Circle of Life: Remembering Sam Gilliam (obituaries 1) 

For those who are deeply in love with color’s spirituality and materiality, the recent passing of Sam Gilliam was a proud loss. Known for his “Drape” paintings, inspired by the most humble and mundane act of hanging laundry, Gilliam created a sculptural dimensionality for viewers to experience color. However, his influence stemmed beyond mere “isms.” His activism in representing African American Artists, over six decades of residency in Washington D.C.,  and engagements in the civil rights movement birthed works such as April 4. Now, in honor of Gilliam’s creative legacy and timeless contributions to the arts, the Hirshhorn Museum in D.C. is presenting Gilliam’s newer body of works titled “Sam Gilliam: Full Circle” from May 25 to September 11.

Road to Roma

Over 200 artifacts recovered during seizures led by Manhattan’s District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit have returned home to Rome. They will be a part of the city’s Museum of Rescued Art’s first exhibition. The works will be on display through October 15, and will eventually make their way to their original locations, before being stolen or looted. The collection includes Etrsucan, Greek and Roman works, some dating back as far as the eighth century, B.C.E. 

Rounding Third Base in the Little League Market

Bonhams Fine Art purchased its fourth auction house in six months–adding to its current laundry list of auction houses, including Bruun Rasmussen, Skinner, and Bukowskis. The company, determined to consolidate the lower-end art market, has set its sights on the sub-$1 million arena of art sales. In a statement by Bonhams CEO, Bruno Vinciguerra expressed that the Paris-based auction house has no intention of slowing down its buying frenzy, with sights set on the market in Asia. 

The Eyes of the Century: Looking Back to Margaret Keane’s Life and Work (obituraries 2) 

Known for her big-eyed figures with heavy midcentury sentiments and pop style, the painter Margaret Keane passed away in her Napa Valley home at age 94. Besides her paintings' iconic, big, sad eyes, Margaret was also known for her marriage life and legal battle with her ex-husband, art dealer Walter Keane. Walter met Margaret in 1946, and their marriage ended in 1965. Their marriage took a bitter turn because Walter was aggressively taking credit for Margaret’s works and controlling her inventory, painting environment, agency, and autonomy. In 1970, after their divorce, Margaret finally confronted Walter and challenged him for painting contest publicly and in court. A lawsuit in the federal court between the two turned in favor of Margaret. The Judge awarded her with $4 million damages, while Walter declared bankruptcy. Now, Margaret’s legacy to the West Coast and the art world are memorialized by her Big Eye art and Tim Burton’s 2014 movie “Citizen Keane: The Big Lies Behind the Big Eyes.”

Art for Abortion

The Supreme Court decision on June 24, overturning Roe v. Wade, turned many people’s lives upside down. Artists have been present and active on the frontline of the fight for abortion rights. The famous Barbara Kruger’s 1989 silkscreen print on vinyl, “Untitled (Your Body Is A Battleground),” advocated for every woman’s agency, autonomy, and freedom to choose. International advocates such as Portuguese artist Paula Rego, relating to her own abortion experience and responding to the legalize abortion movement in Portugal, created a body of striking abortion pastels such as “Untitled No.1” in 1998. Other artists such as Marilyn Minter, Jenny Holzer, Guerrilla Girls, and more use their works to dissent artistically.

Looted Ukrainian Heritage

While investigating potential money laundering, Ukrainian authorities released in a statement that they discovered a trove of ancient Scythian weapons they believed were looted from museums in occupied Crimea. The horde of artifacts includes Scythian swords, knives, helmets from the Hellenistic era, dishes of Trypillia culture, thousands of ancient coins, and an ancient book called the “Sarcophagi of Gaul.” In all, over 2,000 looted artifacts were discovered and transferred to Ukraine’s National History Museum for safekeeping. The news comes on the heels of an announcement from ICOM, who is preparing an Emergency Red List of Cultural Objects at Risk for Ukraine following the invasion. 

A Moment of Silence (obituaries 3)

The art world recently lost one of its favorite pop art artists. Claes Oldenburg, the maker of colossal, everyday-object sculptures, passed at age 93, according to Pace Gallery in New York. A monolith in the public art space, Oldenburg was known famously for a variety of works, from a giant rubber stamp bearing the word "FREE" in Cleveland to Los Angeles' "Binoculars Building" to Philadelphia's giant clothespin. The art world will surely miss his contribution. 

The Gall of the Comité Marc Chagall

Twenty-seven years after Sotheby’s sold Stephanie Clegg an “authentic” Chagall painting–and fourteen years after the auction house reappraised the work for $10,000 more than its 1994 value–the contemporary art auction house recommended Clegg submit the work to a panel of Chagall experts for attribution. When Clegg decided to sell the work, it was shipped to the Comité Marc Chagall on the recommendation of Sotheby’s. Now, the committee has requested “judicial seizure” of the work so it may be destroyed as a fake. Clegg, in danger of never seeing her property again is pursuing legal recourse against the auction house. Marketed as an authentic Chagall work in Sotheby’s 1994 catalog, how can the painting now lack the “real presence” of a true Chagall? Sotheby’s warrants its attribution of the artworks it sells for five years. Despite being the original seller, subsequent appraiser, and recent advisor on the sale of the work, Sotheby’s disclaims all liability.

“The Cheech”

A new center for Chicano art has opened in Riverside, California on Saturday. The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum (“The Cheech”)  now houses the 700-object strong collection of Cheech Marin, a longtime patron of Chicano art. Well-known for his 1980’s role in the comedy duo Cheech & Chong, Marin now sets his sights on elevating the voices of Chicano artists in southern California. The museum, housed in the former Riverside public library, offers visitors a Chicano-devoted depiction of life in the southern United States. 

Pope of Trash; Bishop of Obscenity

Next summer, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will feature an exhibition on the oeuvre of director and filmmaker John Waters. The 76 year-old artist is best known for his Tony-award winning comedy-turned-broadway-play Hairspray. Beyond that 1988 story, Waters is revered for his films that became known for their debaucherous and irreverent characteristics including “Pink Flamingos” with drag queen Divine, “Polyester” with Tab Hunter, and “Cry-Baby” with Johnny Depp. Curators express concern that the exhibit, entitled “Pope of Trash,” may not be suitable for the family-inclusive audiences that the Academy Museum typically attracts. However, Waters has never been one to shy away from the grotesque because of public pressure; why should his exhibit be any different?

The Millenial Botticelli?

Instagram artist turned Christie's success story Ana Weyant has made a name for herself in the contemporary art world. The auctioned work, “Summertime,” depicts a young woman portrayed with “old-master hues” but with a twinge of modern influence. Initially sold for $12,000 in 2020, the painting was resold at Christie’s this year for $1.5 million. Interest in Weyant’s work has risen sharply in recent months. In fact, three major auction houses in New York included one of Weyant’s paintings in their evening sales this past month. The concern with an artist shining so bright so soon is the duration of that burn. That is a question best left up to time. 

OMA OMG

The F.B.I. raided the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA) on June 24th following an affidavit averring conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with disputed origins of a collection on display at the museum. Allegedly recovered in 2012 from a storage unit in Los Angeles, California, the 25-work collection comprised OMA’s “Heroes & Monsters: Jean-Michel Basquiat” exhibit. One of the works on display, painted on a section of a cardboard box, bore a typeface not employed by “FedEx” until 1994, 6 years after Basquiat’s death. The affidavit further cited questionable language in email exchanges between a museum curator and an expert involved in the works’ authentication. The 25 works were scheduled to be displayed in Italy following their exhibit at OMA. 

Bye, Bye Rockwell

Four Norman Rockell panels which have been on display at the White House since 1978 were take down after the family that owns the work requested them to be returned. It is not yet clear why the owners are asking for these pieces back but the space once showing the Rockwell panels now showcases “jumbo photographs of Biden.” Another Rockwell, donated by Steven Spielberg in 1994, remains in the White House. 

Ukraine's Cultural Heritage on the Red list

ICOM is cooperating with its National Committee in Ukraine by creating the Emergency Red List of Cultural Objects at Risks for Ukraine to help fight illicit traffic caused by the ongoing Russian invasion. The Emergency Red List consists of the most vulnerable and cultural property at threat of theft and being trafficked. The List helps distinguish objects protected by law and that are highly sought by the international art market, an example at risk are Scythian materials. The list has been made in collaboration with ICOM Ukraine and countries surrounding Ukraine, which includes art historians and archaeologists. The crucial point of the Red List is international cooperation which is made upon agreements of conventions such as UNESCO 1970 Convention as a bilateral agreement between states to fight against illicit trade.

This is Bananas!

“America’s Stonehenge” Destroyed

A bombing on Wednesday morning, July 6, in “the Granite Capital of the World” raises questions about a mysterious granite public art installation. The installation, dubbed the “Georgia Guidestones,” was erected in 1980 out of almost 240,000 pounds of granite. The walls of the monument featured inscriptions in eight languages including Sanskrit, Babylonian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Russian, Hebrew, Greek, Arabic, Hindi, and Swahili, promoting the continuation of humanity. Georgian locals have questioned the monument's true purpose since its early days, and some have even called for its destruction. After the bombing, the government demolished the remains due to safety concerns. 
 

Erasure of Black Artists at the Guggenheim: Part 2

The Guggenheim Bilbao Museum in Spain currently is exhibiting the BASQUE ARTIST PROGRAM, 2015–19. Featuring a collection of works by artists selected for the Guggenheim’s Basque Artist Program that aims to provide participants with unique learning experiences while fostering cultural exchanges, the featured contemporary artists explore themes of identity, history, colonialism, politics, and more. One such artist includes Gala Knörr, an artist raised in Spain and England, who attempts to redefine the archetype of the American cowboy through perspectives of “colonialism and in a mixture of races, cultures, and provenances.” Knörr notes that her work is inspired by the equestrian imagery of Afro-American Brianna Noble during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, but she fails to acknowledge and credit that her image is an explicit copy of a photograph by artist DayDay, a queer, Black mutli-disciplinary artist based in New York. The Guggenheim Museum in New York faced a similar scandal in 2020 when former Chief Curator Nancy Spector not only fostered a toxic and racist work environment, but also failed to credit and acknowledge the work of the first Black curator, Chaédria LaBouvier, in the museum’s Basquiat exhibit Defacement. In Bilbao, the Guggenheim conglomerate continues to promote and profit off of the work of Black artists while failing to acknowledge Black artists and their unique stories in the predominantly white space that is a museum.
 

Melting a Past to Meld a Future

In 2017, Charlottesville, VA experienced a violent hate-crime when a car drove into a protest against a Unite the Right rally. Immediately, calls to remove Confederate statues that spur racist and violent rhetoric emerged. One of the statues that was ultimately removed was that of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Market Street Park in Charlottesville. Upon the removal of the statue, the city voted to donate it to the Jefferson School, a Black-led museum. The museum ultimately wants to melt down the statue and transform it into new pieces of public artwork. However, their plans have been halted in a four-year legal battle led by Trevilian Station Battlefield Foundation and the Ratcliffe Foundation, citing that the removal and melting of the statue is defecatory to the “ancestral homeland” of the Confederacy. As this legal endeavor has persisted for the past five years, the statue was removed in 2021, but its future as a public work of art remains uncertain.

Stuck on Climate Change

In a campaign targeting major museums and galleries in the UK, members of the Just Stop Oil group have glued themselves to various paintings in order to protest new oil and gas extraction by the government and the complicity of art institutions in this climate issue. Activists first made headlines June 30, when they glued themselves to Horatio McCulloch’s 19th-century landscape My Heart’s In the Highlands at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. Since then, the group has continued to protest by gluing themselves to paintings in locations such as the National Gallery in London, the Courtauld Gallery, and the Manchester Art Gallery. The paintings affected appear to have suffered little to no damage and have since been rehung.
 

Restitutions Aplenty

The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, the governmental body that oversees numerous museums and cultural organizations in Berlin, plows forward with  a wave of new restitution agreements that plan to return a number of objects to Cameroon, Namibia, and possibly Tanzania from German museum collections. The historic announcement is just one of many ways the German government has recently proven its dedication to confront its colonial past. In addition, on July 1, the German and Nigerian governments signed a key restitution agreement that officially transferred ownership of over 1,1000 objects to Nigeria; the artifacts to be returned belong to the German museums with the biggest collections of Benin bronzes. As part of the agreement, some of the disputed objects will stay in Germany as a special loan, and Germany has also agreed to contribute to the construction of the museum in Benin City where the objects will be housed. 

Journey Through the Past

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has been collaborating with the Ukrainian  State Archives for the past 25 years to copy more than 10 million pages of its Holocaust-related records. After the fall of the Soviet Union they started collaborating. Now, for the first time ever they have been made available to scholars, historians, family researchers and the public: ushmm.org/ukrainearchive. Their main objective is: “We want to facilitate access and ensure these records remain available even if the originals are destroyed.” Ukraine was one of Europe’s biggest pre-war Jewish population, which was critical events in Holocaust history. The archive includes various historical materials before, during and after the holocaust. For example activities of Jewish political, cultural educational and philanthropic organisations. The main objective of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is to make sure that Holocaust memory is not forgotten but remembering, understanding and relevance.   

The Penitent Magdalene

A 1707 painting by Dutch artist Adriaen Van Der Werff was looted during World War II. The descendants of Lionel Hauser, the rightful owner of the painting, learned about the location of the painting in 2018 when it showed up at auction at Christie’s. According to French law, Christie’s and other auction houses will be notified of a work’s looted status when researching provenance, but they are not under any force to make the rightful owner of the looted art aware of who the seller is. After a failed attempt at mediation, the Hauser heirs have decided to pursue a restitution claim. A hearing commenced on June 29, 2022 in Paris will decide the fate of The Penitent Magdalene. 
 

Afghanistan Navigates a Turbulent Cultural Heritage

In early June 2022, Afghanistan experienced a deadly and devastating earthquake, claiming more than 1000 individuals, destroying homes, schools, and communities. Among the endangered communities were sites of archaeology and cultural heritage. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in a rural area near Khost and Paktika, two very valuable historical sites, but whose territories are under control of the Taliban, making it difficult  for the Afghan government to gain access to assess the artefacts and state of these sites. Despite being under control of the Taliban, these sites are under very low-security and monitoring, so preservation experts are not yet aware of the full extent of damage, looting, and conditions of the sites. As travel gradually becomes more secure and accessible Afghanistan aims to begin safeguarding the nation’s cultural heritage and sites enabling appreciation of the country’s rich cultural offerings.
 

Poland Reunites with Looted Culture

Throughout World War II, Poland lost over half a million cultural artefacts, notably important works of art. Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Piotr Gliński details the country’s efforts to reunite these lost artefacts to their home, and in the past six years, more than 600 artefacts have returned to their home country. At the Kordega Gallery in Warsaw, the exhibit “Lost/Recovered: Wrocław Collections” showcases art belonging to museums from all over Poland. Anchoring the exhibition are The Augustus Bridge in Dresden by German impressionist painter Gotthard Kuehl and The March Moor by German landscape artist Karl Kayser-Eichberg. Poland continues their efforts to recover looted cultural artefacts from the World War II era and reunite these fragments of Polish heritage to their home.

Theft at TEFAF

TEFAF visitors and workers experienced quite the scare on Tuesday, June 28, when armed robbers were seen running through the art fair and smashing their way through one of the jewelry displays. Thankfully, no one was injured during the incident. In a news release, Dutch police said that four men were involved, two of which have since been arrested. While details of the stolen items have remained under wraps, it is speculated that a necklace valued at €27 million was amongst the items taken by the thieves. 

A Must See: Newly-Minted Impressionist NFT

In collaboration with LaCollection.io, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston will debut a collection of 19th-Century Impressioinist Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). LaCollection.io is the world’s leading NFT platform collaborating with museums to digitize their collections and share celebrated works of art to the global community and the MFA in Boston is their first partnership with an American Museum. The MFA has an expansive collection of master Impressionist works but due to their fragility, they are rarely exhibited. By minting these works into NFTs, the MFA can share their collection of some of the greatest works of art from the 19th Century. Sales to purchase an Impressionist NFT go live on July 14th and the proceeds will contribute to the MFA’s efforts to conserve and restore two works by Degas. The museum proclaimed their excitement about the emerging possibilities of NFTs to both bring fragile masterpieces into the 21st century while simultaneously capitalizing on the profits of NFTs to conserve the original works of art so that they may be appreciated by future generations of art connoisseurs. 

Harriet Tubman: A Persistent Effort to Liberation 

Sculptor Wesley Wofford’s work Harriet Tubman: The Journey to Freedom found a permanent home in the City of Philadelphia. Originally developed as a traveling work of art, Wofford created a  9-foot bronze sculpture of Tubman leading a young child on the Underground Railroad in efforts to “commemorate the resilience and contributions of strong women throughout history.” The decision regarding its permanent home has sparked outrage amongst the city’s Black community, disappointed and hurt that the artist selected for the commission and to represent such an important Black figure, was a white artist. The artist himself notes that he is commemorating Tubman for her contributions as a strong woman but does not explicitly express her prowess as a Black woman.

Swords and Shields

UNESCO shows the new numbers of cultural sites in Ukraine have been attacked partially or completely destroyed since February 2022 by Russia mount to 152. Cultural heritage has been mostly attacked have been historical buildings. The regions that have been damaged are: Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kyiv. UNESCO is giving support to cultural experts in the field on how to protect buildings, and checking track of the inventory, finding shelters to secure objects that can be transported and fire-fighting measures put into place. The blue shield emblem is being used to mark property protected under the 1954 Gauge Convention, have been put in place by Ukrainian authorities with the assistance of UNESCO. UNESCO set up a fund to help Ukraine preserve their cultural property and will be send a mission of heritage experts to the country.