Art Industry News is a daily roundup of the most important developments emerging from the art world and the art market. Here’s what you need to know this Wednesday, July 27.
I NEED TO READ
The Jackie Robinson Museum is open – The New York museum is more than an archive commemorating the baseball star’s accomplishments as the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues, it’s also a tribute to his contributions to the civil rights movement. The museum opened Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Robinson’s widow, Rachel, now 100, and her son, David. It will open to the public on September 5. (New York Times)
Korea Airport Abandons House Museum Plan – Incheon Airport canceled plans to build exhibition space on the site after a recent feasibility study found it would be too difficult and expensive to do so by 2024. The airport had entertained the idea of setting up a satellite of one of the museums. most important in Europe, such as the Center Pompidou, the Tate or the Louvre. Instead, the airport is moving forward with plans to build an art storage space by 2026. (herald of korea)
Buzz Aldrin’s belongings skyrocket to $8.2 million One small step for Sotheby’s! The auction house’s sale of Buzz Aldrin’s personal belongings sold for $8.2 million. become the most valuable space exploration sale of all times. The top lot was the jacket worn by the astronaut on Apollo 11, which sold for $2.8 million, making it the most expensive American space artifact ever sold at auction. (It was also the most valuable jacket ever sold, for the record.) Surprisingly, the legendary broken circuit breaker and the pen Aldrin used to repair it and save the crew found no buyer. (evening standard)
GameStop pulls Tasteless “Falling Man” NFT – The platform came under fire after users noted similarities between an NFT from a manufacturer known as “Jules” listed on the site’s new marketplace and the Associated Press’s famous Richard Drew photograph of a person jumping from the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks. The appropriation of the photograph provoked public protests. GameStop removed the post and suspended the creator of NFT. (hyperallergic)
MOVEMENTS AND AGITATORS
Alex Katz retrospective heads to the Guggenheim – This October, the New York museum will host “Alex Katz: Gathering,” a sprawling retrospective devoted to the artist’s nearly eight-decade career. More than 200 works will fill the Rotunda by Frank Lloyd Wright, from his early sketches of subway passengers from the 1940s to contemporary portraits. The show will take place from October 21 to February 20. (Press release)
Nelson Stevens, AfriCOBRA Artist, Dies at 84 – An early member of the influential Chicago-based art collective AfriCOBRA, Stevens met the collective’s co-founder, Jeff Donaldson, at a College Art Association conference in Boston and moved to Chicago at his urging. There, he taught at Northern Illinois University from 1969 to 1971. Stevens created images of black empowerment in the bright “cool-ade” palette typical of AfriCOBRA. (culture type)
Frank Lloyd Wright’s house hits the market for $23 million The 6,200-square-foot mansion that has been featured in movies from Rush hour a Bounty hunter it is now looking for a buyer after a $17 million restoration. The house was designed by the famous American architect and built by his son for retailer Charles Ennis and his wife, Mabel, in 1924. (Reside)
FOR THE SAKE OF ART
The Kimbell Museum Just Acquired This Absurd Painting – It is not uncommon for us to receive a press release with the subject line “Museum Acquires Rarely Seen Painting”. But sometimes scrolling down to see what the painting looks like is really worth it. The Kimbell Museum recently revealed its acquisition of the 1836 painting by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller Dog guarding a basket of grapes, the first work by an Austrian artist to enter the collection. The portrait of this still life and very good boy will be released on August 26. (Press release)
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Dog guarding a basket of grapes (1836), oil on canvas. Courtesy of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth.
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