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 Tuesday, May 29.
NEED-TO-READ
Decades-Long Hunt for a Looted Sculpture Ends in a Hotel Yard – The Jewish collector and publishing mogul Rudolf Mosse purchased German sculptor Walter Schott’s Three Dancing Maidens just before World War II broke out in Germany. Along with most of his collection, the fountain was looted and then lost for decades. Now an investigation by the Mosse Art Research Initiative has tracked the prized sculpture down, finding it tucked away in a hotel garden outside of Berlin. (Smithsonian Magazine)
DA Tells Gallery to Return Antiquity – A 5th century BC relief that was confiscated by the district attorney’s office at Rupert Wace’s TEFAF New York stand last autumn remains at the center of a legal dispute. The DA has filed a motion with New York State Supreme Court asking for the ancient limestone relief’s return to Iran, where it was stolen from Persepolis in 1935. Wace maintains that he did proper due diligence but did not know the work was stolen. (TAN)
What Kylie Jenner Collects – The 20-year-old member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan has been offering her 109 million Instagram followers a tour of her budding art collection. Her holdings include romantic neons by Tracey Emin (“The Kiss Was Beautiful,” reads one), colorful abstract prints by Ellsworth Kelly, and a few foil butterfly-and-heart prints by Damien Hirst—a safe, sentimental, and décor-forward starter assortment, which suggests she could benefit from a cool young art advisor who could point her to artists of the younger generation. (Vogue)
Historian Proposes Museum “Supermarket Sweep” – The historian David Olusoga has a plan to help the UK improve international relations in a post-Brexit world. British museums, he says, should return objects taken from former colonies. A friend of his proposed a particularly dramatic solution: “He said we should have a special version of Supermarket Sweep where every country is given a huge shopping trolley and two minutes in the British Museum,” Olugosa says. (Guardian)
ART MARKET
Women Still Far Lag Behind at Auction – Just 13 of the top-performing 100 artists at auction in 2017 were women, according to a new report from the BBC. Yayoi Kusama, Louise Bourgeois, Joan Mitchell, and Agnes Martin made the top five in that order, with Kusama taking top spot for her overall sales of $65.6 million. (BBC)
A Lost Masterpiece Goes to Auction – The Bust of Peace by Antonio Canova will hit the auction block at Sotheby’s London on July 4. Canova was one of England’s highly revered artists and this marble bust, which has not been seen by the public in over 200 years, is also one of his few autographed works. Sotheby’s has yet to share an estimated value. (Art Market Monitor)
How Property Developers Are Using Art to Sell – Luxury residential developers are getting wise to the public-relations value of art and the art market. Although many have installed high-wattage art in public spaces for years, some are now going a step further, presenting full-on exhibitions in new properties to promote their building to wealthy buyers. (Architectural Digest)
UK Auctioneers’ Staggering Gender Pay Gap – A government-mandated data collection from UK companies with more than 250 employees has revealed the extent of the gender pay and representational gap in auction houses. The largest divide is at Bonhams, where women earn 37 percent less than men. As a woman who left the business in the 1980s says, “This is the gift that keeps on giving…. When we women get our pension and Social Security checks, we will once again be receiving less than our male counterparts.” (The Art Newspaper)
COMINGS & GOINGS
New Prize for Emerging New Media Artists – The Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation and the Big House Contemporary Art Center have joined forces to launch the NOVA Prize. The inaugural winner will earn $16,000 and stage a traveling show debuting at Austria’s Prix Ars Electronica Festival. Applications are open through July 30; the winner will be revealed August 30. (Artforum)
Golden Lion Goes to Swiss Pavilion – The top prize for the best national pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale went to Switzerland’s presentation of Alessandro Bosshard, Li Tavor, Matthew van der Ploeg, and Ani Vihervaara. The UK also got a special mention from the jury, which was led by the Argentinian architect Sofia von Ellrichshausen. (Press release)
New Cast of Deputy Directors for Cleveland Museum of Art – The museum’s chief philanthropy officer John Easley, chief curator Heather Lemonedes, and head of public and academic engagement Cyra Levenson were all promoted to deputy directors on March 19. They will help implement the museum’s ten-year strategic plan, which includes acquiring $1 billion worth of art as well as growing the museum’s attendance and endowment. (Artforum)
FOR ART’S SAKE
Ruins of Roman Bath Discovered in Egypt – Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a large brick building that was probably a Greco-Roman era bath. The site in San El-Hagar contains pottery vessels, terracotta statues, bronze tools, and a gold coin depicting 3rd century King Ptolemy III. (Mail Online)
Want Your Employees to Work Hard? Hang Art – Studies show that employees who have control over the design of their workspaces are happier, healthier, and more productive. The presence of art helps boost morale, too. It’s proven to help reduce stress, increase creativity, and encourage employees to express their opinions. (Entrepreneur)
Man Accused of Smuggling 2,000-Pound Mosaic – Is it possible to sneak a one-ton artwork over the border? One Los Angeles County man managed to do it. Authorities are accusing Mohamad Yassin Alcharihi of falsifying documents to avoid paying the proper duties when he imported the mosaic, which depicts Hercules and dates from the 3rd or 4th centuries. (Patch)
Artists Sound the Alarm on Climate Change – A growing number of artists are collaborating with scientists to make art that highlights the pressing issue of global warming. Alexis Rockman’s Great Lakes Cycle series is currently touring the US, while the exhibition “Indicators: Artists on Climate Change” is on view at the Storm King Art Center in New York. Meanwhile, Mel Chin’s augmented reality flood will return to New York City in July. (TAN)