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The Headlines




THE YEAR OF PICASSO.  Next year is the 50th anniversary of  Pablo Picasso ’s death, at 91, and to mark the occasion, Spain and France are supporting  an international initiative  that will involve more than 40 shows and events devoted to the artist, the  Art Newspaper  reports. “Our aim is to  revindicate the artistic legacy of Picasso  and the relevance of his work,” Spain’s culture minister,  Miquel Iceta , said, per the  Associated Press . The list of offerings in  “Celebration Picasso 1973–2023” —which is being overseen by staffers at the  Musée National Picasso-Paris  and  Bernard Ruiz-Picasso , the maestro’s grandson—is long, and includes seven shows alone in the U.S. One intriguing item: A  Brooklyn Museum  show opening in June will address “interconnected issues of misogyny, masculinity, creativity, and ‘genius,’ particularly around a complex, mythologized figure like Picasso,” according to a statement quoted by  TAN . Curators  Lisa Small  and  Catherine Morris  and comedian  Hannah Gadsby  are organizing that one.




THE CURIOUS CASE OF DOUGLAS CHRISMAS.  In  ARTnews , journalist  Catherine Wagley  has  a deep dive  on dealer  Douglas Chrismas , who founded  Ace Gallery  in 1961 in Vancouver, made it a key player in the Los Angeles art scene in subsequent decades, and was forced out amid a bankruptcy in 2016, when Wagley started reporting on him. Chrismas has “been accused of fabricating artists’ works, failing to return unsold artworks, withholding payments, and financial mismanagement,” she writes, and now is staring down a federal trial on embezzlement charges that could send him to prison for 15 years. He has denied wrongdoing.  Read the full story at  ARTnews .




The Digest




Emanoel Araujo , the founder of São Paulo’s  Museu Afro Brasil , has died at 81. Araujo’s career also included a stretch as director of the city’s  Pinacoteca . “His tenure there met with prejudice at first—artists and city officials resistant to having a Black, gay man from the north of Brazil in charge,”  ArtReview  writes. “Araujo refused to be cowed however, and set about a dramatic reimagining of the museum.”  [ArtReview]




William MacDougall , the founder of  MacDougall’s Fine Art Auctions  in London, which was the the first international auction firm to have staffers on the ground in Moscow and Kyiv, Ukraine, died in the Russian capital last week. He was 67.  [The Art Newspaper]




Artist  Diane Noomin , an underground comics legend who created the volume  Twisted Sisters  with  Aline Kominsky-Crumb , has died at 75. Among the characters she developed was  DiDi Glitz,  “a curvy, big-haired, leopard-print-loving, fishnet-stocking-and-miniskirt-wearing and hard-drinking single mother,”  Penelope Green  writes.  [The New York Times]




The United States returned to Israel a silver coin that was minted by Jews in the years 66 to 73 while in rebellion against Roman rule and that was illegally excavated in 2002, according to authorities. The coin, valued at as much as $1 million, was confiscated after being listed as a lot in a sale at an auction house in Denver.  [The New York Times]




Artist  Duke Riley , who currently has a show up at the  Brooklyn Museum , answered “21 Questions” from  Curbed , and claimed that he once owned writer “ H.P. Lovecraft ’s front tooth that was gifted to me by some grave robbers while I was living in Providence.” Alas, a “goth girl” swallowed it at a party, he said.  [Curbed]




The Kicker




ART IS WHAT YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH.  Designer  Tommy Hilfiger ’s latest runway show, held on Sunday night at the  Skyline Drive-In  in Brooklyn, was inspired by  Andy Warhol , and featured  a set referencing  the artist’s famed “Silver Factory,” and  Bob Colacello , the former editor of his  Interview  magazine, walking as a model, the  Guardian  reports. The way that Warhol brought “all different people together from art, fashion, music, entertainment, celebrity is very similar to what I’ve done and what I’m doing,”  Hilfiger told  the  Associated Press .  [The Guardian  and  AP]