Largest repatriation from Scotland
Plus: Henry III’s 800-year-old flushing toilet
Happy Friday.
For a museums-focussed newsletter, I have big news: I’ve visited one of the best art exhibitions I’ve seen in years. Hockney's Eye: The Art And Technology Of Depiction at the Fitzwilliam is simply brilliant. 60 of Hockney’s drawings, paintings and digital artworks are scattered across the permanent galleries at the Cambridge museum, each in a series of provocative encounters with works by artists including Claude Monet and John Constable. Even the display of his iPad works, which I think we can all agree are truly terrible, are somehow elevated to ‘quite interesting’. I’m not even thaaaaaatttt much of a Hockney fan, but I spent three hours in it. What’s amazing too, is that this show is FREE! And they have clearly thrown quite a bit of cash at it. So my advice: GO! There’s a reason why the Guardian said this “exhibition leaves you in awe.”
Watch the trailer below. And until next time.
Maxwell
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The National Gallery has renamed the title of Edgar Degas’ drawing Russian Dancers to “Ukrainian Dancers” after calls highlighted “lazy” interpretations or mislabelling of Ukrainian art and heritage in UK cultural institutions. The Guardian
Why do one major museum commission when you can do two? Just a week after opening his huge work The Procession at Tate Britain, it’s been revealed Hew Locke will create four important new works for this year’s Met Museum Façade Commission. New York Times
The largest repatriation of museum objects in Scotland has been agreed by Glasgow City Council, with artefacts to be returned to Nigeria, India and North America. They include 17 bronzes from Benin. STV News
‘Priceless’ artworks from leading Russian galleries including The Hermitage Museum, the State Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts have been seized by customs officers in Finland. The artworks were being returned to Russia from loans to museums in Italy and Japan, but the shipments are claimed to be “in violation of European sanctions.” NPR
Henry III’s 800-year-old flushing toilet can be viewed once more thanks to a major restoration by English Heritage. The ancient washroom can be found at York Castle's Clifford's Tower which is back open to the public after lying in ruins since the 17th century. The Telegraph
An artwork showing the names of nearly 1000 Australian women and children killed by male violence has been taken down from a Melbourne women’s history museum - after only being on show for a week. The 30m artwork was removed at the request of the Australian Labor party-affiliated network Emily’s List, who have curated a new exhibition opening today. A spokesperson for Emily’s List said they didn’t have “the capacity or ability to support people if they become upset.” The artist said the decision to take it down was “infuriating” and that “the murder of women and children is too uncomfortable for them.” The Guardian
Qatar has opened one of the world's biggest sports museums. It’s name? The 3-2-1 Museum Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum. If anyone can name a single Olympic sport that uses a countdown from 3 then answers on a postcard. Still, with 17,000 objects on show and a very ‘statement’ new building it should be well worth the visit. France 24
France and Spain will next year celebrate Pablo Picasso’s *checks notes* er, death, with a major international exhibition dedicated to the artist’s legacy. 2023 marks 50 years since he died and forty exhibitions and events have been slated to take place across museums and arts organizations in Europe and North America. ARTnews
The largest number of paintings by Vincent Van Gogh to be shown at a US gallery for over 20 years is to open at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 2023. It will be the first time the story of the artist’s rise to fame in America is examined in an exhibition. Get me a ticket! The Art Newspaper
And finally
A new exhibition showcasing 300 years of Japanese art in Britain’s royal collection opens today at the Queen’s Gallery. The Guardian have picked out some of the stunning highlight objects from Japan: Courts and Culture.
Yes, Harry Styles’ new video is being featured in this newsletter. It was filmed at the Barbican and the South London Gallery dontyouknow.
The new home of the Museum of London is still a building site. But there’s still plenty to see as shown by Ian Visits on a recent tour.
All the content in this newsletter is provided to you for free. Why not buy me a digital coffee if you enjoy it?