Plus, Nigeria and the U.S. prepare to enter into an agreement on cultural property, and American painter Peter Williams dies.
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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 Tuesday, August 24.
Should Galleries Consider Auction Houses Over Art Fairs? – The news that Art Basel’s Noah Horowitz will be joining Sotheby’s to expand its gallery partnerships has been interpreted as yet another sign of the convergence of auction houses and dealers. Marion Maneker asks: Is that really a bad thing? Auctioneers like Sotheby’s have a large international salesforce that can reach new buyers more effectively than many art fairs. “Common business sense would tell most dealers that the experience of the last 18 months suggests they might want to rethink how they spend their marketing budgets,” Maneker writes. (ARTnews)
Court Orders Artist’s Widow to Return Paintings – Taiwan’s High Court has ordered the widow of late painter Chang Chin-fa to return 12 of her husband’s paintings to the National Taiwan University of the Arts, from which she had borrowed them for an event. Chang Lin Hsiu-Hsiang said her husband had not been of sound judgment when he donated them due to his struggle with cancer and that he only meant to loan them. The court said the paintings must be returned, although it awarded no damages to the university. (Art Asia Pacific)
Artist Peter Williams Dies at 69 – The American painter has died at age 69 from complications relating to a long illness, according to his Los Angeles gallerist Luis De Jesus. Williams was known for his surreal and colorful Afrofuturist paintings exploring the past and present of Black America. “He was a painter who painted for himself and was not afraid to poignantly portray the truths of contemporary society,” De Jesus said. (ARTnews)
Nigeria and the U.S. to Sign Agreement on Cultural Property – Officials from the Nigerian and U.S. governments are close to signing a bilateral agreement that aims to stop illicit trafficking of cultural property and artifacts. The agreement comes at a moment of unprecedented activity in Nigerian restitution efforts around the world. Though the memorandum of understanding might have limited impact on the Benin Bronzes in American museums, officials say several private collectors have already surrendered artifacts they believe to be looted. (All Africa)
Katherine Bradford Wins Rappaport Prize – The Brookyln- and Maine-based painter has won the $35,000 prize, which counts Sonya Clark and Sam Durant as alumni. Bradford’s phantasmagoric landscapes will be the subject of an exhibition at the de Cordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Massachusetts, which administers the prize. (Boston Globe)
Eye of the Collector Gets a Date for September – The Eye of the Collector, a novel art fair in a Neo-Gothic London mansion, will host its inaugural physical edition September 8–11. Held at 2 Temple Place, the boutique fair will show art, furniture, and design spanning ancient times to the present. Wares from 30 galleries will be presented without booths and shown as they would be inside a collector’s home. (Press release)
Hollis Taggart Will Represent the Estate of Dusti Bongé – The New York gallery will represent the late Mississippi-based artist, who was considered one of the south’s first Modernists and who during her life was represented by the legendary dealer Betty Parsons. Hollis Taggart will present a selection of her work at the Armory Show in September and an exhibition in Chelsea in 2022. (Press release)
Tracey Emin Reveals First Look at Margate Studio – The artist gave her Instagram followers a sneak peek of her completed home and studio in Margate, U.K. The David Chipperfield-designed space has been in the works for more than four years. Emin says she hopes it will eventually become a museum: “When I die this place can be a place for my work to be seen, how I want it to be seen .. Maybe with my ashes .. a mausoleum.. A place I can visit every now and then from the other side.. A Welcome Home.” (Instagram)
