Auction Record: Iconic ‘Sugar Shack’ Painting by Ernie Barnes Sells for Whopping Nearly $15.3 Million
ON THURSDAY NIGHT, Christie’s 20th Century Evening Sale in New York featured 42 lots, premium works of art by a variety of famed artists such as Ruth Asawa, Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Jackson Pollock, William De Kooning, Joan Mitchell, and Andy Warhol. The selections included two paintings by African American artists. Both set new...
Ndubuisi C. Ezeluomba Returns to Virginia Museum of Fine Arts as Curator of African Art: ‘I Hope to Inspire an Appreciation for and Deeper Understanding of African Art’
THE VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS (VMFA) named Ndubuisi C. Ezeluomba to the position of curator of African art. The appointment marks his return to the Richmond museum. From 2016-18, Ezeluomba was an Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Research Specialist in African Art at VMFA. Ezeluomba will be responsible for the museum’s African art collection,...
Latest News in Black Art: Late Artist Winfred Rembert Wins Pulitzer, Barkley L. Hendricks and Wangechi Mutu Acquisitions, Plus Rome Prize Recipients & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Winfred Rembert won a Pulitzer Prize for “Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist’s Memoir of the Jim Crow South,” as told to Erin I. Kelly. | Photo by Renan Ozturk Awards & Honors...
Erica Wall Will Lead Lunder Institute at Colby College Museum of Art in Maine
THE COLBY COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART announced the appointment Erica Wall. An arts leader with two decades of experience, she will serve as director of the Lunder Institute for American Art. Located in downtown Waterville, Me., the Lunder Institute was established in 2017 as the research and creative arm of the museum. Inviting artists,...
3 Body Prints by David Hammons, Privately Owned for Nearly Half a Century, Hitting Auction Block at Sotheby’s
NEXT WEEK, Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Auction will feature 28 premium art works, including three body prints by David Hammons. For about a decade, from the late 1960s to late 70s, Hammons used grease, pigment, and his own body to create the unique, signature works. All three of the untitled monoprints up for auction were...
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Announced New Appointments Across Curatorial, Programming, and Diversity and Inclusion Teams
THE FINE ARTS MUSEUMS OF SAN FRANCISCO (FAMSF) announced a slate of new staff members on May 5, including Abram Jackson, director of interpretation; Courtney Jones, manager of diversity and inclusion; Sarah Mackay, assistant curator, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts; and Devin Malone, director of public programs and community engagement. FAMSF is comprised of...
Largest Painting by Howardena Pindell to Come to Auction Features Famous Hole-Punched Paper Dots, Glitter, and Sequins
A MONUMENTAL WORK by Howardena Pindell is coming to auction at Christie’s New York this week. “Untitled #24” (1978-79) is a grid-based work composed of several hundred squares painted, sewn together, and embellished with glitter, sequins, and Pindell’s signature hole-punched paper dots. “Untitled #24” is the largest painting by Pindell to come to auction....
Detroit Institute of Arts Appoints Juana Williams Associate Curator of African American Art
THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS (DIA) is welcoming a new curator this week, naming Juana Williams associate curator of African American art. An independent curator based in Detroit, she recently served as director of exhibitions at Library Street Collective and was an adjunct faculty member in art history at Wayne State University. Williams is...
Latest News in Black Art: LACMA Acquires Beauford Delaney Painting, First-Ever New York Art Week, Installations by Fred Wilson and Rashid Johnson at LaGuardia & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture BEAUFORD DELANEY, “Negro Man (Claude McKay),” 1944 ( oil on canvas, 19.12 x 16.25 inches / 48.6 x 41.3 cm). | Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of the 2022 Collectors Committee with additional...
Famed ‘Sugar Shack’ Painting by Ernie Barnes Headed to Auction at Christie’s
UPDATE (05/12/22): “The Sugar Shack” by Ernie Barnes hammered at $13 million, selling for a final price of $15,275,000 fees included, a huge record for the artist, exponentially smashing the his previous auction high mark, which was $550,000. The staggering result marks the first time a work by Barnes has sold for more than...
Latest News in Black Art: Sonia Boyce and Simone Leigh Win Golden Lions at Venice Biennale, Souls Grown Deep Brokers International Acquisitions, Artist List for Okwui Enwezor’s Sharjah Biennial & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Representing Great Britain, Sonia Boyce’s exhibition won the Golden Lion for best national pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale. | Photo by Felix Hörhager/picture alliance via Getty Images Awards & Honors On April 23,...
Lauren Haynes is Returning to New York City, Joining Queens Museum as Director of Curatorial Affairs and Programs
THE QUEENS MUSEUM in Queens, N.Y., announced the appointment of Lauren Haynes as director of curatorial affairs and programs this morning. Haynes spent a decade on the curatorial team at the Studio Museum in Harlem, departing in 2016 to join the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark. Last year, she accepted...
Simone Leigh Opens Much-Anticipated, Historic Exhibition at Venice Biennale, Becomes First Black Female Artist to Present Solo Show in U.S. Pavilion
Venice Biennale: “Simone Leigh: Sovereignty,” U.S. Pavilion, 2022 A TOWERING SCULPTURE pays homage to the ritual performances of the Baga peoples of the Guinea coast. Face jugs made by enslaved and free African Americans in the Edgefield District of South Carolina inspired a five-foot-tall vessel embellished with outsized forms that read as cowrie shells....
On View: See Images of Akinsanya Kambon’s Pan-African Inspired Ceramic Sculptures at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City
Ceramic works by Akinsanya Kambon at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions MAKING HIS SOLO DEBUT in New York City, Akinsanya Kambon is presenting figurative sculptures and wall reliefs at Jack Shainman Gallery. The ceramic works were made using an American raku firing technique, creating...
Jessica Bell Brown Promoted to Curator and Department Head for Contemporary Art at Baltimore Museum of Art
THE CONTEMPORARY ART DEPARTMENT at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) is now led by Jessica Bell Brown. After joining the museum as associate curator of contemporary art in November 2019, Brown was promoted to curator and department head for contemporary art earlier this month. In her new role, she is overseeing a growing...
Latest News in Black Art: Veronica Ryan and Ingrid Pollard Make Turner Prize Shortlist, Major Kerry James Marshall Painting Headed to Auction, Museum Surveys of Sam Gilliam and Frank Bowling Coming Soon & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Veronica Ryan is one of four artists shortlisted for the 2022 Turner Prize. | © Veronica Ryan. Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Photo: Steven Probert Awards & Honors On April 12, Tate Liverpool...
‘Black American Portraits’ Showcases 140 Artworks, Two Centuries of Representation Across Geographies and Diverse Practices
Installation view of “Black American Portraits,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art THE OBAMA PORTRAITS were such a hit at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., the museum launched a multi-city tour to give people throughout the country a chance to see the historic paintings. Kehinde Wiley‘s portrait of President Barack Obama...
Smithsonian American Art Museum: Telling an Inclusive Story of American Art
MINDFULLY BUILDING a national collection that showcases a multiplicity of perspectives and experiences is one of the most visible ways a museum can tell important stories. At the Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery, our curators have been acquiring artworks that present an inclusive story of American art, including often-overlooked histories...
Latest News in Black Art: Laurie Cumbo Appointed NYC Culture Czar, Civil Rights Photographer Doris Derby Died, Guggenheim Fellows, Derrick Adams, Derek Fordjour, Theaster Gates & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Civil Rights Photographer Doris Derby. | Photo courtesy Doris Derby via University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Lives Bronx, N.Y.-born civil rights photographer Doris Derby died in Newnan, Ga., outside Atlanta on March 28. She was...
Confirmed: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Headed to U.S. Supreme Court, Black Woman Photographer Captured History Maker’s First Official Portrait
IN A FORMAL, TRADITIONAL, and somber-toned room, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson stood for her first official portrait. Wearing all black, she posed before a black backdrop and studio lighting, the trappings of contemporary photography temporarily inserted into the White House complex space, literally disrupting history. The Senate confirmed Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court...
