Museums Legendary Ghanaian Sculptor El Anatsui Will Be the Next Artist to Take Over Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall The Ghana-born, Nigeria-based sculptor will become the 21st artist selected for the prestigious commission. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 22, 2023
Auctions Christie’s Will Auction More Masterworks From the Estate of the Late Media Tycoon S.I. Newhouse, Expecting to Surpass $144 Million Pieces by Bacon, de Kooning, and Picasso are each expected to net more than $20 million in the single-owner evening sale. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 21, 2023
Law The Musée d’Orsay Has Been Ordered to Restitute Paintings by Cézanne, Renoir, and Gauguin That Were Stolen During World War II The artworks are to be returned to the heirs of their one-time owner, Ambroise Vollard. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 17, 2023
Law A Class Action Lawsuit Against a Popular A.I. Art Generator Alleges the App Collects Its Users’ Biometric Information Without Their Permission The complaint says Lensa A.I. illegally extracts users’ facial data to train its models. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 16, 2023
Art World The Mellon Foundation Is Giving Out $125 Million in Grants for Creative Projects Addressing the ‘Dehumanization’ of U.S. Criminal Justice The nonprofit has already given $41 million in grant money to multiple projects, including Nicole Fleetwood’s “Marking Time” program. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 16, 2023
NFTs Jill Magid Is Selling NFT Bouquets Made of Flowers From ‘The Legend of Zelda,’ ‘World of Warcraft,’ and Other Video Games “Out-Game Flowers” began as a reflection on how value moves between the digital and virtual worlds. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 14, 2023
Crime Burglars Broke Into a Dutch Museum and Made Off With 11 Rare Chinese Ceramics The heist comes less than two weeks after a failed break-in attempt at the institution. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 14, 2023
Museums The Director of a Prominent Russian Museum Has Been Unceremoniously Ousted for Not Advancing Vladimir Putin’s ‘Traditional Values’ Zelfira Tregulova has been replaced at Moscow’s State Tretyakov Gallery by the daughter of a top military official with little art experience. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 10, 2023
Museums The Centre Pompidou Is on Track to Open a New Museum in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ula Cultural Complex The proposed institution, called Perspective Galleries, will join the Pompidou’s growing list of international satellite locations. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 9, 2023
Law The Pentagon Has Reversed a Trump-Era Ban on the Release of Art Made by Guantánamo Bay Detainees Under the new policy, outgoing prisoners are allowed to take “a practicable quantity of their art” with them. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 9, 2023
Art World Aboriginal Artist Archie Moore, Whose Works Speak to the First Nations Experience, Will Represent Australia at the 60th Venice Biennale He will be the second First Nations artist to represent the country at the international event. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 8, 2023
Archaeology A 1,700-Year-Old Castle Was Among the Thousands of Buildings Destroyed by the Deadly Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria The Gaziantep Castle, built in the second and third centuries, was among the more than 3,000 buildings destroyed. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 6, 2023
Law Major U.S. Auction Houses Have Reportedly Been Subpoenaed as Part of a Federal Investigation Into Sanctioned Russian Oligarchs The investigation is probing how Russian tycoons have used art to evade sanctions or launder money. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 3, 2023
People ‘I’m After Something More Sublime’: Sam Falls on Making Art Out of Nature to Capture the Nature of Time Falls’s new solo show at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland is on view through June 11, 2023. By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 2, 2023
Museums Hundreds of Artists Are Voicing Support for Reina Sofia Director Manuel Borja-Villel, Who Abruptly Departed the Museum Amid Right-Wing Attacks A group of artists, academics, and museum administrators have signed an open letter praising Borja-Villel’s “ethical commitment and honesty.” By Taylor Dafoe, Feb 2, 2023
