— Tony Bennett Painting at Tribeca: As part of a Tribeca Film Festival tradition, original works of art are given to filmmakers who win in the juried competitions. This year crooner Tony Bennett’s expressionistic painting of a scene in Central Park will be among the awards booty. Seven other works, including pieces by James Nares, Clifford Ross, and Catherine Murphy, will also be handed out to award winners. [Variety]
— Petty Business: Despite Larry Gagosian’s efforts to have Ronald Perelman’s case against him dismissed, New York State Supreme Justice Barbara Kapnick has allowed Perelman’s claim of fraud against Gagosian to go forward. The dispute started in September 2012 when Gagosian sued Perelman for allegedly reneging on an agreement and Perelman sued him back the same day for purportedly trying to force him into buying a $4 million Jeff Koons “Popeye” sculpture. Although Kapnick dropped other claims of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, and deceptive business practices, she ordered Gago to face the fraud claim. [Bloomberg]
— Rosen Allegedly Removing Picasso: Some suspect that mega collector Aby Rosen is behind a plan to remove an extremely fragile 19-foot Picasso tapestry from the Four Seasons Restaurant. RFR Holding, the company that owns the Seagram Building and counts Rosen as a founder, ordered the tapestry to be removed February 9 because the wall on which it hangs is allegedly at risk of collapsing. A lot of people aren’t buying that explanation and think Rosen has plans to get rid of the tapestry in favor of installing some contemporary art. [NYT]
— RIP Joan of Art: Former Second Lady Joan Mondale, who was nicknamed “Joan of Art” for her devotion to arts patronage, has died at age 83. [NYT]
— Presidio Denies George Lucas Museum: The Presidio Trust in San Francisco has rejected all three museum proposals for Crissy Field, including George Lucas’s Cultural Arts Museum, which might cause the “Star Wars” creator to take Rahm Emanuel up on his offer to put the museum in Chicago. [SF Examiner]
— Chicago Museum Attendance Down: Then again, Lucas might be deterred by new numbers that calculate that Chicago museum attendance was down in 2013. Meanwhile, a new series of scratch-off bus stop ads conceived by MCA Chicago could improve the 2014 numbers. [Chicago Tribune, Gizmodo]
— The Franklin School in Washington, D.C., will be converted into a contemporary art kunsthalle, according to city economic development officials. [WP]
— The Keir Collection of Islamic art has been pledged to the Dallas Museum of Art on a renewable 15-year loan. [NYT]
— Prominent art collecting hedge funder Adam Sender’s firm Exis Capital Management will shut down. [WSJ]
ALSO ON ARTINFO
Kim Gordon’s Sonic Send-Off for MoMA PS1’s Mike Kelley Retrospective
“What Is a Photograph?” at the ICP [VIDEO]
After First Year Controversy, Hammer Museum Changes “Made in L.A.” Biennial Awards
New App “Street Art NYC” Points New Yorkers to Graffiti Hot Spots
Check out our blog IN THE AIR for breaking news throughout the day.
