Expanded Galleries of African Art and Indian Art of the Americas Open at the Art Institute

CHICAGO, IL.- The Art Institute of Chicago opens its expanded galleries of African art and Indian art of the Americas today, June 3, 2011. Following an extensive four-year planning, construction, and reinstallation project, the combined 7,500 square foot gallery spaces–located in the Art Institute’s lower Morton Wing (G136 and G137) –have now been freshly conceived and completely renovated to accommodate more than 550 objects on display. For the first time in the museum’s history, the majority of the Art Institute’s [...]

Bellevue Arts Museum Honored with 2011 Eastside Business Award

BELLEVUE, WA.- Bellevue Arts Museum, the Pacific Northwest’s center for the exploration of art, craft and design, has just been honored with the prestigious 2011 Eastside Business Award in the Non-Profit/Community Impact category by the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce. The award recognizes outstanding Eastside organizations that uphold a strong commitment to quality, community and innovation. “We’re so pleased to receive this important award,” says Stefano Catalani, Director of Curatorial Affairs/Artistic Director of Bellevue Arts Museum. “The Museum is a vital [...]

National Gallery of Victoria Celebrates 150th Birthday with a Gift of 173 Indigenous Artworks

VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.- On the 24th of May 2011, the National Gallery of Victoria celebrated its 150th birthday. To honour this tremendous milestone, the NGV unveiled an exceptional gift of 173 important Indigenous works of art including three by contemporary artists Vernon Ah Kee, Brook Andrew and Jonathan Jones who were commissioned to create works that pay homage to the highly celebrated Wurundjeri artist, William Barak. These pieces have been gifted by the Felton Bequest, established in 1904 by the NGV’s [...]

Cincinnati Art Museum Conservator Conducts Conservation of van Gogh in Public

CINCINNATI, OH.- From Monet’s garden to Art Deco delights, the Cincinnati Art Museum will take you on a journey through time and place as part of its 2011-2012 Exhibition season. Highlighting both the Art Museum’s superb permanent collection and great works of art it is bringing to this community, the exhibition schedule also includes major renovations to galleries. “We will be using our collection of sixty thousand objects covering six thousand years of human history to reveal beauty in gardens, [...]

Crystal Bridges Announces Endowment Gifts from Walton Family Foundation

BENTONVILLE, ARK.- The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art announced three endowments from the Walton Family Foundation. “We are in the fortunate position of having a founding donor family that understands the need for stability and sustainability going forward, and therefore has worked with us to create the base endowments upon which we will build and grow,” Dr. Bacigalupi said. “These extraordinary gifts mean we are now able to turn to our community with confidence when we ask for its [...]

BMW Guggenheim Lab to Launch in New York in August, will Then Travel Worldwide

NEW YORK, NY.- The BMW Guggenheim Lab is a mobile laboratory that will travel to nine major cities worldwide over six years. Led by international, interdisciplinary teams of emerging talents in the areas of urbanism, architecture, art, design, science, technology, education, and sustainability, the BMW Guggenheim Lab will address issues of contemporary urban life through programs and public discourse. Its goal is the exploration of new ideas, experimentation, and ultimately the creation of forward-thinking solutions for urban life. Over the [...]

San Telmo Museum Opens Its Doors with a Multi-Disciplinary View, Open to Dialogue

SAN SEBASTIAN.- The San Telmo Museum has officially reopened in San Sebastián, after 4 years of rehabilitation work on the historical building and a brand new extension, the work of Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, in addition to the complete turnaround in its publishing strategy, now focussed firmly on society and citizenship from all possible angles: artistic, historical, disseminative, etc. The San Telmo Museum, inaugurated in 1902, is the oldest in the Basque Country and brings its rich intellectual and patrimonial legacy [...]

The Linda Pace Foundation Announces Acquisition of a Sound Sculpture by Susan Philipsz

SAN ANTONIO, TX.- The Linda Pace Foundation announces a major acquisition and related exhibition of sound sculpture Sunset Song, 2003, by Susan Philipsz, a Turner Prize-winning artist. The work joins the more than 500 objects in the Foundation’s diverse contemporary art collection, which was begun by the late philanthropist Linda Pace. From May 8–June 26, 2011, Sunset Song will be presented daily in CHRISpark, the one-acre park built by Pace in 2005. Scottish artist Susan Philipsz created Sunset Song as [...]

National Gallery of Art Acquires Works by Kerry James Marshall, Anne Truitt, and More

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Collectors Committee of the National Gallery of Art recently made possible the acquisition of Great America (1994) by Kerry James Marshall (b. 1955)―the Gallery’s first painting by the midcareer African American artist―and Knight’s Heritage (1963), a breakthrough sculpture by Anne Truitt (1921–2004). A devoted student of the human figure and the history of art, especially the genres of portraiture and narrative, Marshall draws upon the experience of African Americans like himself to create imposing, contemporary history paintings. In [...]

U.S. Museums Face Financial Woes, Get More Visitors Says American Association of Museums

WASHINGTON (AP).- After the Great Recession swept through, the Delaware Art Museum had laid off half its staff, cut salaries and lost crucial support from corporations. Yet attendance was up last year at the Wilmington museum, reflecting the same trend museums have seen across the country because of declining funding and increased demand from schools and “staycationers.” A report being released Monday by the American Association of Museums shows more than 70 percent of the nation’s museums were under financial [...]

The Frans Hals Museum Receives a Historic Gift of Art Worth More than €100 Million

HAARLEM.- The official handover of the largest gift in the museum’s recent history took place today in the Frans Hals Museum. The Elisabeth van Thüringen Fund is donating eleven works of art from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries to the City of Haarlem and the Frans Hals Museum. Among the works there is a large and rare group portrait by Frans Hals. The total value of the gift is at least €100 million. The works can be seen in the [...]

Renewed Lincoln Center Named the “Best In Show” in the 2011 AIANY Design Awards

NEW YORK, NY.- This week, the Center for Architecture in New York City opened its exhibition of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter 2011 Design Award winners, which featured 38 projects selected out of 433 by a jury of twelve eminent architects, educators, critics and planners. The Center also opened its “Best in Show” showcase exhibition, which featured three of those 38 winners: the Hypar Pavilion Lawn and Restaurant, by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with FXFOWLE (Architecture, [...]

Art Gallery of New South Wales Announces Ben Quilty’s Portrait Wins Archibald Prize 2011

SIDNEY.- This year, the 90th year of Archibald, there were 798 entries for Archibald, 810 for the Wynne and 633 entries for the Sulman. The Archibald and Wynne prizes are judged by the Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The judge for the Sulman Prize was Richard Bell. WINNER OF THE 2011 ARCHIBALD PRIZE Ben Quilty Margaret Olley WINNER OF THE 2011 WYNNE PRIZE Richard Goodwin Co-isolated slave The Trustees’ Watercolour Prize Graham Fransella Tree WINNER OF THE 2011 [...]

LACMA Launches Image Library Expanding Online Access to Museum’s Collection

LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) announce that it will provide access to free high-resolution images of the museum’s rich encyclopedic collection through its newly created Image Library. Visitors to the library can download the images free of charge and without any restrictions on use. The Image Library opens with 2,000 public domain images (with more to be added), representing a broad range of LACMA’s collections, including Egyptian, Decorative Arts and Design, Latin American, Chinese [...]

Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth Announces Three Promotions

Coy Fagras has been named associate director of development. She is responsible for cultivating corporate relationships in addition to planning and implementing strategy to gain financial support for education programs, exhibitions and operations. Fagras began working at the Amon Carter in October 2008 as grant program manager. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Coy Fagras has been named associate director of development Ronda Nabity has been promoted to development database [...]