Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most consequential developments coming out of the art world and art market. Here’s what you need to know on this Thursday, January 20.
NEED-TO-READ
Smithsonian Names Director of the National Museum of the American Indian – Chavez Lamar, a member of San Felipe Pueblo tribe from New Mexico, takes up her new role as director of the Washington, D.C., institution on February 14. The first Native woman to lead a Smithsonian museum, she succeeds Kevin Glover, who left in January 2021. Lamar has served as the museum’s acting associate director since January 2021; she was named assistant director for collections in 2014. (New York Times)
Julia Garner Visited Anna Delvey in Prison – Emmy award-winning actress Julia Garner is playing the art-world fraudster Anna Delvey in an upcoming Netflix series (watch the trailer here). She met the convicted scammer in jail to do research for her starring role in Inventing Anna, and said she found Anna quite sweet. “She was extremely charming,” Garner said. “She’s very gentle. But then her voice gets less soft-spoken when she wants something.” (Yahoo)
Tracey Emin Wants Her Art Removed From Downing Street – Tracey Emin has demanded that Number 10 Downing Street, the seat of the U.K. prime minister, take down an artwork she gifted to the government because the “current situation is shameful.” Boris Johnson is in deep trouble for hosting parties at the official residence while the country was in strict lockdown in 2020 and 2021. Emin’s neon work More Passion has been hanging in there since 2011, when David Cameron was prime minister. “I feel More Passion is the last thing this present government needs,” the artist said in an Instagram post. “It could hang in the British embassy in Cairo, or go back into storage. There are many places it could go.” The prime minister’s office has said it will speak to Emin about her request. (Evening Standard)
Teddy Roosevelt Statue Starts to Come Down – The controversial bronze statue of Theodore Roosevelt, flanked by depictions of a Native American man and an African man on foot, is finally being disassembled after a long debate over its fate. It has been on view at the American Museum of Natural History since 1940 and is scheduled to leave in pieces throughout the week in a $2 million removal process. The statue will go into storage before eventually being transferred to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota. (NYT)
MOVERS & SHAKERS
There’s Gonna Be a Lot of Monet at Auction – Five works by Impressionist Claude Monet could rake in £35 million ($50 million) during Sotheby’s modern and contemporary art evening sale in London in March. The works, which all come from the same American private collection, come with a financial guarantee. Sotheby’s Helena…
Read More: Tracey Emin Wants Her Art Out of 10 Downing Street, Where Boris Johnson