ARTFIXdaily News Feed - Breaking News from the Art World

Anish Kapoor Creates Protest Piece: 'I Like America and America Doesn't Like Me'

ArtfixDaily / February 1st, 2017

British-Indian artist Anish Kapoor has released a riff on German artist Joseph Beuys’ famed 1974 performance piece, “I Like America and America Likes Me,” as a protest to the exclusionary policies of the Trump administration. Kapoor has reimagined the poster that Beuys made for his performance, ...

Art Dealer in Knoedler Scandal Avoids More Prison Time

New York Times / January 31st, 2017

Long Island art dealer Glafira Rosales will not be sentenced to more prison time after serving three months for her part in the $80 million scam that helped topple Manhattan's oldest art gallery. Rosales was sentenced to time served on Tuesday at Federal District Court in Manhattan. Her lawyers ...

At Trial, Co-Defendant Claims He Tossed $100 Million in Stolen Art

Guardian / January 31st, 2017

Five paintings by the likes of Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, Léger and Braque were stolen from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris almost seven years ago. A trial began Monday for three co-defendants in the 2010 heist, one of the biggest art thefts in history. Yonathan Birn tearfully claimed ...

Planned $75 Million International African American Museum Adds Billionaire Board Member

Post and Courier / January 28th, 2017

A proposed $75 million International African American Museum in Charleston, SC, has gotten the boost of a new billionaire board member. Sheila Johnson, billionaire CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resorts and owner of three professional sports teams, has agreed to join the museum’s board of ...

Artist Christo Quits 20-Year, $15 Million Project in Protest of Trump

ArtfixDaily / January 26th, 2017

Renowned artist Christo has decided to halt his current Over the River project after two decades of work and $15 million of his own money has already been invested in it.  "I can't do a project that benefits this landlord," said Christo to the New York Times, of the federal land to be ...

Still Foward-Looking: The Four Freedoms

ArtfixDaily / January 24th, 2017

In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world. The ...

Inside NYC's Outsider Art Fair

ArtfixDaily / January 19th, 2017

In New York this weekend, the 2017 Outsider Art Fair, held at the Metropolitan Pavilion from January 19-22, marks the fair's 25th anniversary. The show's focus still remains self-taught, visionary and naive artists; folk artists working outside the realm of formal instruction; and those ...

National Endowments for the Arts, Humanities Could Face Elimination Under Trump

The Hill / January 19th, 2017

The Hill first reported that staff from the Trump transition team have been briefing White House career staff ahead of the inauguration about plans to slash government spending -- from major cuts for several departments to all out eliminations.  Budget cuts and program deletions are ...

From Trump Plates to Chippendale Chairs, A Range of Works in Antiques Week 2017

Antiques and the Arts Weekly / January 18th, 2017

Americana collectors and "best of the best" object seekers will head to events during Antiques Week 2017 underway now in New York City. Antiques and the Arts Weekly (aka "The Bee") has published this guide to the week's events, exhibitions, shows, lectures, auctions and more. (The action ...

Chinese Authorities Destroy Fake Terracotta Army at Bogus Attraction

Xinhua / January 17th, 2017

A site with 40 copies of the famed terracotta warriors was demolished by Chinese authorities in a raid on Wednesday, according to reports. Tourists were confused, with one posting an online complaint, when they were duped into visiting the underwhelming, copycat attraction in the Lintong ...

Swiss Art Dealer Sues Getty Museum for $77 Million

Courthouse News Service / January 17th, 2017

In a federal lawsuit on Jan. 12, a Swiss art dealer claimed that the Getty Museum in Los Angeles unfairly dropped it from a deal for a portion of a multi-billion dollar private collection of Roman antiquities that the dealer was brokering, reports Courthouse News. Phoenix Art, of Geneva, claims ...

Jeff Bezos Buys Museum Building for Private Residence

Washington Post / January 16th, 2017

Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeffrey P. Bezos has bought the former Textile Museum, a 27,000 square-foot property, intending to convert it into a single-family home, reports the Washington Post. The property sold for $23 million in cash. It is in the same neighborhood as the ...

Wildenstein Patriarch Cleared in Tax Fraud Case

BBC / January 12th, 2017

A French judge cleared art dealer Guy Wildenstein and seven other defendants of trying to conceal hundreds of millions of euros in assets, including paintings and international properties from French tax authorities. Even while the judge conceded that a "clear attempt" was made to hide assets, ...

Maria Balshaw Expected to Succeed Serota as Tate Director

Manchester Evening News / January 11th, 2017

Maria Balshaw has been named as the likely successor of Sir Nicholas Serota, following his 30-year leadership, as the new director of London's Tate Galleries. Known for her revitalization of Manchester's Whitworth Art Gallery, Balshaw would become the first female director of the Tate. ...

Hamilton Musical Set Designer Installs Display for Sotheby's Americana Week

ArtfixDaily / January 11th, 2017

David Korins, set designer for the Broadway hit Hamilton, served as creative director for Sotheby's installation of Americana Week in New York. Previews opened Wednesday for the blockbuster sales series, from Jan. 18 to 21, with art and objects that span centuries of American craftsmanship. ...

Sumida Hokusai Museum, Dedicated to 'The Great Wave' Artist, Opens in Japan

Curbed / January 9th, 2017

Curbed reports that a stunning new museum designed by Kazuyo Sejima—half of the Pritzker Prize-winning firm SANAA—opened in Tokyo, Japan last November. The Sumida Hokusai Museum was established to highlight the work of Katsushika Hokusai, a world-renowned ukiyo-e woodblock painter who was born ...

Google Augmented Reality Platform Enters Museum Sphere at DIA

The Verge / January 9th, 2017

Verge reports that Google is partnering with select museums to bring its augmented reality platform called Tango to devices that will enhance visitor experience. Detroit Institute of Arts is the first institution to partner with Google in the endeavor, along with mobile developer GuidiGO. DIA ...

Performance Art Piece Across Golden Gate Bridge Set for Inauguration Day

ArtfixDaily / January 9th, 2017

A general strike from work and schools across the U.S. has been called for January 20, the day of Trump's inauguration. The art world is joining in with its own #J20 Art Strike, proposing in bold letters on the action's Facebook page, “NO WORK NO SCHOOL NO BUSINESS,” with a suggested ...

Hillary Clinton to Speak at New State Department Museum of Historical Artifacts

Washington Post / January 8th, 2017

Located just two blocks from the National Mall, the new U.S. Diplomacy Center—the nation’s first museum and education center devoted exclusively to exploring the history, practice, and challenges of U.S. Diplomacy—is set to open. One feature of the new destination focused on the State ...

Petition Calls for Museum to Cancel Loan to Trump Inaugural Luncheon

Hyperallergic / January 4th, 2017

Hyperallergic reports that two St. Louis area residents have launched a petition demanding that the Saint Louis Art Museum cancel its loan of the George Caleb Bingham painting “Verdict of the People” (1854–55) for Donald Trump’s Inaugural Luncheon in Washington, DC later this ...