News From Around the Art World: February 24, 2020
Mass museum shutdown in northern Italy as coronavirus spreads
An unprecedented shutdown of museums is taking place in Venice, Turin and Milan as private and public institutions close their doors in the wake of the coronavirus (Covid-2019) outbreak across northern Italy. Seven Italian regions have now been instructed to close museums and implement various restrictions: Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Trentino-Alto Adige and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Free entry to state museums throughout Italy, offered on the first Sunday of each month, has also been cancelled by the ministry of culture for time being.
By Garreth Harris, The Art Newspaper
Steve Wynn Pays $105 Million for Pair of Picassos
Embattled former casino-resort magnate Steve Wynn has paid around $105 million for a pair of Pablo Picasso paintings from the estate of Don Marron, according to two people close to the deal.
Picasso’s colorful 1937 portrait of one of his mistresses, “Woman with Beret and Collar,” and his 1962 portrait of his wife in grayscale, “Seated Woman (Jacqueline),” were considered gems of the estimated $450 million collection of Mr. Marron, the former PaineWebber chairman who died last December.
By Kelly Crow, WSJ
Art Basel Launches Online Viewing Rooms to Help Dealers Reach Collectors Virtually After Canceling the Hong Kong Fair
Art Basel announced that the first iteration of its new online viewing rooms will launch in March, allowing exhibitors to show works on the web that they had originally planned to bring to Hong Kong.
By Eileen Kinsella, Artnet
In Malibu, A Concrete Compound Designed By Tadao Ando Asks $75 Million
Sitting right on the beach in Malibu, Calif., a distinctive architectural concrete home designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Tadao Ando is coming on the market for $75 million.
The home is a rare offering; there are just a handful of private homes designed by Mr. Ando in the United States.
By Katherine Clarke, WSJ
A Stunning Legal Decision Just Upheld a $6.75 Million Victory for the Street Artists Whose Works Were Destroyed at the 5Pointz Graffiti Mecca
In a sweeping 32-page decision eviscerating the legal arguments of a disgruntled Queens real estate developer, a US Appeals Court affirmed the rights and monetary damages awarded to a group of graffiti artists whose works were destroyed without warning or consent in 2013.
The artists sued the developer, Gerald Wolkoff, in 2013 for violating their rights after he whitewashed their work at the famous 5Pointz graffiti art mecca in New York to make way for condos.
By Eileen Kinsella, Artnet
