Remembering Henrike Naumann, LaMonte McLemore, and Frederick Wiseman
This week, we honor Germany’s representative at the Venice Biennale, a singer and photographer, and a documentarian of the lives of institutions.
In Memoriam is published every Wednesday afternoon and honors those we recently lost in the art world.
Henrike Naumann (1984–2026)
Artist set to co-represent Germany in upcoming Venice Biennale
Born in East Germany just a few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall, her work ruminated on reunification. It often incorporated furniture and found domestic objects and mass-produced home goods from the era as carriers of ideologies, politics, and social truths.
She passed away of cancer just three months before the opening of the Venice Biennale, where she was set to co-represent Germany with artist Sung Tieu. She was working "until the very end" on her project, Naumann's partner Clemens Villinger said in a statement. Her work has been shown at SculptureCenter, the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, and more.
William Buggel (1939–2026)
Painter and photographer who championed the American Southeast
Lauded as one of South Carolina's most notable abstract expressionist painters, he also worked at the Columbia Museum of Art and Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston in the 1960s. He photographed live performances of artists from Luciano Pavarotti to Ella Fitzgerald and Tennessee Williams, and ran a photography processing hub in Charleston.
Eric Cameron (1935–2026)
Canadian conceptual artist, painter, video artist, and educator
He taught at the University of Guelph and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design from 1987 until he retired in 2020, training generations of Canadian artists. He was perhaps best known for his Thick Paintings, in which he layered gesso on everyday objects.
Jay Levenson (1948–2026)
Director of the international program at MoMA
Director of the international program at the Museum of Modern Art since 1996, he dedicated himself to nurturing more global perspectives on contemporary art.
LaMonte McLemore (1935–2026)
Photographer and Fifth Dimension singer
In addition to being a founding member of the 1960s and '70s psychedelic soul group 5th Dimension, he was a medical photographer for the Navy, and also captured fellow musicians including Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. He was the first Black photographer for Harper's Bazaar, and also freelanced for magazines like Ebony, Jet, People, and Playboy.
Guillermo Monroy Becerril (1924–2026)
Muralist and pillar of Mexican Art
A disciple of Frida Kahlo and assistant to Diego Rivera, he was a self-described leftist fighter whose art was charged with social struggle. His work is on view at venues such as the Palace of Fine Arts and the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Studio House Museum in Mexico City. In 2024, he won the Gold Fine Arts Medal in Visual Arts from the Mexican government.
Kim Gi-soon (1920–2026)
The woman behind one of South Korea's abstract art masters
She devoted herself to her husband, abstract art master Yoo Young-guk, creating a studio for him and working as the breadwinner while he dedicated himself to his art. She was also the mother of metal artist Yoo Ri-ji.
Robin Nicholson (1960–2026)
Museum director and scholar
He was the executive director of the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg, Florida, as well as a scholar of 18th-century Stuart courts in Paris and Rome. He also held positions at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Frick Pittsburgh Museum, and Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia.
Paul Sample (1947–2026)
British cartoonist and illustrator
He created the cartoon strip Ogri, about a British rocker-style biker, and illustrated covers for paperback books as well as posters for the BBC, the British Post Office, and more.
John Sokol (1947–2026)
South Carolina painter with a signature technique
Deeply rooted in Northeast Ohio, he was known for a signature technique of tarring and varnishing. His work is currently on view and in the collection of the Akron Art Museum, and has also been shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and Canton Art Museum.
Robert Tinney (1947–2026)
Illustrator whose style became synonymous with early computing
His artwork was widely seen in computing publications such as BYTE magazine. To this day, his style remains synonymous with the aesthetics of early computing.
Frederick Wiseman (1930–2026)
Documentary filmmaker who captured the life of institutions
He explored the life of social and cultural institutions in documentary films like National Gallery, about the London Museum. His films were held by and shown at museums like the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Museum of Modern Art, where he also received a retrospective in 2010.
