British Museum 'welcomes controversy' says Osborne
Punchy remarks come as Tracey Emin unveiled as museum's new Trustee
Also in this edition: New sponsor for National Portrait Gallery award, 2024 exhibitions revealed, Walker Art Gallery shuts newly-revamped galleries, Royal Armouries have cannon stolen, Swiss museum sells Cezannes, Durham light festival begins
Happy Friday.
So for the first time ever, I am sending this newsletter to over 3,000 of you. THAT BLOWS MY MIND.
It really does feel like a big milestone, not least because it’s been a long while in the making. As mentioned in September when this newsletter turned five, this is a side hustle for me, in addition to my day job. So while it’s taken a fair few years to get to this point, I’m pleased to say that reader growth is faster than ever. And a huge amount of that is down to you, recommending it to friends and colleagues. THANK YOU. And keep spreading the word if you can.
In my last edition I asked you to vote on the merits (or lack of) of video art. Well, it was a landslide: 76% of you said it was ‘tedious.’ Cannot argue with that. Although with Tracey Emin in the news this week, it did remind me that actually one of my favourite ever artworks is a video work: Emin’s Why I never became a dancer. Oops. But apart from that one, much else in the medium is rubbish. Why can’t they all be more like Tracey? A mantra that isn’t limited to video art tbf.
Now onto the news!
Maxwell
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Need To Know
Osborne on front foot — and welcomes Emin
Artist Tracey Emin has become a trustee of the British Museum. She replaces Sir Grayson Perry as the representative Trustee from the Royal Academy and in doing so becomes the first ever female Royal Academician on the board. On her appointment Emin said it was “one of my favourite museums in the entire world” and, er, she loves “everything Egyptian.”
The news was revealed by British Museum Chair George Osborne at the annual Trustees dinner this week. His speech contained some news tidbits: he confirmed there’ll be an exhibition on the ‘inside job’ thefts that sent shockwaves through the museum when revealed this summer; he said the recently closed China’s hidden century exhibition received “tens of thousands more people” than they predicted; that the construction of new government-funded energy centre was about to commence to heat the Bloomsbury building in a climate-friendly manner; and that the tender will go out next year to architects for the total transformation of the museum’s western galleries. He also reiterated that he hoped “we can reach an agreement with Greece” so that the Parthenon Sculptures “can be seen in Athens as well as London.”
The speech marked a significant shift in tone for the museum. The dinner took place in the museum’s Parthenon Galleries, which would have been unheard of during the time of the previous Chair and Director. “We welcome the controversy” Osborne proclaimed, signalling a more front-footed institution. “Too often we’ve thought: let’s keep quiet. If we don’t talk about things that are difficult, then no one else will. And course, it hasn’t worked.” [Read more]
Portrait Gallery awards title sponsorship
After a near five-year hiatus, the National Portrait Gallery’s annual portrait award is back — and with a new title sponsor.
Law firm Herbert Smith Freehills — who have supported the gallery for two decades — take the headline sponsor slot from BP, whose 30-year support was ended in the face of increasing pressure against the oil giant’s involvement in the arts.
The new sponsor announcement has been met with some criticism however, with pressure group Culture Unstained telling the Guardian it was “a complete climate fail” due to the law firm’s previous representation of BP and other oil and gas clients.
But in punchy remarks to the Times ahead of the announcement, NPG Director Nicholas Cullinan said that museums ‘can’t afford to be activists’ in the face of an increasingly challenging financial environment. “Fundraising has always been about turning private wealth into public good” he told the paper. “It is a very fragile eco-system… but you are always wanting to do what is, on balance, in the public good.”
“What you don’t want to do is start occupying that position of being an activist because it also puts off other people wanting to support museums.” (Read more)
🔗 OPINION: Arts bosses are right to welcome corporate sponsors — The Times
2024 is just 45 days away…
2024 exhibitions have been announced at a faster rate than Taylor Swift albums this week.
The National Portrait Gallery will host a major show on the six wives of Henry VIII and their representation in art. It’ll be the first exhibition of historic portraiture since the gallery reopened after its revamp. They’ll also show the largest ever exhibition of Francis Bacon’s portraits in the autumn.
Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum will dedicate a major show to William Blake and his connections to contemporaries in Europe, as well as an exhibition on Paris life during the 1924 Olympics Games.
The last 30 years of Michelangelo’s remarkable life will be the subject of the British Museum’s summer exhibition. As if the already-announced Barbie exhibition wasn’t enough, the Design Museum will host a show spotlighting another major figure in popular culture: Tim Burton. And for good measure, the Met Museum announced their 2024 Costume Institute exhibition — aka the Met Gala afterparty — which will be titled Sleeping Beauties and will explore the sensory impact of fashion [at least I think that’s they mean].
News from the UK
Closed, despite millions | The Walker Art Gallery — part of National Museums Liverpool — has been forced to shut its Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque galleries just FOUR MONTHS after a £4.5 million upgrade. The galleries reopened in July after a 3-year, tax-payer funded refurbishment. But now they’re closed again until at least January due to an “ongoing maintenance issue affecting the lighting.” (Read more)
Cannon you believe it? | A 19th-century bronze cannon from the collection of the Royal Armouries has been stolen. Almost 1.7 metres in length, it was moved by staff in February to a remote location from where it went missing. It’s thought it’s been snatched by metal thieves for its scrap value. Other items were found to be missing from their collection in May last year as part of a routine audit. (Read more)
Restore’s outgoing leader | Zewditu Gebreyohanes, the director of Restore Trust — a pressure group that’s controversially been campaigning to change the direction of the National Trust — is stepping down. It follows the trust's annual general meeting in which members rejected the three councillors and two resolutions put forward by Restore Trust. Gebreyohanes — who is also a trustee of the V&A — said that she made the decision six months ago. (Read more)
Win some, (might) lose some | 159 places have been added to England’s Heritage at Risk Register, meaning they are at risk of neglect, decay or inappropriate development. This year’s additions include a London hotel that inspired Charles Dickens and the house where the Gunpowder Plot unravelled. But, 203 sites have saved in the past year, as their future has been secured. (Read more)
News from around the world
Switzerland 🇨🇭 | A Swiss museum has sold three star paintings by Paul Cézanne from its collection. $52.5 million were raised from the sales at Christie’s in New York last night. The move has proved hugely controversial, but the Museum Langmatt in Baden insisted it was necessary to avoid bankruptcy, and that the cash will be used to create an endowment to secure their future. The Swiss branch of the International Council of Museums had called for the sale to be stopped. (Read more)
USA 🇺🇸 | San Francisco’s economic woes have been blamed for the decision for San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to axe 20 jobs. Visitor figures still linger a huge 65% below pre-Covid levels and Director Christopher Bedford said this reflected “the reduced foot traffic” being seen across the Downtown area. It follows multiple reports of the city’s decline this year, with the Washington Post proclaiming San Fran “a multifaceted mess.” (Read more)
France 🇫🇷 | A 13th-century painting found in a kitchen of a homeowner who had planned to throw it away has just been acquired by the Louvre. Christ Mocked, by Florentine master Cimabue, was sold at auction for €24 million in 2019, a few months after it had been discovered hanging over a stove during a house clearance. President Macron’s government subsequently refused an export licence. It’s believed the Louvre matched the auction price. (Read more)
USA 🇺🇸 | The hammer has come down on the second most expensive work by Picasso. The Spanish artist's 1932 work Femme A La Montre which depicts his lover and muse Marie-Therese Walter, sold for £114m at Sotheby's in New York. It had been in the collection of Emily Fisher Landau, one of the greatest art collectors of the 20th century, who died aged 102 earlier this year. (Read more)
USA 🇺🇸 | The five-year, $150 million overhaul of the Met Museum’s European Galleries has been completed. Nearly 800 works of art from the 1300s to the 1800s were moved for the project, which are now displayed chronologically. The galleries’ new energy system will also save the taxpayer millions of dollars a year thanks to increased efficiency. The 45 revamped galleries reopened to the public yesterday. (Read more)
Best of the rest
Slavery Museum’s new leader | Congratulations to Michelle Charters who has been named the new director of Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum. She’s the first woman to take the role and she’ll see the museum through an upcoming £28m overhaul. (More)
Tying up a deal | The Guggenheim Museum in New York is joining forces with Converse. The shoe and clothing brand will provide financial support for the museum’s internship programme, and its collaborative Innovation Lab Series. (More)
It could be you | Applications opened yesterday for institutions hoping to be crowned Art Fund Museum of the Year 2024. If you want to follow in the Burrell Collection and Horniman’s footsteps, you have until 15 January. (More)
Pop art present | The British Museum has received 34 prints and drawings by American artist Roy Lichtenstein, donated by his estate. The gift celebrates the centenary of the late artist’s birth in 1923. (More)
Light’s up | Europe’s ‘most important contemporary light art festival’ has kicked off in Durham. Over the next four days, thousands will flock to the medieval city to see Lumiere’s 40 installations by global artists including Ai Weiwei and Chila Burman. (More)
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