Remembering Nathan Farb, Thomas Zipp, and Christine Ruiz-Picasso
This week, we honor an intrepid photographer, a punk German artist, and the founder of the Museo Picasso Málaga.
In Memoriam is published every Wednesday afternoon and honors those we recently lost in the art world.
Nathan Farb (1941–2026)
Photographer and educator
He captured everything from Manhattan during the Summer of Love in the 1960s to the far reaches of Siberia to luminaries like Diane Arbus and Senator Robert F. Kennedy with a large-format camera. He taught at institutions like Rutgers University and the New School, freelanced for publications like Life, and published multiple books of photography.
“The camera satisfied so many needs for me: the need to be with people, the need to connect to people, the need to express myself, the need to be able to comment on society,” he said in a 2024 documentary about his work. He died on March 26 at his home in Jay, a town in Adirondack Park in Upstate New York.
William "Billy The Brush" Mumford (1948–2026)
Prolific art forger and artist
One of the most prolific art forgers in history, he was estimated to have sold more than 1,000 copies of master works for around $8 million. After he was released from a prison sentence, he opened a gallery devoted to his work and sold paintings widely.
Justin "El Toro" Nagtalon (1983–2026)
Sticker artist and multidisciplinary designer
One of Philadelphia's first sticker artists, he created a cartoon buffalo character that was ubiquitous on the city's streets. As an art director, he designed more than 350 campaigns for clients like Netflix, Hulu, and Warner Brothers.
Christine Ruiz-Picasso (1928–2026)
Founder of Museo Picasso Málaga
The daughter-in-law of Pablo Picasso, she was essential to the founding of the Museo Picasso Málaga in Spain, a dream of the artist. She also organized two Picasso exhibitions at the Episcopal Palace in the 1990s.
Hassen Soufy (1937–2026)
Tunisian painter and educator
The painter was the final living member of L'École de Tunis, a movement in Tunisian painting after World War II. He exhibited in his home country and France, and received international awards.
Marian Van Landingham (1937–2026)
Community leader and artist
She founded the Torpedo Factory Art Center, home to the largest number of working artist studios in the United States, in 1974. She made enamel artworks out of fused glass.
Thomas Zipp (1966–2026)
Interdisciplinary German artist
A punk musician before turning to visual arts, his uncanny and satirical work touched on the fields of science, religion, pharmaceuticals, and more. He specialized in multi-part installations that often recall bizarre stage sets, and exhibited at the 2013 Venice Biennial, the 2006 Berlin Biennale, MoMA PS1, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and many more.
