ASSOCIATED PRESS
To receive Morning Links in your inbox every weekday,signupfor ourBreakfast with ARTnewsnewsletter.
The Headlines
THE ARTIST, CURATOR, AND HISTORIAN SAMELLA LEWIS,whose workhelped to define and preserve African American art history,died on Fridayat the age of 98,Alex Greenbergerreports inARTnews. Lewis’s vast accomplishments include writing the canonical booksBlack Artists on Art(1969), which was released by her own press, andArt: African American(1978); founding theMuseum of African American Artin Los Angeles; and creating an expansive body of art, with a particular focus on prints. “Because Lewis’s prints were reproduced frequently in literature, they have been seen widely,” Greenberger writes. “And yet, Lewis’s art is not as commonly exhibited in institutions as that of her colleagues.” Curator Naima J. Keithhas described the artist’s works as “pictorial manifestations of the age of civil rights and black liberation.”
Related Articles
The FBI Is Investigating 25 Paintings Allegedly by Basquiat on View at the Orlando Museum of Art
Fayez Sarofim, Houston Financier and Museum Benefactor, Dies at 93
REAL TALK.An art dealer in Palm Beach, Florida,Daniel Elie Bouaziz, has been indicted on federal charges forallegedly selling fake worksbyJean-Michel Basquiat,Roy Lichtenstein,Banksy, and more,Alex Greenbergerreports inARTnews. The dealer’s lawyer has not responded to a request for comment. Meanwhile, theNew York Timesreports that theF.B.I.Art Crime Teamhas beeninvestigating 25 works billed as Basquiatsin a show at theOrlando Museum of Artin Florida. The owners of the works say that they were discovered in 2012 in a storage locker that had been used by screenwriterThad Mumford. Some experts have raised questions about the authenticity of the pieces; the museum’s director,Aaron De Groft, who has maintained that they are real, did not comment in theTimesstory.
The Digest
Billionaire money manager, collector, and philanthropistFayez Sarofimdied on Saturday at his Houston home at the age of 93. Sarofim acquired pieces byEdward Hopper,Willem de Kooning,El Greco, and many more. His charitable efforts included a $75 million gift to Houston’sMuseum of Fine Artfor its recent expansion.[Forbes]
The French artistClaude Rutault, who pursued a rigorously conceptual approach to painting, died on Saturday at the age of 80. “Those who knew him will miss his mischievousness, intelligence, strong personality, generosity, and freedom of spirit, evident in his work,” his gallery,Perrotin, said.[ARTnews]
An unidentified man was taken into custody after smearing cake on the bullet-proof glass that protects theMona Lisaat theLouvre. TheLeonardowas not harmed. Video from the scene shows the man declaring that the action was an environmental protest.[ARTnews]
AMayancity has been discovered at a construction site near Merida, Mexico. Archaeologists believe that the area, which has buildings for people at various places in a social hierarchy, was inhabited by some 4,000 around the years 600 to 900.[Reuters]
HUMAN RESOURCES.TheSpeed Art Museumin Louisville, Kentucky, has namedTyler Blackwellcurator of contemporary art,Leo Weeklyreports. He is currently an associate curator at theBlaffer Art Museumat theUniversity of Houston. And theMuseum of Russian Iconsin Clinton, Massachusetts, has tappedSimon Morsinkto beits executive director, theTelegram & Gazettereports. Since 1994, he has run theMorsink Icon Galleryin Amsterdam with his brotherHugo Morinsk.
HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS.Lehmann MaupinpartnerJessica KrepsgaveCulturedmagazine a look at herUpper West Side home, which includes pieces byHillary PecisandMel Bochner, andArchitectural Digestventured inside arecently renovated Dallas residencethat hasAndy Warhol,Ugo Rondinone, andSam Gilliamon the walls.
The Kicker
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN TILDA SWINTON ASLEEP IN A BOX?New Yorkers may recall that theMuseum of Modern Artpresented that sight—a performance conceived by artistCornelia Parker—back in 2013. The piece came up in a newNew York Timesprofile of Parkerthat probes the connections that her work has to Catholicism. Critic and historianMarina Warnerproposed that the snoozing actress“looked a bit like one of those mummified saints who are not meant to be mummified, but have been preserved miraculously because of their sanctity.”[NYT]
