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# Art Movements
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/art-movements-81/
- Published: 2015-01-09T17:19:41.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:43:39.000Z
- Description: This week in art news: The Belvedere Torso is to travel to the UK for the first time, a London college is offering the world's first-ever course on selfies, and a punk band recovered a stolen George Rodrigue "Blue Dog" painting.
- Author: Tiernan Morgan
- Tags: News, Art Movements, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:08 (2014, 2015, part 2)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/01/6796938861_65fe9e57fa_o.jpg)

The Belvedere Torso on display at the Vatican Museums (via Flickr/Stefano Costantini)

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

The Vatican has agreed to [loan](http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jan/08/belvedere-torso-british-museum-body-exhibition?ref=hyperallergic.com) the Belvedere Torso to the British Museum. The sculpture, widely thought to be a Roman copy of a Greek original, will be exhibited as part of [*Defining Beauty: The Body in Ancient Greek Art*](http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats%5Fon/exhibitions/defining%5Fbeauty.aspx?ref=hyperallergic.com). It will be the first time the sculpture has ever traveled to the UK.

The Detroit Institute of Arts [reached](http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/arts/2015/01/05/dia-grand-bargain-payments/21306891/?ref=hyperallergic.com) its $100 million “grand bargain” fundraising goal.

The Punk band Stereo Fire Empire found a George Rodrigue painting and [returned it](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30726270?ref=hyperallergic.com) to the New Orleans Police Department. The bandmates saw the painting, valued at around $250,000, leaning against a wall after performing at the House of Blues. The police hope to identify the thief with the use of DNA fingerprinting.

The Whitney Museum of American Art [added](http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/268997/327f0dd3b5/1561628129/44598796b7/?ref=hyperallergic.com) over 21,000 collection entries to its online database.

Collectors Barry and Isabel Knispel are [seeking damages](http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/12/31/couple-says-gallery-sold-a-bogus-rockwell.htm?ref=hyperallergic.com) from Gallery 63 Antiques for breach of contract and fraud. Lawyers for the couple allege that the gallery knowingly sold them a painting misattributed to Norman Rockwell in October 1994.

Beginning in March, London’s City Lit College [will offer](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/01/05/not-the-onion-a-london-college-is-offering-a-new-class-on-selfie-photography/?ref=hyperallergic.com) what is thought to be the world’s first-ever course in “selfies,” a class dubbed the “Art of Self-Portraiture.”

*Downton Abbey* actor Hugh Bonneville [joined](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-30679578?ref=hyperallergic.com) a campaign to raise funds for the repair of the Old Grammar School at Bampton in Oxfordshire, England. The 17th-century building doubles as the Downton Cottage Hospital in the British drama series.

The budget for Zaha Hadid’s 2020 Olympic stadium design was [reduced](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/05/arts/design/olympic-stadium-in-tokyo-is-dogged-by-controversy.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) in the wake of ongoing criticism. Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki recently compared Hadid’s stadium to a “white elephant.”

Art collector Alberto Mugrabi is [selling](http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/01/05/art%5Fcollector%5Fwants%5F8m%5Ffor%5Fthis%5Fgramercy%5Fpark%5Fnorth%5Fpad.php?ref=hyperallergic.com) his three-bedroom home at 50 Gramercy Park North. The view from the apartment, which Robert Hughes [described](http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5bb%5F1344535524&ref=hyperallergic.com) as “better” than a painting, can be yours for a mere $8 million.

Russian artist Alexander Ponomarev and curator Nadim Samman announced plans to [establish](http://www.theartnewspaper.com/in-the-frame/2015/1/?ref=hyperallergic.com#First%20biennial%20planned%20where%20penguins%20roam) a new biennial in Antarctica.

## Transactions

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/01/2014-79.jpg)

Barbara Pennington, “Selma” (1965), oil on canvas (image © and courtesy Mint Museum of Art, Inc.)

The Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, [acquired](http://www.mintmuseum.org/news/the-mint-museum-acquires-monumental-canvas-selma-1965?ref=hyperallergic.com) Barbara Pennington’s “Selma” (1965), a monumental painting inspired by the civil rights marches in Selma, Alabama.

According to the [*Los Angeles Times*](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-andy-warhol-foundation-art-donations-exhibitions-museums-universities-grants-20150105-story.html?ref=hyperallergic.com), the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has “wrapped up the art donation phase of its existence” with recent donations to 322 institutions.

Sandycombe Lodge, the London home designed by JMW Turner, will be [opened](http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jan/06/turner-house-artist-restoration-grant-lottery?ref=hyperallergic.com) to the public thanks to a £1.4 million (\~$2.1 million) grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

According to the *New York Post*, Pablo Picasso’s granddaughter, Marina Picasso, is [selling](http://pagesix.com/2015/01/04/pablo-picassos-granddaugher-selling-over-290m-of-his-art/?ref=hyperallergic.com) seven paintings by her grandfather to the tune of $290 million.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art agreed to [lend](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-lacma-damascus-room-king-abdulaziz-center-saudi-arabia-20150106-story.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) over 130 works of Islamic art to the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, a new museum scheduled to open in Saudi Arabia next year.

The Japanese art collection of partners Sylvan Barnet and William Burto will be [divided](http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theater-art/2015/01/03/mfa-harvard-receive-precious-japanese-art-works/C2kOHKOlLaUuf6Nx1r2q0M/story.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) among four museums; The Harvard Art Museums, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Freer Gallery of Art.

The Seattle Art Museum [received](http://www.komonews.com/seattlerefined/lifestyle/More-Modern-and-Contemporary-Artwork-Moving-to-SAM-287423471.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) the collection of Virginia and Bagley Wright.

The National Gallery of Australia will  
[return](http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jan/05/buddha-statue-found-to-have-been-stolen-will-be-returned-to-india?ref=hyperallergic.com) a Buddha sculpture from the second century CE that was stolen from an archaeological site to the Indian government.

The Library of Congress [purchased](http://artdaily.com/news/75587/Images-of-urban-America-find-a-lasting-home?ref=hyperallergic.com#.VK8FIKtDsyC) the archives of Chilean-born photographer Camilo José Vergara, best known for his images of urban blight and decay. A selection of the photographer’s digitized images can be found [here](http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/coll/camilo-vergara-photographs.html?ref=hyperallergic.com).

## Transitions

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/01/00112v.jpg)

Camilo José Vergara, “Water Tower, Former Packard Plant, E. Grand Blvd. at Concord, Detroit ” (2000) (courtesy Library of Congress)

Graham Beal will [step down](http://www.chron.com/news/article/Director-of-Detroit-Institute-of-Arts-to-retire-6001343.php?ref=hyperallergic.com) as the director of the Detroit Institute of Arts on June 30.

Nicholas Cullinan was [appointed](http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jan/06/national-portrait-gallery-nicholas-cullinan-director?ref=hyperallergic.com) the director of London’s National Portrait Gallery.

The Whitechapel Gallery [appointed](http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/about/press/alex-sainsbury-announced-chair-board-trustees-whitechapel-gallery/?ref=hyperallergic.com) Alex Sainsbury as chair of its board of trustees.

Thomas Collins was [appointed](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/08/arts/barnes-foundation-recruits-director-from-miami.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) the new executive director and president of the Barnes Foundation.

The Newark Museum [appointed](http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int%5Fsec=11&int%5Fnew=75526&ref=hyperallergic.com#.VK71WKtDsyC) Tricia Laughlin Bloom as curator of American art.

Timothy Paul Brown was [appointed](http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int%5Fsec=11&int%5Fnew=75537&ref=hyperallergic.com#.VK7sVKtDsyB) director of education at the Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati.

Katelijne De Backer was [appointed](http://news.artnet.com/in-brief/former-armory-show-director-will-run-new-art-miami-new-york-211935?ref=hyperallergic.com) director of the new Art Miami New York fair.

The 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair will [open](http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Contemporary-African-art-fair-expands-to-New-York/36766?ref=hyperallergic.com) a pop-up in New York this spring during Frieze New York. The fair will be held at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, May 15–17.

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art [hired](http://www.artnews.com/2015/01/05/cedar-rapids-museum-of-art-names-kate-kunau-associate-curator/?ref=hyperallergic.com) Kate Kunau as associate curator of collections and exhibitions.

Glenn Horowitz Bookseller Inc. will [open](http://www.artnews.com/2015/01/08/glenn-horowitz-to-open-new-manhattan-gallery-across-from-moma/?ref=hyperallergic.com) a new gallery across the street from the Museum of Modern Art in midtown Manhattan.

## Accolades

Creative Capital [announced](http://blog.creative-capital.org/2015/01/announcing-2015-creative-capital-artists-4370000-awarded-46-moving-image-visual-arts-projects/?ref=hyperallergic.com) their award winners for 2015\. Each project receives over $50,000 in direct funding.

## Obituaries

[Dorrit Dekk](http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jan/07/dorrit-dekk?ref=hyperallergic.com) (1917–2014), renowned graphic designer.

[Robert Reed](http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2015/01/02/robert-reed-advocate-for-undergraduate-art-program-dies-at-76/?ref=hyperallergic.com) (1938–2014), painter and Yale School of Art professor for nearly 50 years.