Lee Rosenbaum's cultural commentary

With Tuesday's announcement that the Philadelphia Museum of Art, one of our country's preeminent art institutions, has named its new leader---Sasha (short for Alexandra) Suda, it may begin recover from the tumultuous last chapter of Timothy Rub's impressive 13-year reign there. Suda, 41, is touted in the above-linked press release as having "a proven commitment to diversity, … [Read more...] about Philadelphia Museum’s Surprising Transition: From Experienced Leader to One with a Learning Curve

In the CultureGrrl tradition of contrarian analysis, puncturing inflated market-hype balloons, here's my alternate take on the recent major NYC evening auctions of modern and contemporary art, which saw some $2.5-billion worth of art change hands. In its wrap-up of the sales, Sotheby's touted Spring '22 as the "Biggest Auction Season the Market Has Ever Seen." Capturing the … [Read more...] about Manic Depressive: Why the Hyperactive Art Market is Not Cause for Celebration

In my previous post about auction sales of artworks that museums might reasonably have hoped to receive as gifts or bequests (pegged to Sotheby's disposals of the Macklowe Collection), I alluded to LA Times art critic Christopher Knight's justifiably harsh take-down of the Toledo Museum for its off-key sales of three major holdings---most notably, its harmonious Cézanne … [Read more...] about It’s Not Over Until Deaccession Diva Sings: How the Major Spring Auctions Went Tone-Deaf for Museums

What else are you going to invest in right now? Art doesn’t evaporate, and the people who came out tonight knew they were getting quality works. So said Sotheby’s CEO Charles Stewart (as quoted by Kelly Crow in the Wall Street Journal) after Monday’s Macklowe sale, in what was struck me as one of the most crass and callow remarks ever uttered by an auction-house official. … [Read more...] about Fallout from the Major Spring Sales: Auction Houses Win, Art Museums Lose

As a strategy for boosting bidding for works priced in the five- to six-figure range, the incongruous star turn of Warhol's nine-figure Shot Sage Blue Marilyn in Christie's Monday evening sale (the Collection of Thomas and Doris Ammann) of 35 less iconic works, many by lesser-known artists, can be deemed a partial success. Estimated to bring a total hammer price of $284-420 … [Read more...] about Some Like It Hot: Warhol’s “Marilyn” Underperforms at Christie’s While Bolstering Prices for Trendy Co-Stars

After allowing the Metropolitan Museum's Why Born Enslaved! by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux its moment in the spotlight in March, the Cleveland Museum boldly upstaged its New York counterpart in April with the triumphant announcement that it had "acquired...the master model [emphasis added] from which the other versions [presumably including the Met's] were produced." The … [Read more...] about Whose Gaze Is It? Dueling Carpeaux Shows at the Met & Cleveland Museum Take Liberties with Black Liberation

I did a double-take when this Christie's press release hit my inbox yesterday morning, seeming to indicate (until I rubbed my eyes, read further and cut through the auction-house hyperbole) that the Metropolitan Museum was about to offload one of its signature works of American art. The painting being auctioned next month is not the Leutze that comes to mind when we think of a … [Read more...] about Washington (Double)Crossing the Delaware: Christie’s Offers “The Other Version” of the Met’s Iconic Work

Katya Kazakina claimed a scoop last week in identifying (via Artnet) hedge-fund mogul/mega-collector Steve Cohen as the owner of Picasso's Femme Nue Couchée, 1932, a headliner for Sotheby's May 17 Modern evening auction: On April 7, two days before Katya's "Couchée" coup, her Artnet colleague, Sarah Cascone, had reported that the "Reclining Nude" had been "held by the … [Read more...] about Cohen Clone: The Reemergence (at Sotheby’s) of Steve’s Acquavella-Exhibited Picasso

Wondering who would be chosen to be the Wall Street Journal's next drama critic (in the wake of the sudden, unexpected demise of Terry Teachout on Jan. 13), I did a double take when I came upon this review in Saturday's paper---a harsh putdown of the Broadway revival of Neil Simon's “Plaza Suite,” starring Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker (a married couple in real … [Read more...] about Charles Isherwood’s Surprising, Unheralded Debut as the Wall Street Journal‘s New Theater Critic

For a variety of reasons, it's taken me too long to write this appraisal of a show that I saw 1½ months ago. For one thing, I was knocked sideways by the events in Ukraine. When I finally stumbled back to the keyboard, the international crisis' impact on the artworld (as well as other breaking cultural news) seemed to me more urgent than an exhibition review. Also holding … [Read more...] about Assaying Ringgold: Feeling the City Vibe While Grappling with My Ambivalence

Fairchain, a self-described new platform for "granting artists tradable residual rights [emphasis added] to their creative product" is "gaining traction with artists and gallerists," writes Robin Pogrebin in today's NY Times. "Tradable residual rights"? That would seem to be a new version of what we formerly referred to as "artists' resale royalties" (back in the heydays of … [Read more...] about Next Round in the Artists’ Resale Royalties Battle: Can Fairchain Succeed Where Others Have Failed?

UPDATE: In response to my query, the National Gallery, Washington, sent me this explanation as to why Kaywin Feldman, its director, was no longer on the Hermitage's International Advisory Board: Kaywin resigned from her Hermitage IAB board service in early March, consistent with the spirit of guidance issued by the U.S. Departments of State, Treasury, and Commerce, as part … [Read more...] about Increased Cultural Isolation of Russia: Hermitage’s International Board of Museum Leaders Is Suspended UPDATED

UPDATE: As reported by the NY Times and others, the alleged assailant of two Museum of Modern Art employees was arrested early today (Tuesday) in Philadelphia. And MoMA, which had been mum about this disturbing, much publicized incident, finally broke its silence with a tweet this morning, prior to reopening its doors to visitors after a two-day closure: We’ve reopened today … [Read more...] about More on the MoMA Stabbing: Where Were the Guards? UPDATED

According to reports in the NY Times, the NY Post and others, two women were stabbed this afternoon at the Museum of Modern Art and were said to be in "stable" (NY Times) or in "not life-threatening" (NY Post) condition. The suspect, according to the Post, was "believed to be a disgruntled former employee" and "is known to police." UPDATE: According to a spokesperson for the NY … [Read more...] about Two Reportedly Stabbed at Museum of Modern Art (Multiple Reports)–UPDATED THRICE

For the past week, I've been paralyzed by blogger's block, unable to focus on artworld controversies that seemed inconsequential in the context of what's been happening in Ukraine. I've been transfixed by Ukrainian news on my Twitter feed, particularly the posts of the Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent)---a good on-the-ground English-language source of breaking news that … [Read more...] about Ukraine’s Pain: How the Artworld Has Responded (and how you might too)