From Sotheby’s Selling the World Wide Web to a Court Fight Over Invisible Art: The Best and Worst of the Art World This Week

Catch up on this week's news, fast.

Tim Berners-Lee, physicist, computer scientist, inventor of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and founder of the World Wide Web, speaks at the Digital X conference in 2021. Photo by Oliver Berg/picture alliance via Getty Images.

BEST?

Sotheby’s Sells the Web – Information may want to be free, but an NFT associated with the source code for the World Wide Web just sold for $5.4 million.

Thomas Houseago Opens Up – The artist spoke to Artnet News’s Kate Brown about how mental illness, recovery, and trauma are helping to heal him and improve his art.

Statue of Princess Di Unveiled – On what would’ve been her 60th birthday, Princes William and Harry unveiled a new statue honoring their late mother.

Survey Says – The AAMD has released its annual salary survey on jobs in the museum world for a variety of different roles.

Greek Police Recover Stolen Paintings – Authorities recovered a Picasso and Mondrian painting stolen almost 10 years ago in a brazen heist.

Archaeologists Discover Massive Monument – A massive, 4,500-year-old burial ground was discovered in Syria, and experts believe it’s the oldest war monument in the world.

Restitution Rules Change – The Dutch government has made a major policy change to its restitution process, saying that it will return stolen artworks to Jewish institutions if heirs are unable to be found.

Sargent’s Debut Features Socially Engaged Art – Writer-curator Antwaun Sargent’s show at Gagosian features Black artists whose work engages and enhances local communities.

WORST?

Cuban Artist Arrested – Artist Hamlet Lavastida was detained by Cuban officials as part of a massive crackdown on creative expression.

Invisible Sculptors in Visible Battle – A Florida man is suing the Italian artist who sold an invisible sculpture for $18,000, saying he had the idea first.

Portuguese Collector Arrested for Fraud  Joe Berardo, who opened a museum dedicated to his collection, was arrested over alleged ties to a major fraud scheme.

New Yorkers Protest New Monument – Downtown residents of Manhattan are protesting Governor Cuomo’s plan to build a monument to essential workers, saying they weren’t consulted and do not want to lose precious green space.

Getty President to Depart – James Cuno will retire from the Getty Foundation after more than a decade helming the world’s wealthiest institution.

Flinstone House Wins Lawsuit – A judge ruled that a California woman’s quirky “Flinstone House” can keep its array of Bedrock-esque lawn sculptures.


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