BEST?
The Motherwell of FBI Cases – This week the FBI announced it had recovered a long-lost painting by artist Robert Motherwell. The untitled crimson canvas was stolen in 1970 when Motherwell changed storage facilities and had remained in the thief’s home for decades.
Elizabeth Wicks restores Violante Siries’ Madonna. Photo: Francesco Cacchiani.
The Women Rewriting the Renaissance – A new movement to advance women artists is on a mission to recoup the stories—and the art—of many long-forgotten and rarely seen works by female Renaissance artists.
Pace’s Power Move – The veteran dealer Adam Sheffer will join Pace as the gallery’s vice president. Sheffer had previously been a partner at Cheim & Read gallery, which announced earlier this month that it would be shifting into private practice.
Paula Crown, The Architecture of Memory (2018). Photo courtesy of PAHC/studio.
Summer Museum Shows Around the World – Infuse your vacation with some culture, courtesy of our handy guide to the best international museum shows on tap.
National Gallery Gets a Gentileschi – London’s preeminent museum (finally) acquired a work by the pioneering Renaissance artist Artemisia Gentileschi (although the institution still has a major gender discrepancy within its holdings).
Bi-Coastal Curators – Curators Margot Norton of the New Museum in New York, and Jamillah James of the ICA LA, are coming together to helm the fifth New Museum Triennial, which will open in 2021.
Wes Anderson and Juman Malouf. Courtesy of Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna.
Meet Wes Anderson, Curator – The beloved twee filmmaker and his partner, the costume designer Juman Malouf, will organize a show based on the extensive holdings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
WORST?
Flag Project Gets Flagged – Artist Josephine Meckseper’s flag art was removed from the campus of the University of Kansas this week following outrage from local politicians. The work was the latest iteration of Creative Time’s “Pledges of Allegiance,” in which contemporary artists were commissioned to interpret Old Glory.
Trump Baby. Image via Twitter.
Hot Air Propels “Trump Baby” – A six-meter-high blimp featuring a diaper-clad caricature of President Trump will soar above London, timed to coincide with his visit to Britain, which has sparked mass protests across the UK.
Pregnancy Discrimination at MoMA? – A curator filed suit against MoMA PS1, claiming that her job offer was rescinded when the administration realized she had a new baby.
The water room/ball pit inside Dream Machine. Photo by Ben Davis.
An Art Critic Walks Into a Ball Pit – artnet News’s intrepid critic Ben Davis experienced the (borderline nightmarish) made-for-Instagram experience “Dream Machine.”
A Fire Grazes Art Galleries – A small electrical fire broke out at Paula Cooper Gallery in Chelsea this week, and other nearby galleries were evacuated as a precaution.
Some awesome oats. Image courtesy of Moma: Making Oats More Awesome.
@MOMA Isn’t What You Think It Is – The Museum of Modern Art or “Making Oats More Awesome”? Here are eight major museums that don’t have the Twitter handle you’d expect.
A Royal(ty) Dis – Artists lost big this week, as a US court ruled they were not entitled to collect royalties for works resold at auction. The decision ended a seven-year judicial battle.