Art Industry News: A College Has Cut Ties With the Florida School That Decided Michelangelo’s ‘David’ Was Too Rude + Other Stories

Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most consequential developments coming out of the art world and art market. Here’s what you need to know on this Monday, April 3.

NEED-TO-READ

The National Gallery Still Has to Fundraise Its Half of Joint Acquisition – Last week, London’s National Gallery announced that it would jointly acquire Joshua Reynolds’s Portrait of Omai with the Getty Museum in L.A. But the London institution still has to raise its half of the funds for the $62 million acquisition. The museum has until June 10 to raise the remaining $1.2 million. (L.A. Times)

Pre-Raphaelite Muse Was Actually a Skilled Artist – Some 17 previously unseen drawings and watercolors by pre-Raphaelite model Elizabeth Siddal are included in Tate Britain’s forthcoming exhibition “The Rossettis.” Siddal was married to Dante Gabriel Rossetti and modeled for his circle, but her own artistic talent was long sidelined due to her relationship with Rossetti, and struggles with mental health and addiction. (Guardian)

College Cuts Ties With Florida School Embroiled in David Row – A Florida college has ended its partnership with the Tallahassee Classical Academy after the school’s board forced principal Hope Carrasquilla to resign after parents complained she showed “pornographic” imagery of Michelangelo’s David to a sixth grade class. Hillsdale College has revoked the school’s license to use its curricular materials going forward, citing the controversy caused as a “distraction” to its wider educational goals. (MLive)

In Defense of Manuel Borja-Villel – Historian Yve-Alain Bois wrote in defense of the former Reina Sofia director who stepped away after 15 years under pressure from Spain’s conservative press and far-right. Bois lauds how the curator favored “context and archive” over “the spectacularization brought about by the global economic crisis of 2007–2008, which he saw as the swan song not of neoliberalism but of the hypocrisy on which it was built.” (Artforum)

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Documenta 16 Finding Committee Named – The Finding Committee has been appointed for the next edition of the quinquennial, slated to run in Kassel from June 12 to September 19, 2027. The six contemporary art expert members tasked with selecting the concept for the event are: Bracha Lichtenberg Ettinger, Gong Yan, Ranjit Hoskoté, Simon Njami, Kathrin Rhomberg, and María Inés Rodríguez. (Press release)

Fondazione In Between Art Film Program – The foundation established by Beatrice Bulgari has announced its exhibition program for 2023, including a new exhibition by Lebanese artist Ali Cherri, and it will present new film works by Formafantasma, Thao Nguyen Phan, Gerard Ortín Catellví, and Randa Maroufi. (Press release) 

Lise Wilhelmsen Art Award Winner – The Kuwaiti-Puerto Rican multidisciplinary artist Alia Farid is the third winner of the $100,000 prize, which also includes an exhibition at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter in Oslo, which will acquire the work for its permanent collection. (Press release)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Banksy Artwork Sells for $2 Million at Auction – An artwork Banksy used to pay a band to change its name to avoid copyright issues with his documentary has sold at auction for $2 million, exceeding its presale estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. The band formerly named Exit Through the Gift Shop sold the artwork depicting a grim reaper driving a bumper car at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, and it was bought by fashion entrepreneur Miguel Garcia Larios. (Guardian)