Art Industry News: Does Loving Yayoi Kusama’s Art Make You a Narcissist? + More Must-Read Stories

Plus, Christie's gets sued over a David Hammons work and Jackie Kennedy’s Cartier watch sells for nearly $380K.

A man looks at the Love Forever room during a preview of the Yayoi Kusama's "Infinity Mirrors" exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum (Courtesy of BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

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 this Thursday, June 22.

NEED-TO-READ

ISIS Destroys the Historic Al Nuri Mosque in Mosul – On Wednesday night, ISIS fighters bombed the iconic mosque, which sat on Mosul’s skyline for centuries as a symbol of the city’s rich cultural heritage. The damage comes amid on-going fighting over the western side of Mosul, which is currently a battleground between Iraqi government forces and ISIS fighters. (New York Times)

Does Participatory Art Prey on Our Narcissism? – In the age of the selfie, Sarah Boxer looks at Yayoi Kusama’s recent show at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and asks whether the secret to its popularity is that it served as fodder for social media-addicted narcissists. (The Atlantic)

Herzog’s Heirs Win Right to Move Forward in Holocaust Art Case – The US Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Kasowitz family, the heirs to the Herzog Collection, in a lawsuit against the Hungarian government. They are seeking to recover what was the largest private art collection in the country prior to WWII. (Press release)

Norway Finds New Site for Contested Memorial – Following public outcry over the original plan for the memorial to honor the victims of the 2011 right-wing terrorist attack, the Norwegian government has decided on a new location: an island near the original site of the violence. (Deutsche Presse Agentur​)

Walker Website Relaunches With Werner Herzog Debate – The Walker Art Center has relaunched its website with a new feature called “Crosscuts” (similar to the New York Times’s “Room for Debate”). For the inaugural outing, Werner Herzog updates his 1999 “Minnesota Declaration of Truth” for the Age of Trump. Artist RaMell Ross, filmmaker Sabaah Folayan, and artnet News’s own critic Ben Davis respond. (Walker Art Center)

ART MARKET

Kandinsky Breaks Records Twice at Sotheby’s in London – The artist’s Fauvist painting of the German countryside sold for a record £21 million ($26 million); six lots later, that record was broken by Kandinsky’s Painting with White Lines (1913), which was purchased for $35 million. (artnet News)

Christie’s Sued by Collector for Canceling Sale – A suit filed in a New York court in April alleges that the auction house canceled the sale of a David Hammons work that was initially purchased by Philippe Dupont for $390,000. Dupont claims that Christie’s tried to cancel the sale in order to re-auction the work later. (The Art Newspaper)

Here Is a Breakdown of Paris Contemporary Sales – Results from the French capital demonstrate a continued interest in the discovery of undervalued historic masters. A 1960s work by Pierre Soulages was the top lot of the week in the last cycle, fetching a record $6.92 million. (Art Market Monitor)

Jackie Kennedy’s Cartier Watch Sells for Nearly $380K – The former first lady’s signature Cartier Tank watch sold for $379,500 at Christie’s New York. The watch was a gift from Kennedy’s brother-in-law, Prince Stanislaw “Stas” Radziwill, and is engraved with “February 23, 1963 2.05am to 9.35pm / Jackie to Stas with love and admiration.” (Artdaily.com)

COMINGS & GOINGS

Director of Irish Museum of Modern Art to Step Down – Sarah Glennie will end her five-year tenure at IMMA to take the helm at Ireland’s National College of Art and Design in January 2018. (Artforum)

Freelands Award Shortlist Announcement – The foundation, which aims to raise the profile of mid-career female artists and support arts organizations outside London, released the shortlist for its second £100,000 prize. The six regional arts organizations will present exhibition proposals; the winner will be chosen in the fall. (Press release)

You Can Now Get Into Three New York Museums with One Pass – The $40 Connoisseur Pass provides one-time admission to the Frick Collection, the Morgan Library and the Neue Galerie between July 1 and August 31, 2017. Get it while it’s hot! (Press release)

FOR ART’S SAKE 

Gerhard Richter’s Monumental Holocaust Cycle Loaned to the Reichstag – Berlin’s Reichstag building, home to the German Parliament, will receive the four-panel cycle “Birkenau” from Richter on September 4. The works will temporarily replace Sigmar Polke’s lightboxes, which are undergoing conservation. (Deutsche Presse Agentur

Miami Artist to Work on Pulse Victims Memorial – Pulse nightclub owner Barbara Poma has announced that the site of the massacre will be transformed into a museum. Local artist Jefre Manuel will consult on the design of the onePULSE Foundation project. (Orlando Sentinel)

Inaugural Triennial on New York’s Waterways Gets Under Way – Presented by New Georges with 3LD and Urban Water Artists in collaboration with Guerilla Science, the triennial, dubbed Works on Water, aims to showcase local artists’ engagement with the city’s tides and currents. (Hyperallergic)

See Stunning Photos of Stonehenge at the 2017 Summer Solstice – Crowds assembled at the ancient site on the longest day of the year to celebrate the beginning of summer. See the gathering below.

Revellers watch the sunrise as they celebrate the pagan festival of Summer Solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, southern England on June 21, 2017.
Photo: CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/AFP/Getty Images.

Revellers watch the sunrise as they celebrate the pagan festival of Summer Solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, southern England on June 21, 2017.
Photo: CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/AFP/Getty Images.

Revellers practice yoga as the sun rises and they celebrate the pagan festival of Summer Solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, southern England on June 21, 2017. Photo: CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/AFP/Getty Images