Arts news

London museum to return 72 Benin treasures to Nigeria

07-08-2022 23:31

Horniman museum is first government-funded institution to hand back artefacts looted by British forces in 1897A London museum is to return 72 treasured artefacts, including its collection of Benin bronzes, to Nigeria in what experts described as an “immensely significant” moment.The Horniman museum said it would transfer the ownership of the historic objects to the Nigerian government after an unanimous vote by its board of trustees. Continue reading...

Read more
The perils of living in a man’s world | Letter

07-08-2022 17:55

The undervaluing of art made by women reflects a wider problem with social perceptions, writes Marianne GemmekeIt is indeed shocking that art made by men costs 10 times more (‘Mind-blowing’: Why do men’s paintings cost 10 times more than women’s?, 2 August). But looking at the quality of the art itself is trying to solve the wrong problem. Men have always given work by men higher monetary value – that is unlikely to change. This art, like wine, is primarily bought a

Read more
‘They moved to silence and erase’: artists who sued Tate speak out

07-08-2022 17:12

Exclusive: Tate agreed to pay a six-figure settlement after claim of discrimination, victimisation and harassmentThree artists who sued the Tate for victimisation, alleging breach of contract and race discrimination, have told of their experiences after it agreed to pay them a six-figure settlement.The action was taken after the institution told one of the women, who had been commissioned to lead a major year-long programme, that she could not work with Jade Montserrat, an artist who has made al

Read more
‘There’s a raw energy’: Hydra, artists’ haven, still casts its spell

07-08-2022 16:31

The Greek island has attracted creatives for over 8o years, from Henry Miller to Leonard Cohen and Jeff KoonsPerched on a hillock in Hydra, Jeff Koons’ Apollo wind spinner is hard to miss. The gargantuan sun sculpture welcomes visitors at all hours, its golden rays and face a vibrant (if lurid) reminder that art is alive and well on this Argo-Saronic isle. If the 9.1-metre spinner were not enough, Koons has also turned the slaughterhouse on which it stands into a shrine dedicated to the su

Read more
Advertisement
Young & Wild? Art in 1980s Germany; Pre-Raphaelite: Drawings and Watercolours – review

07-08-2022 14:00

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
There’s prolific energy, and the odd woeful daub, in a small show of art from 1980s Berlin – all eclipsed by a single pencil sketch nearby...One of the problems I have with German neo-expressionism is that there seems to be such a lot of it about. But maybe this goes some way to explaining why, against all expectations, I found myself quite enjoying Young & Wild? at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Not only is this exhibition, comprised mostly of work from

Read more