According to the report, six out of eight global art markets experienced positive global art trends in 2015, despite lower sales in US, Europe and China. The full report, can be found on Deloitte’s website.
Last week, both the Victoria & Albert Museum and New York’s MoMa received generous donations from billionaires Leonard Blavatnik and David Geffen respectively. On Friday, The Walton Foundation joined in the streak of high-profile bequests by gifting Washington’s National Gallery of Art with $10 million in honor of art scholar John Wilmerding. The grant will contribute to the establishment of the John Wilmerding Fund for Education in American Art, which will support a number of new initiatives, including internships and an annual symposium. Art Forum has more information.
Los Angeles art dealer and gallery owner Perry Rubenstein was arrested on April 21 and charged with three counts of grand theft by embezzlement. The lawsuits were filed by collector Michael Salke and mogul Michael Ovitz after Rubenstein failed to turn over the full profit resulting from the sales of his clients’ paintings. On Friday, Rubenstein pleaded not guilty to all charges, Art Forum reports.
Apparently, the UK’s super-rich did not get richer over the last year. According to the Sunday Times Rich List British collectors Lakshmi Mittal and Charles Saatchi have seen their wealth declining as the global art market experiences a sharp slowdown. British artists on the other hand — notably Damien Hirst and Anish Kapoor — fared better; Hirst’s net worth jumped to £250 million, whilst Kapoor’s remains unchanged. Read more on The Art Newspaper.
On occasion of its New York Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on May 10, Christie’s will offer PH-234, 1948, a $25 million piece by Clyfford Still. With the majority of Still’s works residing in museums’ collections, Christie’s sale will be a rare opportunity to acquire a piece by the Abstract Expressionist painter. More information is available on Christie’s website.
