COURTESY JIVE
In the Berkshires
A judge ruled yesterday not to halt the Berkshire Museum from selling pieces from its collection at Sotheby’s in New York. Barring additional legal action, the first works, including a Norman Rockwell that could go for more than $30 million, will hit the block on Monday. [ARTnews]
One of Rockwell’s sons, Tom Rockwell, who had sued to stop the sale, told CBS Evening News, of his father, “We kind of feel like he’d be rolling over in his grave if he actually knew about this.” [CBS Evening News]
The Talent
The indefatigable painter Josh Smith, who’s known for his paintings of his name, fish, stop signs, and leaves, among other things, will now show at David Zwirner. [ARTnews]
At a charity auction in Las Vegas to fund the creation of a memorial to honor the victims of the recent shooting there, a painting by Britney Spears sold for $10,000, ET reports. The buyer? The storied host of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, Robin Leach. [ET]
The singer recently showed herself on Instagram hard at work on a painting. [@britneyspears/Instagram]
The Museum of Arts and Design in New York has started a new $50,000 artist prize that will annually honor an artist working in craft. [ARTnews]
Big Business
David Zwirner talked with Forbes about presenting Yayoi Kusama’s latest “Infinity Room” installations in New York. “Her success has been a bit of a challenge for us,” Zwirner said. “You’ve seen the crowds. It’s amazing to be part of this journey but the crowds are unprecedented as we are an institution that is free to the public, so we are trying to make sure that everyone who wants to see the show can see the show.” He added, “It will all work itself out and no one is crying us a river. But we are spending more money on this than we are spending on any exhibition.” [Forbes]
Almost half of all collectors say that a lack of standards in the art industry about issues related to transparency and trust are a concern, according to the latest Deloitte Art & Finance Report, which Sarah P. Hanson examined in the pages of the Art Newspaper. [The Art Newspaper]
On the Museum Front
The National Gallery of Art’s director, Earl “Rusty” Powell, will step down in 2019 after more than a quarter-century on the job, the Washington Post‘s Geoff Edgers reported, writing that his “tenure has been marked by the collection’s growth, the renovation of nearly every space and a startling lack of controversy.” [The Washington Post]
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri, announced that it has added 800 photographs to its holdings over the past two years, the New York Times reported. A $10 million grant from the Hall Family Foundation funded the endeavor. [The New York Times]
The Akron Art Museum will once again be open on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.—time it cut from its schedule during the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009, according to Cleveland.com. On November 28 it will also offer one-year free memberships to the museum. [Cleveland.com]