A once Nazi-looted painting has been returned to its rightful owner, who in turn donated it to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  The donation is a rare occurrence for looted works, which are often sold to cover inheritance claims.  The 17th century Baroque portrait by Bernardo Strozzi was installed Monday on the third floor of LACMA. (more…)

Francesco Vezzoli, Galleria Vezzoli (Installation View), Courtesy MAXXI Rome

MAXXI in Rome this weekend closed the exhibition of Galleria Vezzoli, a gallery cum timeline of Francesco Vezzoli’s artistic career, and a self-created tribute to the artist, beginning from his embroideries in the 1990s and continuing to his more recent video works and sculptures made of marble.  The exhibition was part of a larger exhibition entitled The Trinity, Galleria Vezzoli and was the first in a three-part project, Vezzoli in three different locations: at MoMA PS1 in New York and MOCA in Los Angeles. The works in the exhibition at MAXXI mimiced a 19th century museum aesthetic, but were placed within the contemporary architectural context of the gallery space, designed by architect Zaha Hadid.

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The controversial “Playboy Marfa” sculpture previously on view along U.S. route 90, has been dismantled, and will be placed on view at the Dallas Contemporary.  The move comes after heated protest over the piece, opposed by Marfa residents for its attempt to turn the town into a space for art-driven marketing and promotion.  “We are happy this has been resolved and that Texans will still get to enjoy this piece of art,” said Veronica Beyer, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Transportation. (more…)

Museo Jumex, via Museo Jumex

Museo Jumex, the long-anticipated home of the Jumex Collection, opened its doors yesterday with a major opening event that drew art world celebrities, collectors and curators from around the world to the Mexico City suburb of Polanco.  Established by food and juice magnate Eugenio López, the Jumex Collection is considered the largest private contemporary arts collection in Latin America, and features works by  Tacita Dean, Sarah Lucas, Donald Judd, Olafur Eliasson, Gabriel Orozco, Damien Hirst, Robert Gober, Andy Warhol and Bruce Nauman to name a few. (more…)

The upcoming Whitney Biennial, opening next March, has announced its initial list of artists for the 2 month exhibition.  Featuring work by Triple Canopy, Uri Aran, Bjarne Melgaard, Charlemagne Palestine and more, the 2014 edition of the Biennial will be the final in the museum’s current building before moving to the Meatpacking district in 2015. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal reports on MoMA’s efforts to move beyond a brick and mortar museum space, detailing its hiring of Paola Antonelli for the newly created position of Director of Research and Development, a post focused on revolutionizing the museum space through technological advances.  Antonelli’s work is seeing its first fruits with the launch of Design and Violence an online exhibition intended to spark discussion and discourse on various art objects and projects.  “This is truly the new aspect, the fact that it’s a two-way conversation,” Antonelli says. “It’s a departure point.” (more…)

The Smithsonian Institution has tallied a total cost of $2.8 million caused by the government shut down this past month, including all gift shop and cafeteria revenues the museum normally takes in.  The museum was also forced to conclude a number of loans prematurely, including the rarely exhibited codexes of Leonardo Da Vinci.   (more…)

The New York State Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the The Metropolitan Museum of Art in the controversial case over the museum’s “Pay What You Want” pricing scheme, dismissing a substantial part of the case.  Judge Shirley Werner Kornreich ruled on the decision, stating that the museum’s income is used to help fund education programs and other efforts.  “For those without means, or those who do not wish to express their gratitude financially, a de minimis contribution of a penny is accepted,” the judge wrote. “Admission to the Met is de facto free for all.”  Even with that ruling, the court will review the portion of the case stating that the museum misrepresents itself, leading visitors to believe that they must pay the full $25 price on museum signage. (more…)

The ongoing dispute over the future of the Detroit Institute of Arts has the museum considering a transfer to state ownership.  As DIA’s collection is appraised at the behest of emergency manager Kevyn Orr, the museum is weighing options that would allow it to accept state funding while providing needed monetary support to the city, including through long-term leases of art works.  “I’m deferring to them to save themselves,” Orr said. (more…)

Tourists visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York spent over $401 million at the museum this spring and summer, the museum’s annual visitor survey reports.  With 77% of visitors coming from outside the city’s five boroughs, the museum continues to stand as a major tourism draw, and marks a slight increase in visitor spending from last year’s tally of $398 million. (more…)

The ongoing government shutdown has had far-reaching implications for national museums and galleries, many of which rely on major donations from private patrons to keep their doors open the rest of the year.  Unable to welcome important guests or potential donors, the current shutdown has kept museums like the National Gallery of Art from attracting new donors (whose contributions make up to 30% of the institution’s operating budget).   (more…)

The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York has received another $5 million allocation from the city to add to its fundraising target of $79 million for new renovations.  The project will expand the building and its surrounding gardens.  “The renovation will make design accessible to museumgoers with expanded gallery space, the restoration and preservation of historic rooms, innovative landscape design,” says cultural affairs commissioner Kate D. Levin. (more…)

Elmgreen and Dragset’s long-awaited installation, Tomorrow, which creates the fictional home of a disillusioned, homosexual architect, has opened at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  Featuring works by the artists alongside objects from the museum and a nearby antiques market, the show will seek to alter the perception of the museum and its collection.  “There are lots of clever art shows at the moment where you go and look and it’s almost as [predictable as] mathematics,” Says Michael  Elmgreen.  “We do something where even we ask ourselves: ‘What is it about?'” (more…)

A new development on the Lower East Side has been green lighted by city authorities, and will include a New York outpost for Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Museum.  Essex Crossing, a $1.1 billion development planned by L+M Development Partners, BFC Partners and Taconic Investment Partners, will include a community center, rooftop garden, as well as the 10,000 square foot space occupied by the museum. (more…)

Smithsonian Institution director G. Wayne Clough has announced his intentions to step down as the head of the national museum and research network next year, providing the institution with time to find his successor.  “When I became secretary in 2008, I believed strongly that the Smithsonian had enormous untapped potential, especially in digital technology, to reach millions of people and serve as a resource for those who cannot visit Washington,” He said. “I am confident that with our initiatives under way in bioconservation, education, digitization and fund-raising, this is the right time to announce my plans for next fall so that an orderly transition can begin.” (more…)

With the Eli Broad Museum set to open across the street from MOCA sometime next fall, the high-profile collector and patron has announced his intentions to withdraw his annual contribution of $3 million to MOCA, effectively stepping back from his longtime role as the museum’s leading supporter.  Even so, Broad has expressed excitement about the potentials for his museum and its effects on MOCA, noting that it will increase the draw of art lovers to the area.  “They’re excited about it. They know that we’re going to be a great attraction, we’re going to spend time and energy and marketing getting attendance, and they’re going to be the beneficiary of all that,” he said. (more…)

Capitalizing on the current interest in early European and American Modernist movements, the Guggenheim has announced plans for an exhibition focusing on the pioneering work of the Futurist movement in Italy.  “Italian Futurism, 1909-1944: Reconstructing the Universe,” will open February 21st, and will be accompanied by an auction of early modernist works at Sotheby’s.  “It’s time to re-evaluate and broaden our notion of what avant-garde means,” said curator Vivien Greene.   (more…)

As tensions mount in the Middle East over a potential war with Syria, the Italian government has cancelled a museum loan that would have sent Botticelli’s The Annunciation of San Martino alla Scala to the Israel Museum.  The Italian Ministry of Culture has cited logistic and safety concerns regarding the work, and expressed hope that the work would soon be exhibited in Jerusalem. (more…)

A recently discovered painting has been confirmed as an authentic Van Gogh, and is set to go on view at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam later this month.  The work, Sunset at Montmajour, was identified as a Van Gogh by the materials and through personal letters, in which the artist describes the work to his brother Theo.  The work had sat in an attic for years, held by a discouraged Norwegian man who had been told the work was not authentic almost twenty years prior.  Researcher Teio Meedendorp commented that he and his fellow researchers “have found answers to all the key questions, which is remarkable for a painting that has been lost for more than 100 years.” (more…)

Over the past several years, the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas has built a museum-caliber art collection, on view at the hotel’s CityCenter campus.  Featuring works by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Henry Moore, Isa Genzken, Frank Stella and others, the center’s collection is intended to serve the city as a widely accessible collection of artworks, tucked away among the sights and sounds of The Strip.  “What makes a city successful? What makes people want to live there?” Says MGM CEO James Murren. “We do not have an art museum. I thought that was a big quality of life gap.” (more…)

In anticipation of her upcoming show at the Brooklyn Museum, New York Magazine sat down with artist Wangechi Mutu to discuss her elusive, layered collage techniques, her influences in science fiction and mythology, and her views on images of international black identity.  “In National Geographic you always saw pictures of tribal Africa. And here I am sitting in Nairobi, in our suburban house, watching TV and thinking, ‘Why is it always going to be these tribal people that are the ambassadors of our image?’”  She says. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal reports on Museum Hack, an effort by founder Mark Rosen to breathe new life into the guided museum tour.  For $39, guests are treated to a two-hour tour through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, focusing on more unconventional works and infrequently discussed histories of some of the museum’s more interesting pieces.  “You typically don’t go to a fancy restaurant, study the menu for three seconds, order everything, gorge yourself and roll out the door,” Mr. Rosen said to his Sunday-morning charges. “Yet almost everybody comes here, tries to see everything in four hours or less, Instagrams the hell out of the place and leaves, remembering nothing.”  (more…)

The Queens Museum will reopen this fall, following a $137 million renovation that doubled the space’s square footage to 105,000.  Now, the challenge will fall to the museum’s administration to generate interest, luring art lovers out to Flushing Meadows.  “It’s easy to have a wedding,” says director Tom Finkelpearl. “It’s harder to have a good marriage. It’s about sustaining the excitement.” (more…)

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia has announced its intent to sell East Wind Over Weehawken, a 1934 canvas by Edward Hopper, to raise funds for the purchase of new, contemporary works for its museum.  The sale, set for Christie’s December auction, is estimated to earn between $22 and $28 million, marks a return to the museum’s tradition of buying contemporary art.  Harry Philbrick, the museum’s director, remarks:  “We had a very strong tradition of doing that until the 1950s when we pulled back.  In recent years, we have been trying to be more active.” (more…)