Paint Drippings is excerpted from The Back Room, our lively recap funneling only the week’s must-know art industry intel into a nimble read you’ll actually enjoy. Artnet News Pro members get exclusive access—subscribe now to receive this in your inbox every Friday. 

Art Fairs

– The 43rd edition of Arco Madrid saw slow but steady sales. But with an increasing number of affluent Latin American collectors making the city their home here thanks to an investor-visa scheme, could Madrid become the new Miami? (Artnet News)

– The only known painting to have been completed solely by the 17th century Dutch artist Gesina ter Borch was sold to the Rijksmuseum for €3 million ($3.3 million) at Tefaf Maastricht. It was acquired from Zebregs & Röell Fine Art and Antiques, thanks to help from the Women of the Rijksmuseum Fund and will now join a larger collection of 59 drawings and three albums of watercolor drawings by ter Borch that has been in the Rijksmuseum’s collection since 1886. (Artnet News)

– At Art Dubai, collectors were buying—albeit cautiously—as the city sees an unexpected economic boom and an influx of high-net-worth residents. (Artnet News)

– A Richard Serra work sold for $2 million at Frieze Los Angeles. See what else sold at this year’s edition of the fair in our handy price check guide. (Artnet News)

– London’s Treasure House Fair will returns to the historic Royal Hospital Chelsea for its second year. Taking place from June 26 through July 2, the fair will bring together 70 leading galleries, a 30 percent gain on last year. (Press release)

Auction Houses

– Roughly $407 million worth of art hit the auction block in last week’s London sales—a 9.5 percent dip from last year. See who consigned some of the priciest pieces. (Artnet News)

– Christie’s pulled ahead in London’s spring auction week, with its back-to-back 20th/21st Century and Art of the Surreal sales on March 7, which brought in £196.7 million ($251.8 million). The marathon evening of sales followed a rather tepid 20th Century and contemporary event at Phillips, which struggled to meet its low estimate bringing £13.7 million ($17.3 million), and a thoroughly average £100 million ($127 million) sale at Sotheby’s on March 6. (Artnet News, Artnet News)

Galleries

– Art and antique art dealers in France have launched a public lobbying campaign against a new European Union regulation intended to curb imports of illicit cultural objects, notably antiquities, which they say will have a “dramatic and damaging impact” on the art market while risking the wrongful criminalization of collectors. (Artnet News)

– William Kentridge is now represented by Hauser & Wirth, Aaron Gilbert has joined Gladstone Gallery, Make Room now represents Yeni Mao, Lyles & King has added Akea Brionne to its roster, and Alison Jacques now represents Alison Wilding. (Press releases)

William Kentridge. Photo: Norbert Miguletz, © William Kentridge. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024, courtesy the artist, Goodman Gallery and
Hauser & Wirth.

Institutions, Biennials, and Organizations 

– Michael Lee has been appointed the director of the Museum of Chinese in America in New York. He succeeds Nancy Yao, who left last year after the Smithsonian Institution named her founding director of its American Women’s History Museum. (New York Times)

– Berlin’s KW Institute for Contemporary Art has removed Axel Wallrabenstein from its board following an investigation into his social media posts about Israel. (Artnews)

– Yasmil Raymond will step down as rector of the storied Städelschuleand the Portikus gallery at the end of July 2024. She was tapped to be the school’s first female rector in 2020, and now plans to return to curatorial work. Before arriving in Frankfurt, she was a curator at the Museum of Modern Art. (Monopol)

– The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine has appointed Ruth Estévez as their new co-director. Estévez will join Skowhegan after working as the artistic director at the arts organization Amant in Brooklyn. (Press release)

Tech and Legal News

– Guy Wildenstein, the 78-year-old billionaire and patriarch of a French family of art dealers, has been found guilty of money laundering and tax fraud. A Paris appeals court sentenced him to four years in prison, although this will be served as two years of house arrest with the other half of the sentence suspended. Additionally, he has been ordered to pay a fine of $1.08 million on top of all taxes he owes the French government. Authorities have already seized about $3.7 million of his assets. Sevenother defendants were also convicted, including his nephew Alec Wildenstein Jr. and his former sister-in-law, Liouba Stoupakova. (Artnet News)

– The Frida Kahlo Corporation filed two lawsuits claiming that a group of online sellers have counterfeited its trademarks to sell Frida Kahlo products. The company has demanded all associated profits or $2 million for each trademark infringement. (Artnet News)