Briefing
Jennifer Scott appointed Dulwich Picture Gallery's first female director; Kunstmuseum Bern to inherit controversial Gurlitt collection
Jennifer Scott appointed Dulwich Picture Gallery's first female director; Kunstmuseum Bern to inherit controversial Gurlitt collection
- Jennifer Scott, currently director of the Holburne Museum in Bath, has been named as the new director of London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery. Scott will become the first woman to lead the gallery when she succeeds Ian A. C. Dejardin, who is stepping down after a 12 years at the helm. In a statement, Evelyn Welch, the board chair, said: ‘[Scott’s] passion for the gallery is clear and her achievements at the Holburne Museum and at the Royal Collection are an excellent foundation for joining Dulwich. We look forward to welcoming her on board as we look towards the gallery’s future ambitions.
- Kunstmuseum Bern will inherit the art collection of Cornelius Gurlitt, who passed away in May of 2014, after a court in Munich dismissed a challenge by Ura Werner, the cousin of the deceased, who claimed that the elderly hoarder was not in a stable enough mental state to produce a will. The controversial collection comprises around 1,500 works from the likes of Paul Cézanne, Otto Dix, and Claude Monet, and was compiled by Hildebrand Gurlitt, the father of the deceased and an art dealer for the Nazis who bought works seized from Jews or sold under duress.
- Afarin Niasari and her husband Karan Vafadari, an Iranian-American couple who together run the Aun Gallery in Tehran, have been in detention at Tehran’s Evin prison since late July, despite no formal charges being filed against them. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reports that the pair have not been granted any access to counsel since being arrested by Intelligence Organization agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Kateh Vafadari, Karan’s sister, who is based in Washington, D.C., claims that the couple have been the victims of ‘extortion, property seizure and national security threats’.
- An online petition to temporarily replace all of the adverts on the Paris metro with artworks has gained close to 13,000 signatures. The proposal takes its lead from the recent public art project ‘Art Station’, which that invited street artists in Montpellier to turn 24 of the publicity panels in one of the city's busiest metro stations into original artworks for a single week. (French)
- Richard Gray Gallery is set to open a second space in Chicago. The new gallery, which has been designed by Wheeler Kearns Architects and will cover 5,000 square-feet at 2044 West Carroll Avenue, is scheduled to open in April of next year with an exhibition of paintings by Jim Dine. Paul Gray, gallery partner, said: ‘With many leaving the West Loop due to rising rents, we thought that as one of the oldest and most prominent galleries in Chicago we could catalyze something positive by making a substantial commitment to an area that has the attributes to become home to many galleries.’
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