— British Search for New Banksy Mural: Hours after a mural resembling the handiwork of international street artist Banksy appeared on the side of a house in Cheltenham near the GCHQ, the artist posted a picture of a different work — his newest official mural — on his website with no description, leaving fans guessing at the location (though some clues in the photo suggest it’s in the UK). The unconfirmed Cheltenham mural depicts three agents toting audio recording devices, positioned next to a phone booth — an obvious response to surveillance by the NSA and GCHQ. The mystery mural features two people embracing and peering over each other’s shoulders at cellphones. [Telegraph, Guardian]
— Hitler Auction Cancelled: After French Jewish groups and French Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti called for the cancellation of an auction of objects once owned by Adolf Hitler and Nazi air force chief Hermann Goering, the Vermot de Pas house has decided to stop the sale. Goering’s passport, a monogrammed mat bearing Hitler’s initials, and a chest owned by Hitler were to be included in the sale. French group CRIF called the sale “a form of moral indecency” and disrespectful to “the victims of Nazi barbarism.” [AFP, AFP]
— Critic Attacks Tate Head: British art critic Waldemar Januszczak has publicly called for Tate Britain head Penelope Curtis to be ousted. Januszczak does not hold back in his scathing denunciation of the museum’s director on his blog. “I first noticed what an appalling exhibition-maker she was when she co-curated the Modern British Sculpture show at the Royal Academy in 2011,” Januszczak wrote. “It was, quite simply, one of the worst exhibitions I have ever seen. Subsequent shows at Tate Britain have continued the trend.” [Waldemar]
— Oregon Museum Tax Break: The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon is the unlikely temporary home for many newly acquired artworks by collectors, like Francis Bacon’s “Three Studies of Lucian Freud,” because it provides a hefty tax break for loaning work to the institution. [NYT]
— Art World Buys in Yonkers: David Hammons bought a warehouse in Yonkers, New York, where he intends to open an art gallery, joining artist and architect Maya Lin, who recently purchased real estate in the city. Mayor Mike Spano said, “Now others in the art world want to join the transformation taking place in Yonkers,” hinting that Yonkers is poised to be the Williamsburg of Westchester. [Lohud]
— “Flip Art” Becomes a Movement: The New York Times dubs the skyrocketing prices generated by young artists like Oscar Murillo and Lucien Smith, whose work is known as “Flip Art” (privately bought and quickly sold off), as “just about the nearest thing in today’s fragmented global art scene that approximates to a coherent movement.” [NYT]
— President Obama has nominated William Adams as chairman for the National Endowment for the Humanities. [NYT]
— Mexico Tax Administration Service allows artists to pay their taxes in artwork. [The Atlantic]
— The American Academy in Rome has given this year’s Rome Prizes in the visual arts category to Corin Hewitt, Dave McKenzie, Cynthia Madansky, and Abinadi Meza. [AiA]
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