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- The Kennedy Center is removing its massive landmark sculpture, titled “Blue,” by the late artist Joel Shapiro.
- Bonhams is bumping its buyer’s premium up to 30 percent from 28 percent for bids of £25,000 ($33,700) or less.
- The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in San Diego is facing a financial crisis, and employees are calling for a change in leadership.
The Headlines
KENNEDY CENTER BLUES. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is removing its outdoor Blue (2019) sculpture by the late artist Joel Shapiro, reports the New York Times. The center has been plagued by controversy and financial ruin since President Trump took it over nearly a year ago, making this the latest point of contention around the landmark. The large blue metal sculpture resembling a dancing or energetically striding stick figure was targeted for deinstallation early on by the Trump administration, according to documents viewed by the Times. The center did not explain the reasons for the change and characterized the removal as common practice. Meanwhile, Josef Palermo, former curator of visual arts and special programming at the Kennedy Center, has said that Trump’s planned renovations for the center included installing new artworks. On Tuesday, he criticized the de-installation of Blue without prior notice, adding that the center “is in effect holding these pieces in trust for the American people, and there should be a lot more transparency.”
BONHAMS BUMPS UP. Bonhams is raising its buyer’s premium, the extra fee charged to the winning bidder at auction, reports Collector’s Hype. According to a message sent to clients, a 30 percent fee, up from the previous 28 percent, will apply to bids of £25,000 ($33,700) or less, taking place after October 1. The change, according to Collector’s Hype, could potentially spread to other auction houses.
The Digest
The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in San Diego is in financial crisis, having recently fired eight workers and closed its main campus to the public, spurring calls for the removal of director Andrew Utt. [The Art Newspaper]
New research by arts and finance professor Rachel Pownall suggests growing wealth and income inequality is pushing higher dependence on a concentrated billionaire class, ultimately weakening the art market. [The Art Newspaper]
The nearly 200-year-old Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, affiliated with Drexel University, will close to the public at the end of September due to low attendance and rising costs, but it will continue to operate under a more limited capacity. [The New York Times]
New Zealand’s Hundertwasser Art Centre says “no questions asked” if an outdoor wooden and glass sculpture by local artist Karin de Beer is returned after it was stolen and carried off by bicycle about a week ago. [Radio New Zealand]
Edouard Kopp was named director of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, and he comes with seven years of experience as chief curator of the Menil Drawing Institute in Houston. [Cornell Chronicle]
The Kicker
COMPETING HIGH NOTES. A descendant of the 19th-century painter Jules-Eugène Lenepveu is fighting to restore the artist’s 1875 mural on the dome ceiling of the gilded Paris Opera Garnier, which was covered in 1964 with a now-beloved masterpiece by Marc Chagall, reports Le Monde. Lenepveu made historical paintings on several Paris landmarks. Chagall made his painting for the opera with three assistants while in his 70s, at no charge; it references 14 composers and, importantly, was designed to be removable without damaging Lenepveu’s creation, per the artist’s request. Though Chagall’s replacement drew criticism from preservationists who said a modern creation had no place in a 19th-century-designed building, it was widely acclaimed upon its unveiling. Now Lenepveu’s heir, Arnaud Carayon, who presides over the Friends of Lenepveu Society, has appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron for an “alternating ceiling” at the opera every decade or so, and is reportedly considering legal action. Macron is apparently “particularly attentive” to the issue, per his chief of staff.
