From Christie’s $750 Million Sale to Christopher Walken Destroying a Banksy: The Best and Worst of the Art World This Week

Catch up on this week's news, fast.

Christopher Walken on the BBC limited series The Outlaws. Courtesy of the BBC.

BEST?

Christie’s Makes an Impression – The auction house raked in more than $750 million, led by a pricey Caillebotte bought by the Getty and three works by Van Gogh.

Meet the OG Cryptopunk Collectors – On this week’s Art Angle podcast, three of the earliest NFT collectors discuss how they entered the crypto-art universe.

Sean Kelly Goes Bicoastal – The New York gallerist opened new digs in Los Angeles this week, with a solo show by Idris Khan.

IRL Auctions Return, With a Changing Tide in Tastes – Contemporary artists set records, and Beeple cleaned up with his debut physical sculpture, with most of the lots guaranteed beforehand.

Ebony Haynes to Helm New NADA Platform – The curator and art dealer is organizing a new section for emerging galleries at the upcoming Miami fair.

Long-Lost Drawings Returned to Poland – The Monuments Men helped return artworks looted from the National Museum in Warsaw decades after they came to the US following World War II.

Gerhard Richter Sends 100 Works to Berlin – The German artist’s large-scale works will be on public display thanks to a major long-term loan agreement.

What Is ‘Difficult Art Questions?’ – Try your luck at these art criticism-themed Jeopardy! questions, which are harder than you might think.

M+ Opens At Long Last, But Already Faces Scrutiny – The institution’s inaugural exhibition is seen as a litmus test for how much creative freedom remains in Hong Kong.

Meet the Real Artists in This Fictional Film – There was a team of real-life artists who created the massive canvases for Wes Anderson’s new art-themed flickThe French Dispatch.

Anonymous Was a Woman Gives Out $350,000 in Grants – The organization awarded prizes to its largest-ever cohort of female artists over 40, thanks to an anonymous donation.

WORST?

Christopher Walken Destroys a Banksy – The actor painted over a real work by the street artist during filming for a TV show.

Christie’s Contested Auction Fizzles – An international outcry didn’t stop Christie’s sale of Pre-Columbian and Taíno artifacts, but many of the objects didn’t find buyers.

Artists Make Urgent Work About Climate Crisis – During the ongoing COP26 summit in Glasgow, artists are showing the tragic effects of the climate emergency as a call for action.

Gallery Leader Indicted – Eugene Lemay, the head of Jersey City-based Mana Contemporary, was indicted for dodging $7.8 million in taxes.

NFTs Skew Predominantly Male – A new report has found that only 16 percent of NFT sales over 21 months are for works by female artists, despite the NFT landscape being touted as more inclusive.