From Hunter Biden’s Secret Art Deals to Misconduct at Arts Nonprofits: The Best & Worst of the Art World This Week

Catch up on this week's news, fast.

Hunter Biden at work. Photo courtesy of the artist.

BEST?

Introducing Fewocious – On this week’s Art Angle podcast, the 18-year-old NFT star reveals how art saved his life, and how an auction of his work crashed the Christie’s website.

Hunter Biden’s White House Pact – The first son’s art dealer agreed to keep sales figures ultra private so as not to encourage deals with ethically dubious parties.

Leonardo’s Lineage – Researchers analyzing Leonardo da Vinci’s family tree have found 14 living relatives, including an artist.

Picking Up the Pace – The mega-gallery has created a dedicated NFT platform to sell digital wares, and will now accept cryptocurrency as payment.

The North Face Removes Lookalike Logo – The outdoor apparel company will phase out a logo that street artist Futura said was a rip-off of his work.

Samsung Collection Finds a Home – In a surprising turn of events, the multibillion-dollar collection of the late Samsung chairman will now get a massive new museum in Seoul.

Beeple’s New Business – The digital-art wunderkind has launched a new platform with a British tennis star to sell “iconic moments” from sports and entertainment history as NFTs.

Wearing a Masterpiece – An artist has created a limited-edition dress based on one of the figure’s outfits in Botticelli’s Birth of Venus.

Rethinking Neanderthals – It turns out that the archaic human species were capable of creating symbolic art, researchers found in a new study.

Brooklyn Museum Makes Good – Without any legal pressure or public shaming, the museum voluntarily returned 1,300 pre-Columbian artifacts to Costa Rica.

 

WORST?

Canada Day Protesters Topple Statues – Protesters toppled statues of colonizing Queens Victoria and Elizabeth, who they say contributed to crimes against Indigenous people.

Nonprofit Misconduct – Scores of young employees are leaving small nonprofits after allegations of mismanagement go unaddressed.

Glitzy Grifter Pleads Guilty – Socialite art dealer Angela Gulbenkian pleaded guilty to scamming clients who never got the art she promised to deliver.

Notre Dame Neighbors Sue – Residents are suing the city of Paris for downplaying the lead pollution that resulted from the massive fire at the cathedral.

Sleepover at Versailles – The luxurious palace is now operating as a hotel, where guests can stay for the princely fee of $2,000 a night.


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