Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum, endorsed BP as a sponsor this week, as pressure continues over the company’s role in the operation of various museums.  Fischer praised the museum for helping “create unique learning opportunities.” (more…)

New York appellate court has upheld the return of two Egon Schiele drawings to the heirs of singer Fritz Grünbaum, whose art collection was confiscated before he was killed in a Nazi concentration camp.  “The tragic consequences of the Nazi occupation of Europe on the lives, liberty and property of the Jews continue to confront us today,” the judges wrote in their ruling. (more…)

David Zwirner will open a gallery in Paris’s Marais neighborhood this fall, coinciding with this year’s edition of FIAC. “In recent years, Paris has quickly become one of the most vibrant cities for the visual arts in Europe,” Zwirner said in a statement. “It’s a city where history meets the present, and we are endlessly excited to be able to occupy one of the most beautiful and legendary gallery spaces in Le Marais.” (more…)

Art dealer Subhash Kapoor has been arrested and charged with trafficking more than $140 million in stolen antiquities. “These are, in many instances, priceless works that represent the culture and history of the countries from which they were stolen,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. “They are of enormous value.” (more…)

The Studio Museum in Harlem has invited  E. Jane, Naudline Pierre, and Elliot Reed as  recipients of its 2019-2020 artist-in-residence program.  “In form, subject matter, and concept, the diverse practices of our three artists in residence for 2019–20 are all on the cutting edge, expanding the canon and showing us what’s possible in art today and even giving us a glimpse of what art might be tomorrow,” says curator and director Thelma Golden. (more…)

Cory Arcangel and Andy Robert are now represented by New York’s Greene Naftali, Art News reports. “I feel that both of these artists represent the future, as far as the issues their work engages with. For me as a gallerist, I’m always looking for an artist that challenges a paradigm,” says founder Carol Greene. (more…)

A piece in the LA Times this week follows Hammer Museum preparator Jason Pugh as he prepares for the Sarah Lucas retrospective to open for the museum, including time spent frying eggs for one of the artist’s works. “We had a long discussion about the yolks,” he says. “Like most artists, Sarah has a very specific vision. Sure, the materials, the titles, the set-ups are hilarious, but she is very particular about the choices that are made with the materials. We procured a lot of different types of kebabs.” (more…)

Arter, a contemporary art non-profit in Turkey, will open a new museum space in Istanbul, a 18,000 sq. m building in the central Dolapdere district designed by Grimshaw Architects. The space is “what Turkey needed”, says director Melih Fereli, to “compensate for the rather big gap” in the country’s education system, adding that “analytical thinking and discovering your own creativity is not really encouraged.” (more…)

Mark di Suvero‘s Declaration, a longtime fixture at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, is scheduled to be taken down this fall.  The artist’s work has been on view since 2001.  (more…)

Kayne Griffin Corcoran has named Jamie Goldblatt Manné co-director, joining colleague Colleen Grennan. “We couldn’t be happier to welcome Jamie to Kayne Griffin Corcoran and know she will be a tremendous asset as we continually look for new and innovative ways to support and service our artists,” says founder Maggie Kane. (more…)

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles has tapped Anne Ellegood as its new director, formerly senior curator of the Hammer Museum.  “It has played such an important role in the constellation of museums here in L.A.,” Ellegood said  of the ICA. “It’s an exciting moment—it’s the next chapter.” (more…)

The foundation behind the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art in Napa will sell off most of its 1,600 works of art to focus on exhibitions and education. “The decision to reduce and focus the collection is necessary to keep (the center’s) doors open,” Brenda Mixson, president of the foundation’s board of directors, said in a statement on Friday. (more…)

A piece in The Guardian’s opinion section this week calls for an increased focus on welfare programs and grants for artists, as Ireland launches a new initiative for artists looking for work.   (more…)

The Brooklyn Museum has awarded its inaugural UOVO Prize to photographer John Edmonds, and will give the artist a solo exhibition at the museum next year, as well as a large-scale public art installation at UOVO’s forthcoming Bushwick facility, as well as $25,000. (more…)

Tania Bruguera has revealed plans for an investigative journalism initiative that will award prizes and grants and offer workshops for Cuban writers, Artforum reports. “Journalists in Cuba are not familiar with investigative journalism,” Bruguera says. “We are adding to the prize an educational component where we bring in international investigative journalists to give workshops.” (more…)

David Zwirner has hired Thor Shannon, formerly of Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, as director, Art News reports. “It is both profoundly thrilling and bittersweet” Shannon said. “I adore Gavin and the artists and the staff and the ethos of the gallery. I’ve been honored to be a part of it. At the same time, I’m really excited about this opportunity.” (more…)

Christies will bring the collection of Lee Bouvier Radziwill, the younger sister of Jackie Kennedy, to the auction block this fall, Art News reports. “Lee Radziwill is remembered by all who knew her as a symbol of sophistication and connoisseurship, with a fascinating life story,” says Marc Porter, the chairman of Christie’s Americas. (more…)

Pace has shuttered its outpost in the 798 Art District in Beijing, Art News reports. “It’s impossible to do business in mainland China right now and it has been for awhile,”  says Arne Glimcher, the gallery founder. “The last straw is Trump’s duty on Chinese artists coming into this country and Xi Jinping’s duty on Americans coming into China.” (more…)

A piece in The Guardian covers the resignation of Hannah Rothschild as chair of London’s National Gallery, and the controversies that ultimately drove her decision to leave. “She was a good guy as it were. But she simply felt enough was enough,” says an unnamed source. (more…)

A piece in the NYT this week charts the geographic  locations of artists in this Whitney Biennial and in years past, looking at how the exhibition’s focus has changed over its nearly 100 years. (more…)

A piece in The Baffler this week charts how abstract art has struggled at auction in recent months against figurative works, and what that might mean for a shifting market. “If one places the artwork outside of its historical context, whether in its origin, or its effect,” the piece quotes from critic Hannah Deinhardt, “one can give no explanation of the facts of the various arts, the many-sidedness of artworks.”   (more…)

Vielmetter Gallery will expand its space in downtown LA while closing the Culver City space it has had since 2010, Art News reports. “The energy has definitely shifted to downtown so it made sense to expand here,” owner Susanne Vielmetter says. “Our artists and collectors absolutely love our downtown gallery and we have so many more possibilities here now.” (more…)

A group of artists including Anish Kapoor, Rachel Whiteread and Sarah Lucas have called on the National Portrait Gallery to not accept funding from the oil behemoth BP. “A crucial role of art is to describe to future generations what it is to be alive now, and to provide an echo of our humanity to those who seek it in the future,” the open letter, signed by 78 artists, reads. “The ethical red lines regarding art sponsorship are always shifting, tracing the curve of corporate behavior and what’s regarded as the public good.” (more…)

Critic and historian Douglas Crimp, among the most influential arts writers of the post-war landscape has passed away at the age of 74.  He was also a vocal advocate for AIDS awareness and activism, and edited an entire issue of the influential arts magazine October around the subject. “People were blind to the reality of what was going on, and I knew that this would get people thinking,” Crimp said. (more…)