November 4, 2022

Good morning. ⛅️

In a deal struck between the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Greek government, and a private museum in Athens, ancient Greek artifacts from the collection of American billionaire Leonard Stern will be returned to their country of origin. Here's the catch: They must be loaned to the Met for at least 25 years before that happens. Yannis Hamilakis, a professor of Archaeology and Modern Greek Studies at Brown University, casts a critical eye on this deal and reveals its lesser-known details in a special opinion article today.

And remember the Dutch activist who tried to glue his head to Vermeer's “Girl with a Pearl Earring”? He was sentenced to one month in prison even though the painting wasn't damaged. The judge is clearly making an example of him, but will that really deter copycats? After all, these young activists are fighting for their future survival.

There's a lot more, including Required Reading and the real-life stories of famous art muses. Happy Friday!

— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor

Sorry, But This Is Not “Repatriation”

The Met’s deal with the Greek government to “repatriate” billionaire Leonard Stern’s Cycladic art collection is not what it seems.  | Yannis Hamilakis

LATEST NEWS 

• A California mural created in 2020 by Alicia Rojas honoring Latina women was defaced with "White Power" graffiti.

• The activists who targeted Vermeer's “Girl With a Pearl Earring” have been sentenced by a Dutch court to two months in jail, with one month suspended.

• Disgraced art dealer Subhash Kapoor has received a 10-Year prison sentence for trafficking over 2,600 individual objects worth over $143 million.

LATEST REVIEWS

N.V. Parekh and the Rise of Studio Photography in East Africa

Isolde Brielmaier’s book I Am Sparkling illustrates how Parekh’s studio became a place for sitters to assert their agency in a changing world. | Mallory Cohen

Two Sparse Brooklyn Exhibitions Probe the Elemental Forces of Life

Things have their own power and agency in the artist’s installation and humans are part of a complex world of life forms and materials. | Gregory Volk

Amusing Stories About the Muses of Art

Ruth Millington tells the story of the women (and nine men) who have been portrayed in various paintings considered “masterpieces.” | Hall W. Rockefeller

ALSO ON HYPERALLERGIC

Scan These Artworks and They Will Come to Life

Visitors to two Chinatown parks in New York can scan colorful banners that turn into lively animations about Chinese heritage and immigrant narratives. | Jasmine Liu

Required Reading

This week, Heidi Klum’s Halloween worm costume, the online therapy bubble, Noam Chomsky, and more. | Hrag Vartanian & Lakshmi Rivera Amin

Opportunities in November 2022

From residencies, fellowships, and workshops to grants, open calls, and commissions, our monthly list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers.

View the full list

TRANSITIONS

• The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art named five new board members: Kat Bishop, Giselle Byrd, Gonzalo Casals, Chella Man, and Raquel Willis.

• Cindy Sherman, Uzodinma Iweala, Jane Corkin, Robert Fribourg, and Jonathan R. Furer were named board members at the International Center of Photography.

• Frances Morris announced that she will step down from her role as director of Tate Modern.

AWARD & ACCOLADES

• The Los Angeles organization LAXART received a $1M gift from Jarl and Pamela Mohn.

• Patti Smith was awarded a Special Mention for the Bernard Heidsieck-Centre Pompidou 2022 International Prize for Literature.

• The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) was awarded a $2.5M grant from the Perenchio Foundation.

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