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# Week in Review: NYC Theodore Roosevelt Statue Will Be Removed; New Orleans Museum Workers Expose Racism
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/week-in-review-10/
- Published: 2020-06-26T11:00:51.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:38:55.000Z
- Description: Alumni and students of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, including Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Didier William, have signed letters of concern condemning the college’s non-affiliation policies.
- Author: Cassie Packard
- Tags: News, Week in Review, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:41 (2019, 2020, part 2)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/amnh-roosevelt-1460.jpg)

Protesters protesting in front of and covering the Roosevelt statue with a parachute in October of 2016 (by Hrag Vartanian/Hyperallergic)

*Week in Review is a weekly collection of news, developments, and stirrings in the art world.* [*Subscribe*](https://hyperallergic.com/newsletters?utm%5Fsource=page&utm%5Fcampaign=artmovements) *to receive these posts as a weekly newsletter.*

Former staff members at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) accused the institution of [sustaining a “plantation-like culture”](https://hyperallergic.com/new-orleans-museum-of-art-racism-homophobia/) in an open letter released this week. Incidents include a staffer being asked to cut their dreadlocks and the permanent installation of a plantation parlor against the advisement of Black staff.

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is at the center of controversy for asking faculty not to affiliate with the school in their activism activities. Alumni and students of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, including Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Didier William, have signed [letters of concern condemning the college’s non-affiliation policies](https://hyperallergic.com/pafa-faculty-school-affiliation/).

After years of protest, a Theodore Roosevelt statue will be [removed from The American Natural History Museum](https://hyperallergic.com/after-years-of-protest-theodore-roosevelt-statue-will-be-removed-from-american-natural-history-museum/). An internal memo to the museum’s staff over the weekend was the first to announce the decision to remove the controversial statues on Central Park West.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/img_6620-2.jpg)

A community of artists is calling on the International Center of Photography to [set ethical guidelines for protest photography](https://hyperallergic.com/community-calls-on-icp-to-set-ethical-guidelines-for-protest-photography/). Noah Morrison, founding member of ICP Center Blackness Now, says the International Center of Photography’s response to their efforts has been superficial.

A [new mural stretching 565 feet in Bed-Stuy](https://hyperallergic.com/black-lives-matter-mural-bed-stuy-brooklyn/), Brooklyn, memorializes over 150 victims of fatal anti-Black violence, including Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

According to a study conducted by the data analysis company BeenVerified, [1,712 Confederate Monuments remain standing in the US](https://hyperallergic.com/1712-confederate-monuments-remain-standing-in-united-states/). For every monument that has been removed, 10 others remain.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/the-last-supper-giampietrino-giovanni-antonio-boltraffio-1-1.jpg)

Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the “Last Supper” has faded and cracked over time, but an [accurate reproduction](https://hyperallergic.com/the-last-supper-reproduction/) likely made by one of his pupils has been digitized.

The *New York Times* reported that the Metropolitan Museum of Art [plans to reopen August 29](https://hyperallergic.com/metropolitan-museum-looks-toward-reopening-in-late-august/), but the museum has yet to issue an official statement.

## Transactions

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/86f36d49-fbdb-4aed-9edb-8952fc28db2e.jpg)

Facebook, which has become a hub for the trafficking of looted antiquities, [announced a policy banning the “exchange, sale, or purchase of all historical artifacts”](https://news.artnet.com/art-world/facebook-artifacts-ban-1889686?ref=hyperallergic.com) across its platforms (that means Instagram, too). The move comes in response to [a report published by the Antiquities Trafficking & Heritage Anthropology Research project](http://atharproject.org/report2019/?ref=hyperallergic.com), which discovered that Facebook groups dedicated to antiquities trafficking had nearly 2 million members. The social media giant’s implementation of a blanket ban of historical artifact sales makes a lot of sense, as determining provenance on a case-by-case basis on its platforms would be Sisyphean.

In Sotheby’s hybrid live-online Impressionist & Modern sales in New York later this month, [the auction house will be highlighting a collection of work by Latin American Surrealist and Modernist artists](https://www.artmarketmonitor.com/2020/06/25/leonor-fini-highlights-sothebys-vanguard-spirit-sale-in-june-modern-auction/?ref=hyperallergic.com). The 35 works on offer include pieces by well-known names like Frida Kahlo, Rufino Tamayo, and Wilfredo Lam, whose 1943 painting “Omi Obini” is estimated at $8 million to $12 million. Sotheby’s began to incorporate Modern Latin American Art into its Impressionist & Modern Art sales two years ago.

Phillips London [restarted its live auctions with a strong Design sale](https://www.phillips.com/press/release/phillips-live-auctions-resume-with-the-design-sale-realising-53-million-33-above-the-presale-high-estimate?ref=hyperallergic.com) that had a 95% sell-through rate by lot. The sale, which was originally scheduled for March, garnered £5,323,750, or around $6.6 million, well over the pre-sale estimate of £4 million (about $4.9 million). The sale was led by Claude Lalanne’s “Unique Low Table” (1998), which sold for £312,500 (\~$387,000), and records were set for several artist-designers including Edmund de Waal and Mario Gottardi.

## This Week in the Art World

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/6e101af6-922a-4c32-b804-3763a9db0b46.jpg)

The **Baltimore Museum of Art** announced new acquisitions including work by **Wendy Red Star** and **Martine Syms**. | [Baltimore Museum of Art](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55a172d5e4b0359ca40d9b2d/t/5ef39c2ae495556051894910/1593023530894/NEWSRELEASE%5FBMA%5FWinter+and+Spring+2020+Acquisitions%5Ffinal.pdf?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Julie Rodrigues Widholm** will be the new director of the **UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA).** | via email announcement

The **Hackney Council in London** selected **Thomas J. Price** and **Veronica Ryan** to make public artworks. | [*Dazed*](https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/49594/1/hackney-council-thomas-j-price-veronica-ryan-public-artworks-windrush?ref=hyperallergic.com)

Director **Jill Snyder** has resigned from the **Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland**. | [HYPEBEAST](https://hypebeast.com/2020/6/jill-snyder-moca-cleveland-director-resigns?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Sohrab Mohebbi** will curate the **2022 Carnegie International**. | [*Pittsburgh Post-Gazette*](https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/art-architecture/2020/06/24/Sohrab-Mohebbi-curator-Carnegie-International-2022-Museum-of-Art/stories/202006220084?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Venus Over Manhattan** in New York City added the estate of **Roy De Forest** to its roster. | [*ARTnews*](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/breaking-art-industry-news-june-2020-week-4-1202691890/?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Shalini Le Gall** was appointed to the position of Chief Curator of European Art at the **Portland Museum of Art**. | via email announcement

Beijing gallery **Tabula Rasa** is expanding to London. | [*Art Newspaper*](https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/beijing-gallery-to-put-unsung-chinese-artists-on-london-map?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Marc Chennault** has joined the board of the **Joan Mitchell Foundation** in New York. | via press release

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/535c7b62-b9f7-4d13-bcb7-fe880fc24b93.jpg)

Stockholm’s **Moderna Museet** acquired **Arthur Jafa**’s “The White Album.” | [Moderna Museet](https://app.bwz.se/modernamuseet/b/v/?vid=461&v=16&share=1&ucrc=906C614A6E&ref=hyperallergic.com)

The **Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts** in New York selected 47 art organizations as its Spring 2020 grantees. | [*ARTnews*](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/andy-warhol-foundation-grants-2020-spring-1202692330/?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Hauser & Wirth** has expanded to the Hamptons. | [artnet](https://news.artnet.com/market/hauser-wirth-is-opening-new-southampton-outpost-1889796?ref=hyperallergic.com)

The **Musée de l’Elysée** announced the nominees for the **Prix Elysée**. | [e-flux](https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/334676/the-nominees-of-the-fourth-edition-of-the-prix-elyse/?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Jessica Silverman Gallery** now represents **Andrea Bowers**. | [*ARTnews*](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/breaking-art-industry-news-june-2020-week-4-1202691890/?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Upstart Co-Lab** launched a coalition consisting of 10 cultural institutions including **BRIC** and **Souls Grown Deep Foundation**. | [Barron’s](https://www.barrons.com/articles/upstart-co-lab-creates-member-coalition-to-spur-creative-economy-01593025276?ref=hyperallergic.com)

## In Memoriam

**Anna Blume** (1936–2020), German photographer | [*ARTnews*](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/anna-blume-dead-photographs-1202692093/?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Chris Busa** (1946–2020), *Provincetown Arts* founder | [Wicked Local Provincetown](https://provincetown.wickedlocal.com/entertainmentlife/20200620/provincetown-arts-editor-chris-busa-died-saturday?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Gaylord Chan** (1925–2020), Hong Kong Modernist painter | [*Art Newspaper*](https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/gaylord-chan-obituary?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Paolo Giorgio Ferri** (1947–2020), Italian art restitution prosecutor | [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/20/arts/paolo-giorgio-dead.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Paul Fortune** (1950–2020), interior designer | [*Architectural Digest*](https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/ad100-designer-paul-fortune-has-died?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Li Zhensheng** (1940–2020), Chinese photographer | [*Guardian*](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/23/li-zhensheng-who-photographed-china-cultural-revolution-dies?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Robert Richardson Jr.** (1934–2020), biographer | [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/books/robert-richardson-jr-dead.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Joel Schumacher** (1939–2020), popular filmmaker | [*Variety*](https://variety.com/2020/film/news/joel-schumacher-dead-dies-batman-director-1234644961/?ref=hyperallergic.com)

**Carlos Ruiz Zafón** (1964–2020), Spanish novelist | [*Guardian*](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jun/19/carlos-ruiz-zafon-author-of-the-shadow-of-the-wind-dies-aged-55?ref=hyperallergic.com)