Louise Bourgeois in her Brooklyn studio in 1992. Photo courtesy The New York Times.

Louise Bourgeois, one of the world’s most celebrated sculptors, passed away today at the age of 98. The news was announced by an Italian foundation preparing an exhibition of the artist’s work in Venice, and was confirmed by Wendy Williams, the managing director of the Louise Bourgeois Studio. The cause of death was heart attack, and occurred at the Beth Israel Medical Center. Bourgeois was a leader of feminist art, and is known most recently for her large-scale metal spider sculptures, as well as psychologically-charged roughly-textured depictions of sex organs.

Bourgeois’s 30-ft spider sculpture outside the Tate Modern in 2007. Photo courtesy the BBC.

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Eli Broad via Los Angeles Times

Billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad for a while unwilling to shed details on his plan of building a new museum, speaks about its possible location in Beverly Hills and progress [Los Angeles Times]
A portrait and history of art–hotels, some of which today offer accommodations with works by artists such as Damien Hirst or Cy Twombly [Guardian]

Neo Rauch via Incident

Neo Rauch resigns as professor of painting at Leipzig School and is having is first solo show in London as part of “Leipzig week” [Art Review]
“Art in Empty Spaces” a program funded by Arts Council England’s grants, believes art can play a role in economic regeneration, hence helps artists transform vacant spaces into artistic ones [Art Daily]
Highly curated Hong Kong Sotheby’s sales will include works from Contemporary Chinese art, modern Chinese ink paintings and others and are estimated at $100 million [Auction Publicity]

Miuccia Prada and Germano Celant- an Italian curator and the director of her art initiatives via Photobucket

On Miuccia Prada’s significant art patronage, with her Milan Gallery exhibiting works of internationally acclaimed artists and discovering the unknown ones [This is London via Art Market Monitor]
Elizabeth Andrews- a Tate employee has lost her legal battle after having claimed her health has been made poor by the temperature in the gallery [BBC]

Computer rendering of new plan by for Parrish Art Museum via New York Times

In deference to today’s economy, the Parrish Art Museum’s upcoming Southampton home is to be a cheaper architectural alternative [New York Times]
Whitney is the latest major museum affected by recession to lay off staff members [Crain’s New York]
An insight into loaning artwork for exhibitions: the bureaucracy, negotiation and trust that go into the process of enabling art travel [Guardian]
Los Angeles Times publishes an open letter from Martin Scorsese addressing LACMA and their decision to stop the weekend film program- a tradition that goes back 40 years [Los Angeles Times]

Pablo Picasso, Les Deux Femmes Nues via Auction Publicity

A detailed review of Christie’s bi-annual sale to be held in September, including works by Ernst, Picasso, Warhol among others [Auction Publicity]
12 artists’ plans from a pool of over 2,000 proposals will have a chance to be realized in London, the competition is currently down to 59 [Art Daily]
Works by Kandinsky- inspired Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and The Blue Rider in Performance are commissioned by Guggenheim to show during the Vasily Kandinsky exhibit [Guggenheim]

A phone camera photo of Ai Weiwei posted on Twitter of police in his hotel’s hallways via Trunc

Ai Weiwei among those experiencing problems with the Chinese authorities for attempting to testify on a trial against a civil rights advocate [The New York Times]
The Independent attributes the recent higher sales of works by Old Masters versus contemporary artists in Christie’s and Sotheby’s to the recession [Independent]

Michael Jackson by Andy Warhol via BBC

Andy Warhol Painting of Michael Jackson commissioned by Times magazine dates back to 1984 and is being auctioned at a starting bid of $800,000 in Vered Gallery in LA [Los Angeles Times]
Mysterious art dealer receives $26.5 million for enabling the transaction of Rothko sale for a self-proclaimed victim of Bernard Madoff’s scheme [Bloomberg]
Yet another Gagosian Gallery will open, this time in Greece, 3 Merlin Street in Athens will now house the gallery with its inaugural show titled “Leaving Paphos Ringed With Waves” [Lindsay Pollock via Culture Monster]

Food Fight staged by Duke Riley on the reflecting pool in Queens on Thursday via The New York Times

“Those About to Die Salute You” an unscripted art event organized by Duke Riley took place in Queens on Thursday night [The New York Times] more here [New York Magazine]
Antony Gormley’s fourth plinth art project had a nude man as a participant, but he was asked to cover up in order to avoid arrest [Guardian]
Géricault’s “The Raft of the Medusa” examined in its sculptural, architectural and historical influences by Spiegelman [The Wall Street Journal]
25 Year old Kate Levant’s art is shown at Zach Feuer Gallery in New York, after Yale dean refuses to showcase her idea of Red cross conducting a Blood Drive inside the gallery space [New York Magazine]