Francis Bacon’s 1981 Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus will head to Sotheby’s this May, estimated at $60 million.  The work comes form the collection of Hans Rasmus Astrup, a Norwegian business tycoon who is selling the piece to benefit the consignor’s family foundation. (more…)

The NYT reports live from TEFAF, noting a significant drop in attendance at the fair caused by coronavirus concerns. “Normally I’m on a plane with 10 collectors from Milan,” says gallerist Maurizio Rigillo. “This year I was on my own.” (more…)

Lisson Gallery will grow its footprint in New York this spring, taking over the space adjacent to its home at 504 West 24th Street.  “This new space offers more diversity in our programming as it is smaller and more intimate than the open warehouse structure of 504,” says NY gallery head Alex Logsdail. (more…)

In an unexpected shakeup, the Armory Show has moved its date and season for next year, running September 9th – 12th at the Javits Center downtown.  “September is a great time of year to be in New York City, and we are eager to align with gallery openings to kick off the fall season,” says Nicole Berry, the fair’s executive director.  “We hope everyone will mark their calendars.” (more…)

New York museums are accelerating preparations for coronavirus as institutions shutter around the globe. “The health of our staff and visitors is of paramount importance to the Guggenheim,” a spokeswoman for the museum says. “All non-essential museum travel has been suspended or postponed. We are also discussing plans to enable working at home here appropriate in the event of a closure.” (more…)

An unpublished Albrecht Dürer drawing has been reportedly discovered, and will go on sale in London. The work comes from an unidentified American collection, which some speculate is that of the family of the architect Jean-Paul Carlhian. (more…)

Catherine Opie is interviewed in the LA Times this week, as she gives a preview of a new body of work focusing on the swamps of Florida. “There is a lot of life in those swamps,” she says. “At first, I thought I’d go in at night with a flash, then I realized how many alligators there were.” (more…)

Bianca Beck at Rachel Uffner, all images via Art Observed

Kicking off the 11th year of operation, Independent NY has once again touched down at Spring Studios in Tribeca, once again opening the doors on its take on the presentation of an art fair.  Smaller in scale and more focused in terms of its gallery selections, the fair’s presentation feels more like a presentation of a series of small gallery shows run side-by-side, with ample space and a mellow browsing experience that draws strength from the fair’s invite-only exhibitor structure and immense glass windows, underscoring its reputation as a boutique event with impressive draw.

Clementine Keith-Roach at P•P•O•W

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The Venice Architecture Biennale will be postponed until August. “The new dates have been established as a consequence of the recent precautionary measures in the matter of mobility taken by the governments of a growing number of countries around the world, which will have a domino effect on the movement of people and works in coming weeks,” reads an official statement. (more…)

The global art market dipped by 5% this year, according to the annual report by UBS and Art Basel, but private sales continued to grow. “It was a tricky year, but not disastrous,” says publisher Clare McAndrew. (more…)

The Musée D’Orsay will be expanding its capabilities for exhibition thanks to a $23 million donation. “This goes beyond the question of the display of the collection. We also want to fulfill our mission in a more modern and complete way,” says museum president Laurence des Cars. “Visitors are no longer just expecting a museum to display works of art, but to offer a complete experience.” (more…)

Austin Lee at Jeffrey Deitch, all images via Art Observed

Considered among New York’s premier art fairs, and a leading cultural destination for discovering and collecting the world’s most important 20th- and 21st-century art, The Armory Show has long figured at the forefront of the city’s annual spring offerings for art exhibitions and shows.  With its first day of sales in the bag, the fair is once again showing why its impact and stature cannot be ignored. (more…)

A piece in the SCMP this week notes that as galleries continue to struggle in the face of the coronavirus spread, many are asking if physical gallery locations are even feasible anymore, while others in Hong Kong point out how protests have affected their business. (more…)

Casey Kaplan is profiled in Art News this week, as he prepares an expansion of his gallery space in New York’s Flower District. “I’m doubling down on New York, my home,” he says. “I’m not interested in having a gallery somewhere else. I am a big believer in focusing, and I can focus by not being in London and Paris and Milan and Los Angeles. I can do my job well when I’m paying attention to what I need to pay attention to here.” (more…)

Sotheby’s private sales division sold almost $1 billion in works last year 2019, the auction house announced this week. The news comes amid a focus for the auction house on “fixed price-point sales.” (more…)

Artist Carmen Herrera will erect a large-scale mural in East Harlem. “The whole idea is to bring the power of visual beauty to neighborhoods where there is very little and where parents are just not taking their kids to museums,” said Ruth Lande Shuman, the founder of Publicolor. (more…)

The Guardian has a piece on the Lithuanian pavilion from last year’s Venice Biennale, and take a look at the country’s artistic community, where many artists are struggling just to get by. (more…)

Art Dubai has been postponed, the latest in a series of postponements and closings over coronavirus fears. “It is a sensible decision,” says gallery director Anne-Claudie Coric. “Too many collectors are afraid of flying and being quarantined.”  (more…)

Mary Beard has been rejected from a trusteeship at the British Museum over perceived “pro-Europe” views. “This is an absolute scandal. The trustees of the British Museum exist to protect its intellectual, academic and political independence,” says fellow trustee Sir John Tusa. “Government interference in putting in placemen or placewomen is a corruption of public life. Will any Remainer now expect to be punished by the government?” (more…)

As coronavirus fears amplify, a number of major museums in Japan will close for the following weeks, with The Mori Art Museum closed from February 29 to March 13. (more…)

Painter Mary Lovelace O’Neal gets a profile in the NYT this week. as she opens her first solo show in NYC in over 20 years.  “I’m reluctant to call myself an abstract expressionist or a minimalist,” she says. “I call myself a painter. What I can do is paint and make things that are powerful. Galleries want to codify you. Every time you move away from the doctrine, you get questioned. Being unruly is my nature. As for doctrinaire, I had to blow it up.” (more…)

The LA Times has published a selection of readers’ comments on the LACMA teardown plan, showcasing the institution’s opposition to its new plan.  “LACMA signed an agreement with the Ahmanson Foundation long ago, and I don’t blame the foundation one bit for not going along with LACMA’s new plan,” one reader writes. “To me it seems like LACMA wants to make the museum more like a website or theme park ride.” (more…)

Collector Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo has dropped plans for an arts complex in the Madrid area of Matadero.  “The feasibility studies carried out by the architects David Adjaye and Arturo Franco led to the conclusion that it was not possible to convert Matadero’s Nave 9 into an exhibition space to the [quality] standards we believe are essential for a contemporary art venue,” she says. “The fundamental reasons are to do with the existing structural problems of the building itself, that cannot be solved.” (more…)

Judy Francis Zankel, a trustee and and secretary of the Cooper Hewitt board who resigned following the dismissal of Caroline Baumann, has notified the Smithsonian that she has removed the institution from her will. “I find your treatment of Caroline Baumann to be unconscionable and disgraceful,” she wrote. (more…)