. has postponed an upcoming exhibition of works by artist Chuck Close after allegations of sexual misconduct emerged.  Close told the New York Times that the allegations are "lies." He says, "I've done nothing wrong and I'm being crucified." ...

Louvre Closes Bottom Floor as River Seine Rises

Los Angeles Times / January 28th, 2018

Floodwaters have the River Seine rising after weeks of heavy rain in France. In Paris, schools, some parks, and river boat service have been closed, and as a precaution, the lower floor of the Louvre also was shut. The peak of the floodwaters is expected on Sunday night into Monday morning, ...

Sting Narrates a Video Preview of the Met's Thomas Cole Exhibition

ArtfixDaily / January 28th, 2018

Opening January 30 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the exhibition Thomas Cole’s Journey: Atlantic Crossings will examine, for the first time, the artist’s transatlantic career and engagement with European art. Click here to watch a video introduction to Thomas Cole's Journey: ...

White House Loan Request for Van Gogh Countered with Gold Toilet Offer

Independent / January 25th, 2018

The White House reportedly requested a loan of a Vincent van Gogh painting from the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Since Van Gogh’s 1888 Landscape With Snow could not be loaned, the museum responded that it could instead offer an 18 karat gold sculpture by Maurizio Cattelan, first ...

Mennello Museum Features New York School Innovator Grace Hartigan

Mennello Museum / January 24th, 2018

Through March 18, 2018, the Mennello Museum of American Art, in Orlando, is showing a collection of seminal works by New York School artist Grace Hartigan. "I have found my subject, it concerns that which is vulgar and vital in American life, and possibilities of its transcendence into the ...

Paddle8 Merges with Swiss Tech Company

New York Times / January 23rd, 2018

Online auctioneer Paddle 8 is merging with a Swiss tech company called The Native, which specializes in e-commerce, reports the New York Times. The move comes after Paddle8's parent company, Auctionata, filed for bankruptcy last year. Paddle8 and The Native will focus on blockchain technology ...

Titian Painting from the Collection of Charles I's Plumber at Auction

CNN / January 22nd, 2018

A Titian painting once owned by King Charles I of England and given to his plumber is set to hit the auction block in New York. Reports CNN: The six-and-a-half foot painting "Saint Margaret" was originally given to royal plumber John Embry following Charles I's execution in 1649 as part of a ...

Most Members Quit National Park Service Advisory Panel in Protest

Washington Post / January 17th, 2018

This week, 10 out of 12 National Park System Advisory Board members have resigned, leaving the federal government without a functioning body to designate national historic or natural landmarks, reports the Washington Post. In a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, departing board ...

Google App Finds Your Face Match in Historical Paintings

Independent / January 15th, 2018

Ever wondered what your doppelgänger looked like if painted by the likes of Gainsborough, Sargent or Picasso? Google's got an app for that. A new feature of the Google Arts and Culture App will match an image of your face with a painted portrait that looks like you. The app does not work ...

Cutting-Edge U.S. Embassy in London Opens Chock-Full of Art This Week

ArtfixDaily / January 14th, 2018

The 1960s building that housed the U.S. embassy in London needed costly renovations and posed security risks in busy Mayfair, prompting a decision in 2007 to purchase a new site. Opening to the public on January 16, the new U.S. embassy resides in South London's Nine Elms area, below the ...