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 Wednesday, July 19.
NEED-TO-READ
Inside Met Donor Shelby White’s Museum of Looted Art – A trustee who was also on the Met’s acquisition committee, White may have had an eye for valuable antiquities but it appears she did not examine their provenance too closely. Seventy one stolen objects worth nearly $69 million have been recovered from her Manhattan apartment by investigators over the past two years, and a further 17 from the Met. These included ancient Greek vases, a Chinese funerary artifact, and several ancient bronze sculptures. (New York Times)
Guelph Treasure Lawsuit Dismissed Again – A long-running legal battle instigated by the Jewish heirs of a group of Frankfurt dealers who sold the Guelph Treasures to the Prussian state in 1935, has hit another road block. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a 2022 ruling that the claim should not be heard in a U.S. court. (The Art Newspaper)
Smithsonian Cancels Asian American Literature Festival – The abrupt, last minute decision to cancel this year’s festival has brought a rush of scrutiny on the Smithsonian’s Asian Pacific American Center. Over 1,000 writers and artists signed an open letter criticizing the organization’s lack of explanation or accountability for its actions and calling for the immediate resignation of its acting director Yao-Fen You. (Hyperallergic)
Israeli Antiquities Stuck at Mar-a-Lago – The antiquities were lent by Israel to the former U.S. president Donald Trump for a 2019 exhibition at the White House that never took place. According to a new report, they were eventually transferred to Trump’s holiday home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida but have not yet been repatriated. (ARTnews)
MOVERS & SHAKERS
The Kitchen Names Senior Curator – Robyn Farrell has been appointed the senior curator for Manhattan’s nonprofit art space The Kitchen, beginning her role on August 1. Previously a curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, Farrell will work closely with executive director and chief curator Legacy Russell. (Press release)
Museum of the City of New York Names New President – Meanwhile, Stephanie Hill Wilchfort will take on the role of director and president of the Museum of the City of New York this September, after serving as president and chief executive of Brooklyn’s Children Museum. (New York Times)
Gucci Teams Up With Christie’s on NFTs – The auction and fashion houses are teaming up for the on-chain auction “Future Frequencies: Explorations in Generative Art and Fashion” sale on Christie’s 3.0 platform. Works by artists including Claire Silver, Tyler Hobbs, and Emily Xie will be featured on the Gucci Art Space online gallery. (Observer)
FOR ARTS SAKE
Tate Loans Rothko Room for Major Paris Show – One of Tate’s best loved attractions, a room dedicated to Mark Rothko’s purple, orange and maroon Seagram Murals, is being loaned to the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris for a retrospective of the Abstract Expressionist this fall (October 18 to April 2, 2024). In return, the Tate Modern has been lent and will shortly display a series of works by Joan Mitchell that were exhibited by the foundation last year. (The Art Newspaper)
A gallery technician poses next to The Seagram Murals, by artist Mark Rothko at Tate Britain on October 15, 2020 in London, England. Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images.
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