ARTFIXdaily News Feed - Breaking News from the Art World

Global Art Market Slows in First Half of 2019

Barron's / October 14th, 2019

The global art market slowed due to political and economic uncertainty in the first half of 2019, according to Deloitte’s Art & Finance Report. Brexit woes, the U.S. trade war with China, and the Hong Kong protests are among the factors affecting the art market, the report states. In the ...

A New Kind of 'Art Hub' to Debut in London With Flexible Exhibition and Work Spaces for Members

Evening Standard / September 30th, 2019

A £20 million renovation of 5 historic buildings in London will create an innovative way to work and sell for professionals in the visual arts. Opening in May 2020, Cromwell Place is a new art center and membership organization with 14 gallery spaces set in the heart of South Kensington’s ...

5 Finds to Preview From 2019's AADLA Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show in NYC, Oct. 31-Nov. 4

ArtfixDaily / September 26th, 2019

{{image}} The Art & Antique Dealers League of America (AADLA) will present their third annual Fine Art & Antiques Show—with 24 dealers—for a 5-day run starting Thursday October 31st at the St. Ignatius Loyola Church in Wallace Hall, 980 Park Avenue on New York’s Upper East Side. ...

After Auctioneer's Tip, Los Angeles Police Seek Owners of Art Trove Stolen in the '90s

Los Angeles Times / September 4th, 2019

A Southern California auctioneer alerted police when stolen items were brought in for valuation this summer. The Los Angeles Police Department is now searching for the original owners of over 100 paintings, antiques, documents, antique firearms and collectibles that were taken in the 1990s from ...

Renamed Fall Show, San Francisco's Destination Event Will Mix It Up With Art, Antiques and Design

ArtfixDaily / August 20th, 2019

Since 1981, the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show has been a key west coast event in the antiques category. Now in its 38th year, the popular show has rebranded itself as the Fall Show, dropping "Antiques" from its name to emphasize a scope of varied fine art, folk art, design and antiques. ...

After Warren Kanders Resigns From Whitney Museum Board, Several Boycotting Artists Decide to Stay in Biennial

Hyperallergic / July 25th, 2019

Warren Kanders has resigned as vice chairman of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s board of trustees, first reported the New York Times on Thursday. The embattled trustee, who collects blue-chip art with his wife Allison, was under fire for months from art critics, artists and ...

Shareholder Seeks Class Action Suit to Block Sotheby's Sale to Drahi

artsy / July 24th, 2019

Days after Sotheby's shareholders Eli Goffman and Shiva Stein filed separate lawsuits in federal court in Manhattan against the sale of the auction house to BidFair USA, another lawsuit has been filed by Michael Kent, also a shareholder. Legal actions claim “incomplete and misleading disclosures” ...

Portland Museum of Art Awarded $4.6 Million In Battle Over Contested Will

Press Herald / July 23rd, 2019

A jury sided with the Portland Museum of Art in Maine on Monday in a lawsuit over a benefactor's will that was changed shortly before her death, withdrawing the museum from promised gifts. In the lawsuit, the museum contended that the woman's caretaker coerced her into changing her estate plan ...

ARTFIXdaily Closed for Independence Day - Enjoy Landscapes of the Early American Republic at PAFA, Moon-centric Momentos at Christie's

ArtfixDaily / July 1st, 2019

ARTFIXdaily will be closed and subscriber e-newsletter service will resume July 15. Happy Independence Day! This July, lunar mission artifacts are offered in New York to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. Christie's sale on July 18 has important space exploration ...

Sotheby's Sold For $3.7 Billion to French Telecom Entrepreneur

New York Times / June 17th, 2019

French-Israeli telecommunications entrepreneur Patrick Drahi purchased Sotheby's in a $3.7 billion deal. Announced on Monday, Drahi's company BidFair USA will now make Sotheby's privately owned, like rival Christie's, after it was publicly traded for 31 years on the New York Stock Exchange. ...

Louvre Closes Due to Staff Strike Over 'Untenable' Situation; Plus, No 'Salvator Mundi' Appearance Ahead

NPR / May 28th, 2019

On Monday, the Louvre shut its doors after security and reception staff went on strike, protesting "unprecedented deterioration of conditions." In recent years, attendance numbers at the Paris museum have swelled. "The Louvre is suffocating," the Sud Culture Solidaires Union said in a ...

Museums' Tango With Money and Ethics Is Under Pressure

New York Times / May 9th, 2019

Museums have faced increased scrutiny over the origins of their funding in recent years, both sparking protests and demands for severed ties with certain sources of money.  Just last week, Britain's highest contemporary art honor, The Turner Prize, nixed a sponsorship deal with a company ...

Museums Reject Sackler Donations As New York Adds Another Lawsuit Naming Family Members

New York Times / March 28th, 2019

The billionaire Sackler family faces a fresh lawsuit from the state of New York over the role of some of its members in the opioid crisis. As owners of Purdue Pharma, makers of the opioid painkiller OxyContin, several Sackler family members are under scrutiny for aggressively marketing a ...

The U.S. Formally Withdraws From Unesco, the U.N. Agency That Aims to Build Peace Through Cultural Understanding

New York Times / January 23rd, 2019

This month, the United States officially left Unesco, the United Nations' cultural and scientific organization. The U.S. was a founding member of Unesco, which was established following the horrors of the World War II era. While the U.S. withdrawal is newly in effect, the Trump administration ...

New Showroom Launches for Antiques and Design Businesses in Philadelphia

Business of Home / January 22nd, 2019

Joe Holahan and Jeff Kamal of Kamelot Auctions have founded an antiques center that offers dealers the chance to house booths and showrooms in New York’s unofficial sixth borough, Philadelphia, reports Business of Home. “What’s happening in our industry is that good locations ...

Known as Museum Donors, Sackler Family Now Under More Scrutiny in OxyContin Lawsuits

Boston / January 20th, 2019

Long-celebrated as arts and culture philanthropists, the Sackler family is increasingly in headlines for their company's role in pushing OxyContin, the prescription drug that has helped fuel a nationwide opioid epidemic. A legal filing filed in Massachusetts last week newly alleges that 8 Sackler ...

Virtually Browse (and Support) the 20 Museums Closed by the Government Shutdown

ArtfixDaily / January 15th, 2019

With the 19 federally-funded Smithsonian museums and the National Gallery of Art in DC closed due to the continuing federal government shutdown, people can still view collections and support these vital American institutions--online. The Smithsonian website has an array of thematic exhibitions ...

Federal Government Shutdown Closes 20 Museums

ArtfixDaily / January 5th, 2019

Due to the continuing U.S. federal government shutdown, Smithsonian museums and the National Gallery of Art have been closed since January 2 and 3, respectively. All 19 Smithsonian museums, including the National History Museum, the Hirshhorn and the National Portrait Gallery, as well as the ...

Happy Holidays from ARTFIXdaily! Closed to January 7

ArtfixDaily / December 16th, 2018

Happy Holidays from ARTFIXdaily! We will be closed until January 7, 2019, and subscriber e-newsletter service will resume that day. New: Follow us on Instagram for our art posts, along with updates and announcements @artfixdaily Wishing our readers and ArtGuild members a peaceful holiday ...

Researchers Discover Way to Fight The Bacteria That Ruins Paintings

Fast Company / December 12th, 2018

Besides sunlight, heat, humidity and other factors, paintings face deterioration over time because of bacteria. A group of Italian researchers now says that old paintings can be better preserved by adding more bacteria to the mix. They discovered that some bacterial spores will fight the bad ...