Controversy is mounting over the decision by four major museums to shelve a show of works by Philip Guston over his depiction of figures in Ku Klux Klan robes, with many in the art world, including the show’s curator, condemning the move.  “As art museums, we are expected to show difficult art and to support artists. By cancelling or delaying, we abandon this responsibility to Guston and also to the artists whose voices animate the catalogue such as Glenn Ligon [and] Tacita Dean,” says Tate Modern curator Mark Godfrey, who was set to organize the show at the museum. (more…)

Sotheby’s is launching a new financial services division, with Alexander Klabin as Executive Chairman. A statement from Klabin emphasized his role as helping “to accelerate the future of authenticated asset-based finance.”  (more…)

The Guggenheim has received Maurizio Cattelan‘s iconic banana work Comedian, shown last year at Art Basel Miami Beach, as an anonymous gift.  “We are grateful recipients of the gift of ‘Comedian,’ a further demonstration of the artist’s deft connection to the history of modern art,” says museum director, Richard Armstrong. “Beyond which, it offers little stress to our storage.” (more…)

Gerhard Richter has created a series of impressive stained glass windows for Tholey Abbey in Germany. “Abstract art is not normally my thing,” says Abbot Mauritius Choriol. “But you don’t need to be an art expert to appreciate the qualities of these.” (more…)

LACMA has finally unveiled the gallery plans for its new, Peter Zumthor-designed building. “I did ask for and got something that would be very different,” says director Michael Govan. “I think it’s going to be absolutely sublime, but that’s for the public to see.” (more…)

As the museum plans to reopen, the Guggenheim Museum has laid off 24 employees, with an additional 8 taking separation agreements. “The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Guggenheim has been devastating to our finances,” said museum’s director, Richard Armstrong in a letter to employees. “I am deeply saddened to say that the museum will not have the ability to support our previous number of staff members.” (more…)

In the midst of COVID-19-related financial pressure, the Brooklyn Museum will sell off 12 works from its collection to fund maintaining the rest of its holdings. “We expect this consignment to generate considerable interest from collectors who will not only respond to the paintings’ great quality, but will also be reassured by their distinguished provenance,” says Joshua Glazer, Specialist of Old Master Paintings at Christie’s New York. (more…)

Banksy has lost a court case against a greeting card company this month, with the court putting the artist’s copyright at risk over his anonymity. “Banksy has chosen to remain anonymous and, for the most part, to paint graffiti on other people’s property without their permission, rather than to paint it on canvases or his own property,” the panel said. (more…)

David Zwirner has brought on former Gavin Brown Director Kyla McMillan as director, focusing on sales and artist management. “At Gavin Brown’s Enterprise I worked with so many artists who will forever inform how I think,” she says. (more…)

Christie’s is selling Picasso’s Femme dans un fauteuil (1941) as the leading lot in its merged 20th/21st Century sale this October, with the lead lot tapped to fetch $20 million–$30 million. “By turns anguished and lyrical, aggressive and despondent, the works all share an urgency, making them as much expressions of Picasso’s state of mind as portraits of Dora,” says Conor Jordan, Christie’s deputy chairman of Impressionist and modern art. “Sequestered in the cool light and pressing angles of the attic space, Dora is depicted on a grand scale as proud and unbending, an image of stately defiance, a modern Marianne.” (more…)

Dealer Max Levai has filed suit against his former colleagues at Marlborough Gallery, alleging a scheme to discredit him and take over his personal Instagram account. “The Company and defendants Bergman and Plutschow’s defamatory statements have harmed [Levai] by causing, among other things, third parties to refuse to engage in any new business dealings with plaintiff, lost revenue and profits, increased expenses, legal fees, and costs expended to mitigate the impact of the Company and defendants Bergman and Plutschow’s dishonesty,” the suit reads.  (more…)

Damien Hirst and Fondazione Prada are launching a round of print sales to benefit an international nonprofit dedicated to providing free access to educational, economic, and healthcare opportunities to children. “COVID-19 has been devastating for many people and families all over the world and lockdown has been really difficult, but especially difficult for children who haven’t been able to go to school,” Hirst said in a statement. “I wanted to find a way to raise money to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds who have been most affected by school closures and the support they provide.” (more…)

Erich Marx, a collector whose holdings stand as the basis of the Hamburger Bahnhof museum of Modern art has died at the age of 99. “Without him, the Hamburger Bahnhof would not exist,” says Hermann Parzinger, the president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. “Erich Marx was a great man who was also modest. He undertook everything with great passion—including his love of art and collecting.” (more…)

The FIAC Art Fair has been cancelled after a spike in Coronavirus cases in Paris.  “Despite its deep determination to organize FIAC–this unique rendez-vous bringing together specialists in the field of modern and contemporary art—in 2020, and its efforts to overcome the difficulties caused by the health crisis, the fair is not in a position to organize an event that meets the legitimate expectations of its exhibitors,” said the organizers, who are refunding all fees already paid by exhibitors.  (more…)

Researchers are laser-scanning the city of Venice to create a digital replica, as rising floods threaten the city.  (more…)

Joe Thompson is leaving his 32-year directorship of MASS MoCA.  “After more than three decades as director, it is high time for me to step away from day-to-day management of the museum, focusing for the next year on transition planning, institutional advancement, and capacity-building,” Thompson said in a statement. “While we’ve achieved much over the past few decades, there remains programmatic innovation, still to come.” (more…)

Christie’s is preparing its first sales after merging its Contemporary and Modern departments for October, leading with a $25 million Cezanne. “We’re giving consignors and buyer multiple opportunities this fall to buy at auction,” Alex Rotter, Christie’s Chairman of Postwar and Contemporary Art in New York says. “These collectors are happily making use of a wide range of platforms, they are buying works across categories, and they certainly are not glued to the conventional auction schedule.” (more…)

A who punched a £20 million Picasso last year at the Tate Modern will face 18 months in prison.  “I have concluded without hesitation the impact upon the public and the gravity of this offense, together with the need to deter others from this form of conduct requires the imposition of an immediate custodial sentence,” said Judge Jeremy Donne in the sentencing. (more…)

The Whitney Museum of American Art has canceled an upcoming exhibition following controversy over its decision to include work purchased during a fundraiser for racial justice charities, a move that drew criticism over its perceived capitalization on the work of artists of color without compensating them directly.  The museum is facing additional criticism over pulling the show instead of paying artists.   “Instead of canceling, they should actually pay us for the full price of our work and hold the exhibition instead of cowering in the face of everyone calling them out,” says artist Dana Scruggs. (more…)

The Tate will make half of its commercial workforce redundant, The Guardian reports. “Sadly, at the moment, the trading business is too big because we won’t be able to open all the cafes and the shops in the same way,” says director Maria Belshaw. (more…)

Oregon philanthropist and collector Jordan D. Schnitzer has purchase an archive of prints and works on paper by Judy Chicago. “This will enhance the abilities of art historians to understand her process,” says dealer Tonya Turner Carroll. (more…)

Part of the collection of late financier Don Marron, works on paper by Jasper Johns, Brice Marden and more, will go on sale at Pace Gallery’s Hamptons outpost this month. “The reason for this show is the same reason we are having the gallery here,” says Marc Glimcher. “To get people reengaged and in front of art again.” (more…)

The Philadelphia Museum of Art staff has voted to unionize. “We are all incredibly happy and excited to get to this point,” says organizer Nicole Cook. “It works out to an 89% victory, which feels really great. The win was very emphatic.” (more…)

The Met has laid off an additional 79 workers as the financial impact of COVID-19 continues to worsen.  “Our goal has always been to minimize the impact of the financial crisis for our staff,” reads an open letter from director Max Hollein and president/CEO Daniel Weiss. “Unfortunately, with staff salaries comprising around 65 percent of our annual budget, we are confronted by the difficult reality that reducing the size of our workforce and furloughing additional staff is the responsible next step to address our urgent financial challenges.” (more…)