Skylar Fein’s “Remember the Upstairs Lounge” acquired by the New Orleans Museum of Art

NEW ORLEANS, LA.- Jonathan Ferrara Gallery announced that the New Orleans Museum of Art has acquired the major installation Remember The Upstairs Lounge by gallery artist Skylar Fein. Remember The Upstairs Lounge was first presented at Prospect.1 New Orleans Biennial curated by Dan Cameron in 2008, where it was one of the most talked about works in the Biennial. The exhibition shined a spotlight on an overlooked piece of New Orleans history: a fire that swept through a French Quarter bar in [...]

Getty Research Institute announces the acquisition of a rare set of Chinese battle prints

LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Getty Research Institute has acquired an extraordinarily rare suite of battle prints from about 1793 that depict the Chinese Emperor Qianlong’s (reign era, 1736–1795) successful military campaign against invading armies from Nepal. These eight large-format copper engravings represent the complete set of prints commissioned by the Emperor to commemorate his 1792 victory. Printed in China, this set is one of seven so-called “Conquest” suites. “The rarity of these prints makes them an extraordinary addition to the GRI’s stellar [...]

Brooklyn Museum acquires important collection of works from Black Arts Movement

BROOKLYN, NY.- The Brooklyn Museum has acquired an important collection of works of art created in conjunction with the revolutionary Black Arts Movement of the late 1960s to mid-1970s. The group of forty-four works by twenty-six artists was assembled by former Chicago dealers David Lusenhop and Melissa Azzi, whose goal was to preserve and promote works by leading African American visual artists involved in the movement. The acquisition was made by purchase directly from Lusenhop and Azzi as private collectors with a [...]

Poland’s National Museum expands gallery devoted to 20th- and 21st-century Polish art

WARSAW (AP).- Poland’s National Museum in Warsaw has opened an expanded gallery devoted to 20th- and 21st-century Polish art, with officials hailing it as the most comprehensive permanent collection of modern and contemporary art in the nation’s capital. More than 220 objects went on view at an inauguration Friday night. The bulk of the exhibition is made up of paintings but there also are a number of sculptures, video installations and photo montages, with all the works spanning the past century. [...]

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston announces major gift of contemporary craft from Daphne Farago Collection

BOSTON, MASS.- The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, announces a gift of 161 works from longtime supporter Daphne Farago — the Museum’s largest-ever gift of contemporary craft across a range of media. These 20th – and 21st-century works are among the finest examples of studio craft and represent objects by notable artists, such as fiber artists Anni Albers and Sheila Hicks, sculptor Robert Arneson, glass artist Dale Chihuly, and furniture maker John Cederquist. The gift includes works of fiber (94), ceramics [...]

Smithsonian reopens historic Arts and Industries Building with new innovation pavilion

WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have begun a seven-year collaboration to develop programs and exhibitions related to innovation for the Arts and Industries Building located on the National Mall between the Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum. The building is scheduled to reopen in summer 2014. The collaboration will begin this year with an Innovation Expo June 20-22 at the Patent and Trademark Office’s headquarters in Alexandria, Va., where the latest technological developments—patented technologies from American companies—will [...]

Four United States institutions partner on South Korea’s first major American art survey

CHICAGO, IL.- Art Across America will be the first major survey of historical art of the United States to take place in South Korea. Featuring more than 100 American paintings, as well as decorative arts and design, from the collections of four U.S. institutions, the exhibition debuts at the National Museum of Korea, in Seoul, from February 4–May 19, 2013, and then travels to Daejeon Museum of Art, located near the center of the nation, from June 17–September 1, 2013. Co-organized [...]

Ground formally broken for new David H. Koch Plaza at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

NEW YORK, NY.- Government leaders and museum officials today formally broke ground for the new plaza and fountains at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Chairman Daniel Brodsky, Director and CEO Thomas P. Campbell, and President Emily K. Rafferty led the indoor and outdoor ceremonies marking symbolically the start of work on the redesigned, four-block-long outdoor plaza that runs in front of the landmark Fifth Avenue facade, from 80th to 84th Streets in Manhattan. (Note: Although construction commenced with excavation in October, the [...]

Cleveland Museum of Art celebrates significant accomplishments from 2012

CLEVELAND, OH.- The Cleveland Museum of Art announced today that 423,640 visitors came to the museum in 2012. This attendance statistic represents a 38% increase year-over-year and brings the museum’s annual attendance in-line with pre-renovation figures, the first time such an accomplishment has occurred since 2005. Attendance drivers included the blockbuster special exhibition, Rembrandt in America, as well as the highly anticipated openings of the stunning Ames Family Atrium, dining facilities featuring cuisine by Chef Douglas Katz, the museum store and new [...]

National Portrait Gallery commissions first painted portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge

LONDON (AFP).- The first official portrait of Prince William’s wife Catherine was unveiled Friday at a London gallery where it was hailed by its subject as “amazing” but slammed by some critics. The National Portrait Gallery commissioned award-winning artist Paul Emsley to produce the painting of the Duchess of Cambridge, who is expecting her first child this summer, after she became patron of the gallery early last year. The 31-year-old royal, who attended a private viewing of the painting with her [...]

The J. Paul Getty Museum announces the return of a head of Hades from about 400-300 B.C.

LOS ANGELES, CA.- The J. Paul Getty Museum announced today plans to voluntarily return a terracotta head to Sicily representing the god Hades and dating to about 400–300 B.C. The Museum acquired the sculpture in 1985. Joint research with colleagues in Sicily over the past two years has yielded previously unknown information on the likely provenance of the sculpture suggesting that it was appropriate to return the object. In keeping with the principle of repatriating works when compelling evidence warrants it, the [...]

Main building at Irish Museum of Modern Art will now reopen in autumn 2013

DUBLIN.- The significant programme of works to upgrade the fire and safety systems in the main building at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, which has been underway throughout 2012, will now not be completed until 2013. Because of this and the need for additional works relating to the installation of an art lift, which are subject to planning permission, it has been decided to defer the reopening of the main building until all major construction works are complete. This will also [...]

The search is on for Museum of the Year 2013: Nominate your favourite museum

LONDON.- As the application process for the Museum of the Year 2013 opens, the Art Fund begins its search to find out which cultural institutions are best loved by the British public. The Art Fund invites members of the public to tell them which inspirational museums should be in the running for the £100,000 prize via artfund.org/prize, @artfund and Facebook/theartfund and will solicit applications from nominated institutions. The Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year highlights the many innovative and excellent [...]

Historic attendance records for Schirn, Stadel, and Liebieghaus in 2012

FRANKFURT.- The exhibition year 2012 has drawn to a close with an impressive public response manifested in a total of more than one million visitors for the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, the Städel Museum, and the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung. Each of the three institutions notched up the best result in their history. The Schirn attracted 479.121, the Städel 447.395 and the Liebieghaus 153.737 visitors. Max Hollein, Director of the three houses in Frankfurt, is highly pleased about the past year’s outcome: “Though the success of [...]

Nationalmuseum acquires three 17th-century paintings from Gustaf Adolf Sparre’s art collection

STOCKHOLM.- Nationalmuseum has acquired three important Flemish and Dutch cabinet paintings from the collection of Count Gustaf Adolf Sparre – a landscape by Gijsbrecht Leytens and two genre scenes in smaller format by David Teniers the Younger and Jacob Toorenvliet. The paintings have gilt frames decorated in Gustavian style, with the two latter works bearing cartouches at the top. Gustaf Adolf Sparre af Söfdeborg (1746–1794) was heir to one of Sweden’s wealthiest merchant families. His large collection was built up primarily through [...]