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THE HOLDERS
BATTLE OF RESTITUTION OF SCHIELE. O Manhattan District Attorney’s Office filed a 160-page motion charging a Art Institute of Chicago of “willful blindness” when determining the provenance of a contested Egon Schiele drawing that long ago argued was looted by the Nazis, reports The New York Times. New York investigators want AIC to make restitution Russian prisoner of war to the heirs of the former owner, Fritz Grünbaum, who died in a Nazi concentration camp, yet the institute has so far refused, winning two federal court battles over the issue, in part because restitution demands came too late, the courts said. But New York investigators say the institute is ignoring forged provenance documents linked to the drawing and are urging it to follow other museums that have recently returned Schiele paintings from the Grünbaum collection.
Related Articles
CONTROL OF FRENCH-SAUDI COLLABORATION. The French agency Of coursehired to help Saudi Arabia Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) building and developing the desert city of AlUla into a lavish cultural destination faces increased scrutiny and an audit, reports The world. The news comes amid the recent arrest on corruption charges of Amr al-Madani, the former CEO of the RCU. President appointed in July Afalula, former French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drianordered an audit of Afalula “around the same time Saudi Arabia was monitoring” Al-Madani, according to Le Monde research Journalist Roxana Azimi reveals that Afalula’s budget has also doubled to around $65 million by 2023 and details the French agency’s lobbying efforts to secure development contracts in the region, which apparently upset Al-Madani. In a follow-up report today, Azimi reveals that, however, Saudi Arabia is ready to honor a 2018 pledge to fund the restoration of French monuments and museums.
THE RESEARCH
Dahomeya documentary by the director Mati Diop on looted African art, won first place Golden Bear prize no berlin film festival In the film, a statue narrates his own repatriation from France to the Kingdom of Dahomey in Benin. “To rebuild, we must first restore,” Diop told reporters. [France 24 and AFP]
The new group Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) is requesting to exclude Israel from this year’s Venice Biennale. The petition is titled “Genocide-Free Pavilion at the Venice Biennale” and has reportedly garnered more than 4,000 signatures. [BNN Breaking]
O New York Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) announced $52.2 million in awards to more than 1,000 New York cultural nonprofits. Recipients include Red Hook Art Project Incand the Bronx Art Spaceto name a few. [The Art Newspaper]
Mark Pachterformer director of National Portrait Gallery in Washington, who helped diversify and modernize the institution, has died at age 80. [The New York Times]
A rare, covered and forgotten early mural painted by Gerhard Richter resurfaced in Dresden Museum of Hygiene, Germany, and will be exhibited to the public. Richter painted the mural as a student in 1956, and it was covered in 1979. [The Art Newspaper France]
The rock salt mine some 754 feet below the Portuguese town of Loulé has been turned into an art exhibition space. Campina de Cima inaugurated “Ocean: the sea is life”, a collective exhibition with Portuguese artists from David Melgueiro Associationon February 17. [Artnet News]
The French city of Brest claims to have built the world’s longest ‘fresco’ consisting of more than 250,000 Legos, at 21 meters, or about 68.9 feet. Thousands of people participated in the creation of the Lego landscape, which represents the history of the city Notre-Dame-de-Rumengol cargo ship, hoping to raise funds to restore it. [Le Figaro and AFP]
THE KICKER
REMBRANDT INTRIGUE. It’s the 17thth-The painting of the century The Adoration of the Kings really by Rembrandt? The New York Times delves into the recurring debate surrounding the search, like the Holy Grail, of Rembrandt’s attributions. The painting initially sold by Christie’s as the work of an associate of the master-painter, estimated at $17,000. But when Rembrandt fans began to suspect otherwise, the work sold for nearly $1 million. It was eventually attributed to Rembrandt in a 62-page catalog by Sotheby’s, including seven expert opinions and X-ray analysis, although conclusions remain divergent on the subject. Not enough, however, to offset its $13.8 million sale two months ago.
