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The Headlines
POUR YOURSELF ANOTHER CUP OF COFFEE, or maybe take the day off work. The Louvre has just put its entire collection—all 482,000 pieces—online. “Today, the Louvre is dusting off its treasures, even the least-known,” its president, Jean-Luc Martinez, said in a statement. Only about 30,000 entries were previously accessible to the public. The Louvre is currently researching the provenance of its holdings, looking for Nazi and colonial looting, the Art Newspaper reports; its findings will likely be added to the database. (France has been accused of being slow to pursue restitution of Nazi-plundered works, TAN notes.) Right now, one can search for works grouped under the heading of Musées Nationaux Récupération, which were recovered after the war and whose rightful owner has not yet been established. (The Louvre manages them until then.) Among the nearly 1,800 pieces are paintings by Chardin, Delacroix, and Corot , including this bewitching little piece by the latter that shows a few people climbing into a riverboat.
Related Articles
EMBATTLED COLLECTOR LEON BLACK WILL NOT SEEK REELECTION as chairman of the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Times reports. Black’s three-year term is set to expire at the end of June. Some trustees had reportedly been pressuring him not to shoot for another term, ARTnews notes, because of payments he made to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, and some artists have been calling on him to quit. (Black has not been accused of any wrongdoing.) The Times says that Black is expected to stay on the board after stepping down as chairman.
The Digest
A new guaranteed-income program in San Francisco will give $1,000 a month to 130 artists for half a year. It is targeting people who have lost income because of the pandemic and whose “practice is rooted in a historically marginalized community.” Applications are open through April 15. [Los Angeles Times]
The head of the West Kowloon Cultural District, which includes the forthcoming M+ museum, said that Hong Kong police ultimately decide if its art meets the requirements of the new national security law. “If we receive a complaint or an enquiry from them, we would fully cooperate with them and find out the details of it, and of course comply with the law as any person or organization in Hong Kong should,” he said. [RTHK]
While art fairs in the United States have been canceled for over a year now, art dealers have been quietly traveling, making connections, meeting with artists, and cutting deals. [Artnet News]
Some in Aldeburgh, England, are not fans of the Antony Gormley sculptures that were placed on the town’s beach by a local art dealer without permission. Gormley, for his part, said they are not installed correctly. [The Guardian]
Cambodia rebuffed a proposal for a “resort and theme park near the sprawling Angkor Wat temple complex after concerns raised by UNESCO,” Anna Sansom writes. A government minister suggested that a more modest plan might be considered in the future. [The Art Newspaper]
Artist and filmmaker John Waters will be a cast member on the fourth season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the hit Amazon show that follows a homemaker who embarks on a career in standup comedy. [New York Post]
The Montclair Art Museum—a true New Jersey gem—has tapped Ira Wagner to be its executive director. Wagner, a former MAM trustee, has been the institution’s interim director since last May. [Montclair Local]
The art critic Gabrielle Selz, whose Sam Francis biography comes out later this year, has written a moving essay about her relationship with her fourth and final stepmother. [The New York Times]
The NFT craze made it onto Saturday Night Live, with comedian Kate McKinnon playing the role of Treasury secretary Janet L. Yellen. [SNL/YouTube]
The Kicker
WHAT HAS ARTIST DUSTIN YELLIN BEEN UP TO RECENTLY, YOU ASK? The Pioneer Works founder answers, in the New York Times: “I’ve spent a lot of time looking for rocks in rivers. Rocks have been around for millions and millions of years. Holding one is like having a time machine in your hand, as if it contains the condensed stories of civilizations that have risen and fallen . . .” Yellin has also “been thinking a lot about psychedelics.” [The New York Times]
Thank you for reading. We’ll see you tomorrow.