The Art Newspaper

Editorial & Commentary

The current law is unfair to artists, hurts museums and libraries and results in fewer donations
Roland Augustine: Artists should have same tax deductions as collectors when donating works of art

And also:

Tough times will provide opportunities

After half a decade of unprecedented growth, the art market has been brought back to earth. Recent results from London contemporary auctions confirmed the fear that the art market is in for a... >>

Anders Petterson | 5.11.08

Speculation in young artists is over, and the smaller dealers will be hurt the most

The theory: speculation in art (and young art) is over. When several guaranteed Rudolf Stingel works failed to sell at auction last winter, it signalled the end of a certain kind of buying of art. It... >>

Josh Baer | 15.10.08

Sleepers: whose side is the law on?

In January The Art Newspaper revealed that an item catalogued by Lawrences auctioneers in Somerset as a 19th-century French claret jug, with an estimate of £100-£200, had sold at auction to an... >>

Philip Davis and Graham Ludlam | 9.10.08

Features

“I never thought there would be an audience for my work”

Widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in contemporary sculpture, Richard Serra has caused both commercial galleries and museums across the world to scale and reinforce their... >>

Louisa Buck | 19.11.08

How did Italy get so ugly?

The Brenta Canal gets sold to tourists as an idyllic boat ride, but the authorities allowed Mira Lanza to build this factory on its banks

“The Veneto is one great construction site that has produced monstrosity after monstrosity over the past 50 years, damaging both people and the environment,” says Francesco Vallerani, a geography... >>

Edek Osser | 5.11.08

In and out of love with Damien Hirst

Hirst’s School: the Archaeology of Lost Desires: Comprehending Infinity and the Search for Knowledge, 2007, is co-owned by the Mugrabis and Lever House

I wanted to be stopped and no one stopped me. I wanted to find out where the boundaries were. So I’ve found that there aren’t any.” Damien Hirst might have declared as much after Sotheby’s announced... >>

Sarah Thornton | 23.10.08

Biology, nature and evolution turned on their head

Weird science: one of the installations at the Liverpool Biennial

Montreal born, New York-based David Altmejd’s opulent, and highly disquieting sculpture has been attracting attention since the 2004 Whitney Biennial with his display of two bejewelled werewolf... >>

15.10.08

Web only

Buyer withdraws export application for Cranach portrait

LONDON. An important Cranach portrait bought in London by Ken Thomson—the Canadian newspaper proprietor known as Lord Thomson in the UK—was unveiled at the Art Gallery of Ontario at its reopening on... >>

Martin Bailey | 27.11.08

Icon returned to Greece 30 years after theft

LONDON. A 14th-century icon worth an estimated £1m has been returned to Greece 30 years after it was stolen from a monastery located in the northern city of Serres. Scotland Yard handed over the... >>

Emily Sharpe | 27.11.08

Appeal against collector’s bequest to Unicef withdrawn

FRANKFURT. The dispute over the art collection of the late medical practitioner Gustav Rau has finally come to an end. In mid-October a descendant of Dr Rau and a number of foundations set up by him... >>

Christine Hoffmann | 27.11.08

Exclusive: “irrevocable bid” has pulled out

London. The unknown investor who had agreed to place an “irrevocable bid” on Edvard Munch’s painting Vampire, 1894, at Sotheby’s sale of Impressionist and Modern art in New York today has pulled out... >>

Georgina Adam | 3.11.08

Books

Visions of Babylon—and beyond

The word “Babylon” conjures up highly evocative imagery and symbolism. The traditional western view of Babylon, as inherited from Biblical and Classical sources, evokes the monumental Hanging Gardens... >>

John D.M. Green | 12.11.08

This art stuff—what does it all mean?

The art world—as distinct from the world of art—embraces many disparate and seemingly incommensurate groups, from dealers and millionaires to academics, old-fashioned connoisseurs, impoverished young... >>

Roger Malbert | 15.10.08