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Good Morning!
- Ahead of its public opening, the British Museum privately hosted billionaire tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel for a VIP viewing of the Bayeux Tapestry.
- London’s Science Museum is ending its 25-year relationship with oil giant BP.
- The Met’s decision to honor fashion designer John Galliano with its 2027 Costume Institute exhibition has triggered fierce backlash.
The Headlines
DARK ARTS. The British Museum privately hosted billionaire tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel for a VIP viewing of the Bayeux Tapestry before its public opening, the Guardian reported. The visit, arranged by the museum’s development director, has raised concerns among staff about preferential treatment and the use of the fragile tapestry’s limited “light hours.” Thiel is not a museum donor, but his political influence, links to Jeffrey Epstein and Palantir’s controversial government contracts, including a £330 million ($446.93 million) NHS deal, have attracted scrutiny. The museum says no public viewing time was affected. Meanwhile, demand for the tapestry exhibition is enormous, with online ticket queues reaching 80,000 expected visitors.
BLACK GOLD. London’s Science Museum is ending its 25-year relationship with oil giant BP, whose sponsorship of the museum’s education academy will finish on August 31, the Financial Times reported. The partnership has faced years of criticism from climate campaigners and educators, including a boycott backed by the National Education Union. The museum says BP’s funding helped train more than 11,000 education and science professionals and reach over a million young people. Campaigners have welcomed the decision but say it is only a partial victory, calling on the museum to also end its sponsorship deal with Adani Group, which has major interests in both renewable energy and coal. The museum has not committed to doing so.
The Digest
A striking Neolithic sculpture of a man riding a leopard has been unearthed in Turkey, offering rare insight into how ancient people imagined humans and animals. [ARTnews]
Guatemala’s Museo de Arte Colonial is set to reopen after a court-ordered raid forced its sudden closure last December, leaving 287 artworks in limbo. [The Art Newspaper]
The London graffiti artist known as Helch, whose distinctive tag appeared across bridges, viaducts, and rooftops, has died, prompting tributes from across the art world. [The Standard]
Former actress Bianca Jagger reflects on three art-world titans, Georg Baselitz, David Hockney, and Yayoi Kusama, whose deaths, she says, mark the end of an era. [The Independent]
The Kicker
GALLINA-NO? The Met’s planned John Galliano exhibition is facing mounting backlash, with Jewish leaders, politicians, and major donor Arne Glimcher questioning the decision to honor the disgraced designer, ARTnews wrote. Galliano, convicted of a hate crime over antisemitic remarks in 2011, has since rebuilt his career and apologized for his behavior. But Glimcher, founder of Pace Gallery, has warned he may withhold works promised to the Met, while officials are reportedly considering moving the 2027 Met Gala because it falls on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
