“Indications are everywhere that this is a turning point for black artists. Collectors and museums are taking note, and prices are up. Every week brings news of black scholars being appointed to curatorial and academic positions in art. … [And] the reasons are as varied as the art itself.” – San Francisco Chronicle
Category: visual
What Are The Best Wall Colors For Displaying Art? Nine Curators Weigh In
No, the answer isn’t merely “white” — for one thing, there are many whites to chose from (just go to Home Depot and check the paint chips) — and for some purposes, various shades of blue, green, or yellow work even better. – Hyperallergic
Man Convicted Of Trying To Sell Fake Francis Bacon On EBay
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said he had “deliberately aimed to mislead the public into believing he was selling a famed 1952 original” – which was stolen in 1988. – BBC
Two Mexican Artists Deported From Cuba, Accused Of Trying To “Subvert” Havana Biennial
On the day of the opening of their exhibition Impulso in old Havana, the artists Jesus Benitez and his colleague, who has asked not to disclose her name in press in fear of further repercussions, were detained and interrogated by Cuban police for six hours. The artists were then deported back to Mexico from the Havana airport. – Hyperallergic
Museum Staffers Across U.S. Are Publicly Revealing Their (Low) Salaries
“Last Friday, museum workers began contributing to a Google Spreadsheet documenting their place of employment, salary rates, and demographic details like race and gender. … Those who contributed to the spreadsheet hope that transparency will lead to some sort of remuneration reform that may also contribute to further diversifying the field.” – Hyperallergic
Controversial Board President Of Fine Arts Museums Of San Francisco Steps Down
Philanthropist Dede Wilsey, an heir to the Dow chemical fortune and widow of a Bay Area real estate magnate, is departing after 21 years. “Her generosity to the Fine Arts Museums, among many gifts across the region, is legendary. … Yet for years she was said to run the board like a private club,” and her response to reports of her impending departure in 2016 was defiant. – San Francisco Chronicle
Auction Of Barnes Collection Founder’s Items Raises New Questions
In March this year, the Pook & Pook auction house in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, offered 156 lots of around 430 objects that had belonged to Barnes and his wife Laura. The lots included furniture, clocks, textiles and porcelain objects, and hammered at $98,000 in total. – The Art Newspaper
Art Institute Of Chicago Is Auctioning Off More Than 300 Pieces Of Chinese Artwork
Museum management said in a statement that “this auction allows us to deaccession a number of works in areas where we have significant breadth and depth and the proceeds will return to the Asian Art department’s acquisition fund.” – Chicago Tribune
Iraq Wants To Recover Thousands Of Antiquities From The U.S.
“The Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities, Abdul Amir Al-Hamdani, … intends to visit Washington ‘to recover 5,500 artefacts from the Hobby Lobby company and 10,000 clay figurines from Cornell University as well as artefacts from the University of Pennsylvania’.” – Middle East Monitor
The Opera That Won The Venice Biennale Is Running Out Of Money, With Number Of Performances Slashed
The creators of Sun and Sea (Marina) at the Lithuanian pavilion say they had never really expected more than 15 visitors at a time and certainly never expected to win the Golden Lion or draw crowds. So the funding plans they had weren’t adequate to what actually happened. They’ve cut down from daily performances (when the press and judges were in town) to once on Saturdays; they say that “[adding] a Wednesday performance is our maximum ambition.” – The New York Times