Week in Review is a weekly collection of news, developments, and stirrings in the art world. Subscribe to receive these posts as a weekly newsletter.
The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, the Smithsonian, and Ford Foundation President Darren Walker have all publicly condemned the Pro-Trump mob attack on the United States Capitol. “We cannot be silent bystanders. We must speak up and take action wherever and whenever we witness hatred and threats of violence,” said Jack Kliger, president and CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York.
A Confederate flag was tied to the Jewish Heritage Museum two days after the attack on the Capitol, which was itself rife with Nazi and white supremacist symbols.
Susan Allan Block resigned from the Ohio Arts Council after her incendiary comments on the 2020 election came to light. On social media, she advocated for “no peace” and “no concession,” called Kamala Harris a “whore,” and labeled Joe Biden an “illegitimate president,” leading local politicians and art leaders to call for her removal.
The adjunct faculty union at the San Francisco Art Institute is pushing back against the school’s plan to sell its 1931 Diego Rivera mural, appraised at $50 million, saying the artwork is “not a commodity.”
The National Gallery of Art has expanded its holdings of work by Black artists from the American South with a recent acquisition from Souls Grown Deep, including nine quilts by the women of Gee’s Bend.
The UK rejected European Union regulations to reduce illegal antiquity trafficking. The ordinances would require import licenses for art, antiques, books, and other artifacts that are more than 250 years old before they can enter any EU country.
The Vessel in Hudson Yards has been shuttered indefinitely after a third person died by suicide at the site within the span of a year.
The Warhol Foundation will distribute $3.9 million to 51 organizations grappling with pandemic losses.
Awards & Accolades
Sara Cywnar was awarded the 2020 Shpilman International Prize for Excellence in Photography by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
B.K. Fischer was named the inaugural Poet Laureate of Westchester County.
Benjamin Francis-Fallon was awarded the inaugural Shapiro Book Prize by the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
Transitions
Natasha Becker was named the inaugural curator of African art at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. | CultureType
Misty Bennett was named chief human resources officer of the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
John G. Hampton was named executive director and chief executive of the Mackenzie Art Gallery after serving as interim director. A member of the Chickasaw Nation, he will be the first Indigenous leader at any major public gallery in Canada. | ARTnews
Hollis Taggart now represents Suchitra Mattai and Alexandros Vasmoulakis.
Pace Gallery now represents Marina Perez Simão.
Roberts Projects now represent Brenna Youngblood.
In Memoriam
Claude Bolling (1930–2020), jazz painist and composer | NPR
Siegfried Fischbacher (1939–2020), one half of the famed magician duo Siegfried & Roy | Las Vegas Review-Journal
Alice Rose George (1944–2021), poet, curator, and photography editor | New York Times
Carol Johnson (1929–2020), landscape architect | New York Times
Howard Johnson (1941–2021), well-known jazz multi-instrumentalist known for his tuba and baritone saxophone playing | Broadway World
Steve Lightle (1959–2021), artist for the DC Comics titles Legion of Super-Heroes and Doom Patrol | CBR
Ved Mehta (1934–2020), New Yorker writer and autobiographer | Washington Post
