The Ellsworth Kelley Foundation has given a gift of $250,000 to the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies, part of a fund that will help maintain and preserve 2,300 works located in 140 countries.  “We are profoundly saddened by his loss, but we are honored and grateful for this extraordinary gift, which guarantees that FAPE’s entire collection will be cared for in perpetuity at no cost to the government,” said FAPE chair Jo Carole Lauder. (more…)

Analysts in Luxembourg are predicting a “severe correction” to art market prices in coming months, drawing their conclusions from a compiled study of auction figures and trends.  “A certain part of the art market, especially postwar and contemporary, is in bubble territory,” said Anders Petterson, managing director of the research and analysis company ArtTactic. “The really difficult question is to predict when the bubble might burst. I guess if you wait long enough, you will eventually be proved right.” (more…)

In a study conducted by the London Art Fair, over a third of participating dealers said that rising rents and business rates are the most considerable threat to the UK’s prime position in the art world.  A sizable percentage also stated that 2016 would continue to see strong results for the contemporary market.   (more…)

South Korea has topped the list of countries with the most private art museums, boasting an impressive 45 institutions, out of 317 in the world.  “Before our research, we found a lot of guessing and exaggeration on the situation of private contemporary art museums and at the same time we found very little data available,” says Christoph Noe, the founder of Larry’s List and an author of the report. “Our motivation for the study was to get the facts first and to conduct a study as detailed as possible, directly also engaging with the private museum founders.” (more…)

The NYT reviews the ongoing struggle at the Art Students League, where almost 300 members are part of a lawsuit against the school demanding information on the school’s sale of the air rights above the institution several years ago for $31.8 million.  “The sense of collegiality that formerly existed between art students, instructors and administrators, in an ‘open-door’ policy, has disappeared,” says artist and member Marne Rizika, “and been replaced with autocratic rule, which has included hiring armed guards for members’ meetings.” (more…)

The New Yorker looks at the Met’s current push for more emphasis on contemporary art, and its impending opening of the Breuer building uptown.  “Something like ninety-nine per cent of all collectors—the rich, those who are interested and will support museums in the future—are collectors of contemporary art,” Director Thomas Campbell says. “The Met is not, as an act of volition, going to cut itself off from the supporters of the future.” (more…)

Duane Hanson’s former apartment at 184 Grand St. is on the market with an asking rent of $29,000 per month.  The three-bedroom, four-bathroom building boasts a graffiti tag from Jean-Michel Basquiat in the building stairwell.  (more…)

The Tate Modern has named Frances Morris as its new director.  Morris has worked with the Tate for the past 16 years, serving as head of displays from 2000 to 2006, when she was appointed director of collection for international art. (more…)

After two years and over $2 million invested in the project, the German government has only identified five works from the Cornelius Gurlitt trove as Nazi loot, and returned them to their rightful owners.  “The results are much better than this number indicates,” says Culture Minister Monika Grütters.  “One lesson we have learned will stay with us, namely that speed and thoroughness are not both possible in provenance research.” (more…)

Arts Council England has announced a series of 8 new commissions to celebrate the collection’s 70th Anniversary, including works by Marvin Gaye Chetwynd, Ryan Gander and Mark Leckey.  “Our 70th anniversary commissions demonstrate what we do best – putting artists at the heart of the collection,” says Jill Constantine, head of the ACC.  “We are thrilled that the artists, half of whom are joining the collection for the first time, will all be represented by such significant pieces.” (more…)

An article in the Guardian reflects on the late David Bowie’s ruse during the 1990’s, in which the musician and former editor for Modern Painters magazine invented a fake artist with writer William Boyd. “He published the book, he organized the launch party (on April Fool’s Day, 1998) in Jeff Koons’s studio in Manhattan – Koons was a friend of Bowie,” Boyd writes, “and it was Bowie who read out extracts of the book, absolutely deadpan, to the assembled New York glitterati.” (more…)

A Los Angeles artist is selling shadowy stand-ins for artist’s iconic works, including Jeff Koons and Constantin Brancusi, billed as a “sustainable” art appropriation.  “Ideas are extremely valuable,” artist Ana Prvacki says of her work. “And making thinner things should have more value than making huge things.  If you can get something to be super thin and really poetic, that should be really valuable. We have to stop thinking in a Costco way.” (more…)

A former schoolteacher and volunteer at the Detroit Institute of Arts gift shop has willed $1.7 million to the institution.  Elizabeth Verdow, who passed away in 2014, gave her full estate to the museum, with $1.26 million intended to buy contemporary art paintings and sculpture, and the additional $450,000 set aside for the museum’s endowment.  “We were delighted and thrilled,” says museum giving officer Deborah Odette. “I have learned never to underestimate people. Just because someone had a long career as a schoolteacher doesn’t mean they might not have means of amassing wealth, if they invest wisely and carefully and live modestly. She obviously loved her work at the museum.” (more…)

As of January 1st, the LEGO Company has reversed its policy on selling bulk orders of its product, considered by many to be a direct result of backlash and worldwide protest over its refusal to provide material to Ai Weiwei for a project in Melbourne.  “If you want to place an order for a large quantity of bricks, we won’t ask what you’re planning to build,” the company website now reads.  “We’ll simply ask you make it clear the work isn’t supported or endorsed by us if it’s for public display.” (more…)

W Magazine has a profile on Josh Roth, the head of United Talent Agency’s new art division, who is using his influence and resources to push new ventures for the company.  “We’re meeting with artists, hearing their dreams, gauging their interest levels,” Roth says. “There’s no expectation of a return on investment in the first 24 months.” (more…)

A major dispute has arisen over the sale of a Picasso bust, with Larry Gagosian and the royal family of Qatar facing off in court to determine who purchased the work rightfully from the artist’s daughter Maya Widmaier-Picasso.  Gagosian claims he purchased the work in May of last year for $106 million, while the Qatari royals claim they had arranged to buy the work in 2014 for $42 million, with both parties bringing forward documentation showing a considerable amount of wrangling and attempts to change the conditions of the deal.  “It’s regrettable that this has come to a quarrel between dealers and collectors,” said John Richardson, Picasso’s biographer. “It’s a major work by Picasso.” (more…)

Marion Maneker has an in-depth breakdown of the Sotheby’s/Art Agency Partners deal today at Art Market Monitor, noting the Agency’s $52 million art fund, and the actual expectations of the company in the deal.  “So, for the record, the $50m being paid to AAP represents Sotheby’s estimation of the firm’s profits over the next five years. Sotheby’s believes that the additional revenue to the auction house from those profits will be accretive,” Maneker writes.  “That means revenues will increase more than the purchase price paid. Acting CFO Dennis Weibling made that point more than once on the company’s investor call yesterday.  Weibling is a board member, so his statement should hold extra weight.” (more…)

The Art Newspaper profiles Christo’s ongoing efforts to complete The Mastaba, a massive pyramid constructed from 410,000 barrels, which he has sought to install in the desert of Abu Dhabi.  “The engineering plan is almost finished,” he says.  “We need to have the land secure. That is the difficult part. It’s like the Eiffel Tower: it should remain a monument after I am gone.”  (more…)

Paula Cooper is interviewed in Art Newspaper this week, discussing her vision for her gallery, and her preferred modes of working.  “I could just send in a crew to hang everything eight inches apart, which would make things go faster, but where’s the fun in that?”  She says.  “And I’ve always thought that if you’re interested in making money, you’ll make money.” (more…)

Turkey has arrested two individuals accused of smuggling a 17th Century piece believed to be the work of Flemish master Anthony van Dyck.  The men were arrested in Istanbul after attempted to sell the work, which they purchased from a criminal organization. (more…)

Creative Capital has announced the recipients of its 2016 grants, totaling $4.4 million towards 46 different ventures, which are focused around current issues and events in American culture.  “Artists today are brave, bold and deeply engaged in the world,” says Ruby Lerner, Founding President & Executive Director, Creative Capital. “The 2016 class of Creative Capital awardees are creating important and deeply moving work, with immediacy and passion. This class is diverse, it is extraordinarily talented, and we believe the 2016 Creative Capital artists will shape their fields for decades to come.” (more…)

The Italian state has announced plans to spend over â‚¬300 million to restore restoring over 200 heritage sites around the country in the coming years.  The announcement came shortly after premier Matteo Renzi passed Italy’s 2016 budget. (more…)

Sotheby’s has purchased former Christie’s exec Amy Cappellazzo’s Art Agency, Partners, for $85 million (including potential performance earnings), the NYT reports.  “To the extent that they’re looking to other places to bolster income — to get more regular earnings — it makes sense,” says Steve Blitz of ITG Investment Research. (more…)

An article in the Art Newspaper notes increased calls for the availability of info on the pricing and sales of works, highlighted by Art Basel head Marc Spiegler’s argument that information accessibility increases engagement and transparency.  Spiegler points to auction houses as the most visible listings for art prices, which he feels allows them undue influence to “define what is and isn’t important.” (more…)