ARTFIXdaily News Feed - Breaking News from the Art World
News Feed Search
Chocolate Museum Opens in New York
Conde Nast / March 8th, 2017
On the heels of the very popular pop-up Museum of Ice Cream, a chocolate museum has arrived in Lower Manhattan. This new destination in SoHo (350 Hudson St.) offers chocolate aficionados an in-depth history of cacao, and all its accoutrements, including early artifacts used for drinking. And it ...
Mosul Museum Retaken by Iraqi Forces
Reuters / March 7th, 2017
Iraqi forces on Tuesday recaptured the main government building in Mosul, the central bank branch and the museum where three years ago the militants filmed themselves destroying priceless statues, reports Reuters. Dozens of Islamic State fighters were killed in an overnight raid, according to ...
Three Notable Art Exhibitions to View on International Women's Day
ArtfixDaily / March 7th, 2017
International Women’s Day is March 8 and it can be an opportunity for appreciating women in the arts with a museum visit. Here are three major exhibitions across the U.S. on view now (check venues for timed ticket availability): Over 6,000 black-and-white photographs — Frida Kahlo's ...
$59 Million Klimt Painting Tops Record-Setting Auction in London
ArtfixDaily / March 2nd, 2017
Sotheby’s 54-lot sale of Impressionist, Modern, and Surrealist art Wednesday night brought a total £195 million ($241 million), the highest total for any single auction in London. The pre-sale estimated value for the sale was £150/180 million. Topping the night, Gustav Klimt's rare ...
Son of Nazi Governor Returns Looted Artworks to Poland
Guardian / February 27th, 2017
Horst Wächter, the 78-year-old son of a notorious SS general, has returned artworks taken decades ago by his parents from a museum collection in Poland. On Sunday, he attended a ceremony in Kraków at which three stolen works were returned to the Polish government, reports the ...
Andrea Rosen Closes Her New York Gallery, Cites Need to be 'Responsive to Our Times'
ArtfixDaily / February 22nd, 2017
Gallerist Andrea Rosen surprised the New York art world with an announcement on Tuesday that she will be closing her eponymous gallery in Chelsea after 27 years. “I have come to realize that in order for me to be fearlessly open and responsive to our times and the future, [it] requires ...
Desert X Installs Site-Specific Artworks to Discover in California's Coachella Valley
W Magazine about the Desert X artists / February 22nd, 2017
An exciting new art project of the Desert Biennial, a nonprofit steering committee and charitable organization that promotes art and the local environment, will pop up in California's Coachella Valley this month. Desert X, from Feb. 25 to April 30, 2017, will populate indoor and outdoor ...
Art Dealer Eric Spoutz Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Fraud
Art Newspaper / February 20th, 2017
Michigan art dealer Eric Spoutz has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for wire fraud charges in an elaborate scheme to sell fake artworks passed off as by modern American artists. His sentencing also includes three years supervised release and the forfeiture of $1.45m of “ill-gotten ...
NYC's Museum of Ice Cream Heads to California
LA Magazine / February 20th, 2017
The sensational pop-up Museum of Ice Cream that sold-out tickets when it opened in New York last summer is heading to southern California. A new location is expected to open next month, possibly in the Santa Monica/Venice Beach area, according to reports. In five days, all 30,000 tickets were ...
Hitler's 'Mobile Device of Destruction' Sells at US Auction
ArtfixDaily / February 20th, 2017
A telephone bidder acquired Adolf Hitler's red-painted telephone for $243,000 at a US auction. The auction house described the lot as “arguably the most destructive weapon of all time, which sent millions to their deaths.” The unidentified North American buyer purchased the World War II ...
Egypt Reopens the Museum of Islamic Art, Renovates Historic Home of French Archaeologist
ArtfixDaily / February 20th, 2017
Cultural preservation moved forward in Egypt over the past month. Terrorist attacks have slumped tourism to popular sites, but recent efforts have successfully reviltalized landmarks, including the Cairo museum damaged by a car bomb three years ago. Egyptian President Al-Sisi hosted UNESCO ...
Museum Leaders Speak Out Against Proposed Elimination of Funding For National Endowment for the Arts
ArtfixDaily / February 18th, 2017
The Hill first reported in January that the National Endowment for the Arts is under threat, again. With a 2017 budget at $149.8 million -- the NEA is a tiny fraction of federal spending -- the 52-year-old agency has been subjected to budget cuts and threats of elimination before. It has ...
New Global Arts Coalition Launches to Counter Right-Wing Populism
ArtfixDaily / February 16th, 2017
Hundreds of artists have signed on to a new coalition that aims to counter right-wing ideology and policies with public-facing responses in art. The group called Hands Off Our Revolution already lists support from notable artists, musicians, writers, and gallerists such as Ed Ruscha, Anish ...
Museums Plan First Public Exhibitions of Gurlitt's Hidden Art Trove in November
Kunstmuseum Bern / February 15th, 2017
Dates have been announced for exhibitions showcasing some of the 1,500 artworks discovered hidden in the apartment of the late Cornelius Gurlitt in Munich and in another residence. The Museum of Fine Arts in the Swiss capital, Bern, and the Art and Exhibition Hall in the German city of ...
UK Puts Temporary Export Ban on Parmigianino
Guardian / February 12th, 2017
The UK government has placed a temporary export bar on a 16th-century masterpiece to allow time for a UK-based buyer to come up with £24.5m ($30 million). The J. Paul Getty Museum announced in August its intention to acquire Parmigianino's exquisite "The Virgin and Child with Saint Mary ...
Iranian Museum Exhibits Over 500 Artifacts Repatriated From the West
Tehran Times / February 9th, 2017
Some 558 historical artifacts including sculptures, earthenware, coins and jewelry, repatriated from Western museums over the last two years, went on display Monday at the National Museum of Iran in Tehran. Tehran Times reports: "Last November, 30 historical artifacts which had been smuggled ...
Oprah Reportedly Sold Gustav Klimt Painting for $150 Million
Bloomberg / February 8th, 2017
Bloomberg's Katya Kazakina reports that billionaire media mogul Oprah Winfrey sold a Gustav Klimt masterpiece for $150 million to a Chinese buyer in 2016, according to an anonymous source with knowledge of the deal. Oprah bought “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II” for an artist auction record ...
Sotheby's Sues Dealer Mark Weiss Over Alleged Fake Old Master Painting
Financial Times / February 7th, 2017
Sotheby's will head to court in London with dealer Mark Weiss and Mark Weiss Ltd. over an alleged fake Old Master painting that was sold in a private sale. Sotheby's later reimbursed the American buyer for the picture and is demanding that Weiss, who supplied the work to Sotheby's client, repay ...
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Atlanta's High Museum Waged a Super Bowl Twitter War
ArtfixDaily / February 5th, 2017
In a stunning comeback the New England Patriots beat the Atlanta Falcons, 34 to 28 in overtime, to win Super Bowl LI on Sunday. Leading up to the big game, two art institutions had a fierce exchange of team-centric images called #MuseumBowl -- with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston featuring ...
Lunders Make Another Gift of $100 Million to Colby College Museum of Art
Portland Press Herald / February 2nd, 2017
The Portland Press Herald reports that Colby College Museum of Art has received a gift worth $100 million from Peter and Paula Lunder. It is the couple's second gift of that magnitude to the institution in Waterville, Maine, which they have long supported in various ways, including ...