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 Friday, July 21.
NEED-TO-READ
Williams Sisters to Auction Ernie Barnes Work on Joopiter Platform – The tennis legends and their sister Isha Price have consigned two paintings, Holding Court (1986) and Mentors (2008), and two drawings for a sale at Pharrell Williams’s digital-first auction house held from July 24 to August 1. The paintings have a combined presale estimate of between $80,000 and $180,000. (ARTnews)
Climate Activists Attack Nancy Walton’s Yacht – Two activists from the Spanish environmental group Futuro Vegetal vandalized the Walmart heiress’s $300 million yacht in the fashion of climate protests at art museums. Members of the group, which has staged high-profile protests at cultural institutions including Prado Museum in Madrid last November, splattered red and black paint on the yacht in Ibiza. They were arrested and held for a day. Walton comes from a family of well-known art collectors and patrons. (ARTnews)
Johnny Depp Is Selling a Self-Portrait – The Pirates of the Caribbean star is selling prints of his self-portrait titled Five, which pays homage to a portrait taken for a Dior Sauvage campaign in 2015. The title refers to the “fifth year of a challenging period in his life” when the work was conceived in 2021, and was created “as a means of creative healing,” per Castle Fine Art, which is selling prints in time-limited edition until August 1, priced at £1,950 ($2,506). Depp already released a limited edition series called “Friends & Heroes” in July 2022 and a follow-up series earlier this year, which were all sold out. (Evening Standard)
Other Climate Activists Get Fined – Two activists aged 22 and 29 were each fined €1,500 ($1,669) over “common damage to property” for gluing themselves to the frame of Raphael’s The Sistine Madonna in the Old Masters Picture Gallery last year in Dresden, Germany. (Monopol)
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Announces Grants – Almost $3 million in grant money will be allocated to 93 artists and nonprofit organizations for the 2022–23 year. Awardees include artists like Shahzia Sikander and Alex Heilbron, and the organizations include Artadia, SculptureCenter, Whitechapel Gallery, and Yaddo. (Artforum)
Top Architecture Prize Encourages Reinvention – The Royal Institute of British Architects has initiated a new prize that focuses on reinvigorating existing buildings instead of tearing them down and building new flashy structures. The shortlist includes the Holborn Community Association, the Houlton School in Rugby, and the University of Wolverhampton School of Architecture and Built Environment. (Guardian)
Black Curatorial Fund Accepts Application – The Fly Me Out Fund, backed by Black Curatorial, Art Fund, and Arts Council England, is calling for applications for its second edition. The fund is open to Black curators and artists based in Barbados or Jamaica, and curators based in the U.K. The deadline for application is August 10. (Press release)
FOR ART’S SAKE
Restoration of 16th Century Tapestries – After nearly a quarter century, the National Trust has completed the restoration of 13 Gideon tapestries dating to the 16th century. Located at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, the 19-foot-tall and nearly 330-feet-wide works took 24 years to finish, the longest ever conservation project undertaken by the Trust. (Guardian)
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