Wednesday, December 23
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Kunstmuseum Bern Make Joint Acquisition
The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Kunstmuseum Bern in Switzerland have jointly acquired a monumental sculpture by El Anatsui. The work, titled In the World But Don’t Know the World (2009), was acquired from the private Sigg Collection in Switzerland, and will be shown on an alternating basis at both institutions. It recently figured in the artist’s solo exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Bern and will remain on view in the show “Small World Real World” at the Stedelijk Museum until February 21, 2021.
Tuesday, December 22
Baltimore Museum of Art Reveals 33 Acquisitions
The Baltimore Museum of Art in Maryland has announced 33 new acquisitions made as part of its “2020 Vision” initiative through which it has committed to adding only works by female-identifying artists to its holdings this year. In that group of acquisitions are pieces by Betye Saar, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Kay WalkingStick, Camille Billops, Laura Aguilar, Martha Rosler, Ming Smith, and others. To date, the BMA has spent $2.57 million acquiring 65 works by 49 female-identifying artists, including 40 who had not previously been represented in its collection.
Related Articles
Fitchburg Art Museum Appoints New Curator
Lauren Szumita, who currently serves as curatorial assistant of prints, drawings, and photographs at the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts, will join the state’s Fitchburg Art Museum as its next curator on January 26. From 2017 to 2018, Szumita was the museum’s curatorial fellow, and as such she worked on exhibitions including “People Watching: Then and Now,” “Fantastical, Political,” and “The Collected Image: Photography Portfolios.” She succeeds Lisa Crossman, who is now curator of American art and art of the Americas at the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, in the role.
Monday, December 21
New Orleans Museum of Art Adds New Board Members
The New Orleans Museum of Art in Louisiana has elected new trustees who will join its board in 2021. The new members include Jennifer Heebe, a former member of the Jefferson Parish Council and the Louisiana House of Representatives; Thomas Henley, managing director at Bernhard Capital Partners; Robin Marrouche, director of Susan Swartz Studios and former executive director of Kimball Art Center in Park City, Utah; activist and philanthropist Beverly Mathaney; Anthony Recasner, CEO of the nonprofit Agenda for Children and cofounder of charter school management organization FirstLine Schools; Tod Smith, president and general manager of New Orleans CBS affiliate WWL-TV; and Robert Steeg, co-managing member of the Steeg Law Firm.
U.K. National Collections Receive Artworks by Marc Chagall, Rembrandt, More
Through tax gifting schemes, various artworks will enter U.K. national collections. Among those works are an Édouard Manet portrait of his cousin Jules Dejouy and a Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot landscape received by Wales. Scotland received gouache titled L’Écuyère (The Horse Rider) by Marc Chagall, and Northern Ireland was gifted six etchings by Rembrandt. Paintings by Leonard Rosoman have been allocated to the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, West Sussex.
David Hockney Names New Managing Director
Artist David Hockney has appointed Edith Devaney, who has served as a curator at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, as his new managing director and curator. Taking up the post next year, Devaney will “help manage the Hockney entities under his direction,” according to a statement. She will also oversee Hockney’s catalogue raisonné project.