Art Movements

Art Movements is a weekly collection of news, developments, and stirrings in the art world.

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) offered voluntary buyouts to employees aged 55 or older with at least nine years of service. According to the New York Times, the museum stated that the buyouts were the result of MoMA’s upcoming expansion and renovation.

Rosemarie Trockel’s art collection — reportedly valued at around $34 million — was destroyed after a fire broke out at the artist’s home in Cologne.

The Van Gogh Museum started a program to offer the professional services of their staff to private collectors, corporations, and other institutions. The museum hopes to generate revenue by providing advice in areas such as conservation and museum management. Robert J. Stein, the executive vice president of the American Alliance of Museums, told the New York Times that the program was “a great idea.” Adriaan Dönszelmann, the managing director of the Van Gogh Museum, told the Times that he did not believe there were any ethical issues with the scheme.

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is working with Black Lives Matter toward potentially preserving the gazebo where 12-year-old Tamir Rice was killed by police.

Christopher Williams’s “The Welsh Division at Mametz Wood” (1916) went on display at the National Museum Cardiff to mark the centenary of the Battle of Mametz Wood — an engagement of the 38th Division of the British Army during the first Battle of the Somme.

The FBI executed search warrants in and around the home of Robert “Bobby the Cook” Gentile — long considered a person of interest in relation to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist (1990).

The heirs of Jewish writer and art collector Max Fischer donated Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s “Sand Hills in Engadine” (1917–18) to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Museum of Modern Art returned the painting to Fischer’s heirs last November following an investigation of the work’s provenance.

The Museum der Moderne Salzburg returned Berthe Morisot’s “Jeanne Pontillon à la capeline” (1884) to the heirs of the David-Weill family. The painting, which was stolen by the Nazis, was donated to the museum by Friedrich Welz, a gallery owner with a “questionable role” in the Austrian art trade during the Nazi regime.

The Cathedral of Saint Sava in New York City was gutted by a fire on Sunday. The blaze broke out just hours after its Serbian orthodox parishioners celebrated Easter.

Jed Bernstein‘s unexpected departure as president of Lincoln Center was prompted by the discovery that he had been in a relationship with a staff member. According to the New York Times, Bernstein was in a relationship with a woman who worked for him and whom he had twice promoted.

Transactions

The Bodleian Libraries acquired a map of Middle Earth annotated by JRR Tolkien and illustrator Pauline Baynes.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded the Clark Art Institute a $600,000 grant in support of its research and academic program.

Peter Norton donated 68 contemporary artworks to Northwestern University’s Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art.

A sketch drawn on a napkin by LS Lowry sold for £9,000 at auction.

Galerie Gmurzynska pledged a £25,000 (~$36,000) grant towards the repair of the “Merz barn” at Elterwater in Cumbria — a structure designed by artist Kurt Schwitters.

Transitions

Artists Space will vacate its longtime home at 38 Greene Street after the close of Lukas Duwenhögger’s retrospective in early June. The non-profit negotiated a buyout of its lease following the building owner’s planned penthouse expansion.

Christopher Bedford was appointed director of the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Mahmoud Hawari was appointed director of the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit.

William A. Fagaly, the curator of African Art at the New Orleans Museum of Art, is retiring.

The Santa Monica Museum of Art rebranded itself as the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. The museum’s new, 12,700-square-foot space will open in downtown Los Angeles in 2017.

László Jakab Orsós was appointed the first vice president of arts and culture at the Brooklyn Public Library.

Bartholomew F. Bland was appointed executive director of Lehman College Art Gallery.

Deana Dartt stepped down as curator of Native American art at the Portland Art Museum [via press release].

The Cleveland Museum of Art appointed Cyra Levenson as its new artistic director of education and academic affairs. Heather Lemonedes was promoted to the position of chief curator.

Kimberly Orcutt was appointed curator of American Art at the Brooklyn Museum.

Francesca Giani was appointed curator of modern and contemporary art at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

Judy Ditner was appointed assistant curator of photography and digital media at the Yale University Art Gallery.

Carolina García Jayaram was appointed president and chief executive officer of the National YoungArts Foundation.

Alessandro Rabottini was appointed artistic director of the Miart art fair.

The Istanbul edition of the video art fair Moving Image was postponed. The fair’s organizers cited the postponement of Art International as the reason for their decision.

Marseilles will host the 13th edition of Manifesta in 2020.

Accolades

Padaric Kolander was awarded the 2016 Hunting Art Prize for his drawing “You Step In.”

Cornelia Schleime was awarded the 2016 Hannah Höch Prize.

Suzy Lake was awarded the sixth annual Scotia Bank Photography Award.

Creative Capital and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation announced the recipients of its Performing Artist Awards.

Dohee Lee, Anne Washburn, Simone Leigh, Ishmael Houston-Jones, and Cauleen Smith were announced the winners of the 2016 Herb Alpert Award in the Arts.

The Thoma Foundation awarded its second annual Arts Writing Awards in Digital Art to Christiane Paul and Nora Khan.

Paulo Mendes da Rocha will be awarded the golden lion for lifetime achievement at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale.

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will award its lifetime achievement award to Moshe Safdie at the 17th annual National Design Awards.

Obituaries

Daniel Aaron (1912–2016), literary critic and historian. Co-founder of the Library of America.

Marcel Barbeau (1925–2016), artist.

Basil Blackshaw (1932–2016), artist.

Harold Cohen (1928–2016), artist. Creator of AARON.

Marisol Escobar (1930–2016), artist.

Bob Fitch (1939–2016), photojournalist. Best known for his images of the Civil Rights Movement.

Charles Gatewood (1942–2016), photographer.

Patrick George (1923–2016), artist.

Ned Miller (1925–2016), county singer and songwriter.

Elsie Morison (1924–2016), soprano.

Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd (1934–2016), artist. Best known for his iconic sculpture of a knotted revolver.

Afeni Shakur (1947–2016), civil rights activist and former Black Panther. Mother of Tupac Shakur.

Leon Vilaincour (1923–2016), artist.

André Villers (1930–2016), photographer. Best known for his portraits of Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Salvador Dalí.