Our weekly news roundup is an extension of Paint Drippings, which drops first in 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

– Want a quick-hit rundown of what sold in Miami last week? Listen to this week’s Art Market Minute for everything you need to know about the market this week in under 3 minutes. (Artnet News)

– Speaking of Miami, there were fewer A-list celebrities on the ground than in years past but there were still plenty of great parties to be had. Wet Paint looks at how the city’s scene is changing. Meanwhile, Artnet’s Art Detective Katya Kazakina investigates how dealers reset their expectations for the fair week. (Wet Paint)

– Photofairs canceled its Hong Kong debut, citing “logistical constraints.” The event was scheduled to take place during the city’s art week in March. The fair group canceled its New York edition earlier this year. (Artnet News)

Gustav Klimt and Ernst Klimt, Hanswurst Delivering an Impromptu Performance in Rothenburg. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

– At the Scope Art Show in Miami Beach, a portrait of President-elect Donald Trump titled HUGE (2019) by the artist Shyglo was removed from L Kotler Fine Art‘s booth at the request of fair organizers. Kotler claimed the work was censored while the fair stated that the removal was due to the artwork not being part of the gallery’s original proposal. The gallery is now auctioning the piece online; originally priced at $8,500, bids have surpassed $20,000. (Artnet News)

Auction Houses

– Christie’s Old Masters evening sale in London on December 3 brought in £13.9 million ($17.7 million), a 36 percent drop from the equivalent sale last year. A two-sided Anthony Van Dyck work from about 1621, with Andalusian Horse and A Wooded Landscape, was the top lot of the night, selling for £3.4 million ($4.3 million). (Artnet News)

– At Sotheby’s London, an early Botticelli led the auction house’s Old Masters sale on December 4, but a Klimt-brothers collab turned heads. The sale brought in £24.1 million ($30.5 million), a 25 percent increase on last year’s sale. (Artnet News)

Galleries
– Karma now represents the estate of Milton Avery, and Marianne Boesky Gallery has added Gabriel Chaile to its roster. (Press releases)

– Luke Scholes, a curator and scholar of First Nations art, has joined D’Lan Contemporary as director. (Press release)

Visitors view the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, at the British Museum in London on January 9, 2023. Photo by Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images.

Museums and Institutions

– The British Museum confirmed that “ongoing and constructive” discussions are underway with Greece that would allow for the return of the Parthenon Marbles, although a deal is still a long way off. (Artnet News)

– The U.S. Senate passed a bill on Tuesday by unanimous consent that would establish a commission to study transferring the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia to the Smithsonian Institution. (Jewish News Syndicate)

– Candida Gertler stepped down from Outset Contemporary Art Fund; the British philanthropist has been the subject of multiple protests this year over her ties to Israel. (Artnet News)

Untitled watercolor by Marianne von Werefkin. Image courtesy Germann Auctions.

Tech and Legal

– Zurich’s Germann Auction House made history by selling a painting authenticated solely by A.I. Listen to this week’s episode of The Art Angle for an in-depth discussion about how machine vision is changing art authentication. (Artnet News)

– New legislation requires U.K. art dealers and auction houses to report suspected breaches of financial sanctions. The regulations previously applied only to the financial sector; critics say that the new measures add to the already burdensome bureaucracy facing the art trade after Brexit. (Artnet News)

– After a four-year investigation, Italian authorities have busted what they say was an international antiquities trafficking network that used a fake auction house in Antwerp to sell illegally excavated cultural artifacts. (Artnet News)

Koyo Kouoh. Photo: Mirjam Kluka

People

– Koyo Kouoh, executive director and chief curator of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, South Africa, has been named the curator of the 61st Venice Biennale, which will take place in 2026. She is the first African woman to helm the exhibition. (Artnet News)

– Sculptor Jasleen Kaur won the 2024 Turner Prize at Tate Britain. (Artnet News)

– Katya Kazakina’s lead story for Artnet’s 2023 Mid-Year Intelligence Report, “Bargain City?,” was named the best business report in the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards. (Press release)