Banksy, “Peckham Rock, UK” (2005). The work was secretly placed in a gallery at the British Museum by the artist in 2005 and was undiscovered for three days. (© Banksy c/o Pest Control Office)
Art Movements is a weekly collection of news, developments, and stirrings in the art world. Subscribe to receive these posts as a weekly newsletter.
The British Museum announced its upcoming exhibition, I object: Ian Hislop’s search for dissent, a show of over 100 objects that “challenge the official version of events and defy established narratives.” The exhibition is guest-curated by Hislop, the editor of Private Eye, a captain on the BBC’s panel show Have I Got News for You, and reputedly the most sued man in English legal history. Selections include Banksy’s hoax artwork “Peckham Rock,” a ‘pussyhat,’ and an Edwardian coin defaced by a suffragette.
Some 3,800 smuggled artifacts illegally sold to the US arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby were repatriated to the Republic of Iraq.
Two women were attacked at Beijing’s 798 Art District for wearing rainbow pins in support of LGBTQ rights.
Three Chicago residents and the public parks activist group, Protect our Parks, Inc., filed a lawsuit in a bid to prevent the Obama Presidential Center from being built in Jackson Park.
Pablo Picasso’s “Fillette à la corbeille fleurie” (1905), purchased at Christie’s last week by the Nahmad family for $115 million, will be loaned to the Musée d’Orsay for an exhibition in September.
“Le Marin” (1943), a Picasso self-portrait consigned to Christie’s by Steve Wynn, was pulled from sale after it was damaged “during the final stages of preparation” for auction. The real estate magnate resigned as CEO of Wynn Resorts Ltd. in February following a number of sexual misconduct allegations.
Two recently rediscovered Rembrandt portraits — “Portrait of Petronella Buys” (1635) and “Man with a Sword” (ca 1640–44) — went on display at the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam.
Rembrandt, “Portrait of Petronella Buijs” (1635), oil on panel, 79.5 x 56.3 cm, The Leiden Collection, New York
Lacy Doyle pled guilty to filing a false tax return. The art consultant misreported an inheritance of $3.7 million as $1 million to the IRS. According to The Art Newspaper, Doyle registered for a Swiss bank account under a fake foundation with her financial advisor, Beda Singenberger.
Mark Coetzee resigned as the chief curator and executive director of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa following the launch of an inquiry into his “professional conduct.” A statement issued by the museum’s trustees did not cite a specific reason for the inquiry. According to a report by ArtThrob, Coetzee had “recently failed to respond to questions” regarding the museum’s institutional practices.
Maggi Hambling was selected to create a public memorial dedicated to philosopher and women’s rights activist Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797). The sculpture, which will be erected in Newington Green, north London, consists of a figure “emerging out of organic matter.”
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate landmark status to the Coney Island Boardwalk.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) hosted its first US naturalization ceremony for over 180 new US citizens.
Jean-Luc Godard’s latest film, The Image Book, is to be adapted into a traveling exhibition.
“O Horizon,” a new film by the Otolith Group, will premiere at the Rubin Museum of Art on June 1. The film focuses on Visva Bharati, a pioneering art school in West Bengal India founded by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
The Guardian reported on the rise of skirmishes between established and amateur tour guides in Bruges.
Transactions
Nikolai Sedelnikov, “Advertising Technique (Tekhnika reklamy, No. 2)” (1930), gelatin silver print, cut-and-pasted halftone photographs, and gouache on paper, 12 x 9 in, the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Merrill C. Berman Collection
The Museum of Modern Art acquired a trove of 324 works on paper from early 20th century modernist movements from the Merrill C. Berman Collection. This and other recent art world acquisitions are catalogued in the first of our weekly Transactions stories.
Transitions
Lisa Shaw was appointed executive director of the Galveston Arts Center (GAC).
Shamim M. Momin was appointed senior curator of the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle.
Andrew Stevens will retire as the Chazen Museum of Art’s curator of prints, drawings and photographs in October.
Mary A. Berle was appointed chief educator of the Norman Rockwell Museum.
Jean-Bernard Caron was appointed the inaugural curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Keith Krumwiede was appointed as dean of architecture at the California College of the Arts.
Stephanie Pereira was appointed director of NEW INC, the New Museum’s cultural incubator.
Art collector Grażyna Kulczyk announced plans to open a contemporary art museum and research institute in Susch, Switzerland.
The Royal Academy of Arts in London will open to the public on May 19, following its $76 million expansion project led by David Chipperfield Architects.
The Käthe Kollwitz Museum will relocate to a new premises after 2019, after its present landlord announced he would end the museum’s lease.
Ricardo Brey is now represented by Alexander Gray Associates.
Cui Jie is now represented by Metro Pictures.
Cui Jie, “Shanghai Bank Tower 2” (2017), oil on canvas, 78.74 x 59.05 in (courtesy Metro Pictures)
Accolades
Yvette Coppersmith was awarded the 2018 Archibald Prize for her work “Self-Portrait after George Lambert.”
Moyra Davey received the 2018 Scotiabank Photography Award.
Halima Cassell was awarded the 2018 Sovereign Asian Art Prize.
The Getty Research Institute announced its 2018/19 scholars in residence.
The Harvard Graduate School of Design announced its 2019 Loeb Fellows.
The Design Museum in London was named European museum of the year.
The North Carolina Museum of Art received two American Alliance of Museums Awards.
Shandaken: Storm King announced its 2018 residents.
Opportunities
The Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation and the Big House Contemporary Art Center, Wuhan, China, announced the inaugural NOVA New Media Interactive Art Prize, an award for an artist “who incorporates new media and interactive methods in their work.” The deadline for applications is July 30.
Obituaries
Yousuf Karsh, “Tom Wolfe” (1990), gelatin silver print, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh (© Estate of Yousuf Karsh)
Will Alsop (1947–2018), architect.
Glenn Branca (1948–2018), avant-garde composer.
Beth Chatto (1923–2018), writer and gardener.
Richard Gray (1928–2018), art dealer.
Geoffrey Hendricks (1931–2018), artist affiliated with Fluxus. Nicknamed the “Cloudsmith.”
Georg Kargl (1955–2018), art dealer.
Matt Marks (1980–2018), musician and composer.
Peter Mayer (1936–2018), publisher.
Tom Murphy (1935–2018), playwright. Best known for A Whistle in the Dark (1961).
Sam Nzima (1934–2018), photographer. Best known for his image of Hector Pieterson, a schoolboy shot and killed by police during the Soweto uprising (1976).
Adam Parfrey (1957–2018), publisher.
Mary Sansone (1916–2018), social worker and civic leader.
William Vance (1935–2018), comics artist.
Tom Wolfe (1930–2018), writer and proponent of New Journalism. Best known as the author of The Bonfire of the Vanities (1987) and The Painted Word (1975).
