December 2017 Art News

A conversation with Dr. Jennifer Henneman, Assistant Curator of Western American Art, Denver Art Museum, and Dr. Beth Harris about E. Martin Hennings, Rabbit Hunt, c. 1925, oil on canvas (Denver Art Museum).

Ahead of a Sotheby's auction of Important Judaica on December 20, the Metropolitan Museum of Art purchased a rare illuminated Hebrew Bible. Sotheby's estimated the text's value between $3.5 and $5 million, but before bidders had a chance, the Met swept in, making a pre-auction private purchase for an undisclosed amount.

 

The Directors of Marlborough Gallery are pleased to announce an exhibition of new paintings by the American artist, Vincent Desiderio.

Washington, DC—The National Gallery of Art announced on December 19th the acquisition of a major portrait bust by one of the most renowned sculptors of the Romantic era, Pierre-Jean David d'Angers (1788–1856). David d'Angers's public monuments and portraits of intellectuals and political figures capture the charged spirit of the epoch like no others.

As the end of 2017 nears, so does the expiration date on a $10 million reward offered by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for information leading to the recovery of their famously stolen paintings.

The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) will present an exhibition of video work by New York­–based artist Kenneth Tam (born 1982) starting December 23, 2017. “Kenneth Tam: Cold Open” challenges societal norms and assumptions regarding the male body as it explores themes of physical intimacy, sexuality, and vulnerability. The exhibition will be on view at Mia through April 8, 2018.

Open January 28 ­– June 24, 2018, Polymer Art: Recent Acquisitions showcases artworks new to Racine Art Museum (RAM) since the donation of over 200 polymer pieces in 2011.

BALTIMORE, MD (December 15, 2017) — The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) presents a focused exhibition of works by Senga Nengudi, one of the most inventive artists to combine abstract sculpture and performance art. Head Back & High: Senga Nengudi, Performance Objects (1976–2015), on view at the BMA through May 27, 2018, features a selection of eight works that span the artist’s career and underscore her continued ability to construct poetic environments out of salvaged materials.

The holiday season gives Historic Home Museums across the country the opportunity to bring in new visitors with the lure of festive decorations, a glimpse into history, and new takes on educational experiences. Compared to the fast-paced rotating exhibition schedule of many art museums, most historic home museums change their displays of art and decorative objects fairly infrequently. The holidays give these institutions the chance to be more festive and celebratory than their white-walled gallery counterparts can be.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the formation of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s first-ever Antiquities Trafficking Unit and the return of three ancient statues to the Lebanese Republic during a repatriation ceremony attended by the Consul General of Lebanon in New York, Majdi Ramadan, and ICE Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) Special Agent-in-Charge Angel M. Melendez.