— Sotheby’s Partners With eBay: Sotheby’s and eBay announced today a partnership to stream the auction house’s sales live on a new, dedicated section of the online marketplace. Sotheby’s also plans to expand and add online-only themed and time-based sales in the future. The partnership will provide 145 million eBay customers with bidding access to Sotheby’s sales in 18 categories. [NYT, Art Market Monitor]
— Hirst Refuses Sale of Early Spot Painting: Spot painter Damien Hirst is refusing to let his 1988 painting “Bombay Mix,” made for Jamie Ritblat and painted directly on the wallpaper of her house in London, to be sold by the house’s new owner, Jess Simpson. Simpson recently removed and framed the painting and offered it to both Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Hirst’s company, Science Ltd, said in a statement, “The ownership of a wall painting in the series titled Wall Spots always resides with the owner of the Wall Spots signed certificate, which accompanies the art work.” [BBC]
— Cape Town’s New Contemporary African Art Museum: A $50 million project to convert 42 colonial grain silos into the biggest museum of contemporary art from Africa is underway in Cape Town, South Africa, thanks to an international team of art experts and architects. The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa’s permanent collection — which will fill its 80 galleries along with temporary and travelling exhibitions — comes from the Zeitz Collection, founded in 2002 and currently held and shown in Switzerland, Spain, South Africa, the United States, and Kenya. British architect Thomas Heatherwick, best known for his Olympic cauldron for the 2012 London Games, will build the museum. [Ahram]
— Google Gives MOCA Visitors Wrong Info: Incorrect information about MOCA’s hours, thanks to a complex search algorithm on Google, is misleading museumgoers to visit on days when the institution is closed. [LAT]
— Spain Urged to Return Nazi Loot: Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, issued a statement Friday asking the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid to cease its legal fight to keep a Nazi-looted painting by Camille Pissarro. [Jewish Daily Forward]
— The Problems With Beaux-Arts Museums: Justin Davidson has penned a piece for Vulture examining why Beaux-Arts museums face difficulties and public opposition when expanding. [Vulture]
— Wax museums like Madame Tussauds are growing more popular than ever in the age of the selfie. [Globe and Mail]
— Gilbert & George will be hosting a live Q&A on Tuesday, July 15, on the Guardian to promote their new show at London’s White Cube. [Guardian]
— “Heart Rocks” are the most popular item at the 9/11 Museum’s gift shop, and they are selling out faster than Georgia artist Red Sandlin can make them. [NYPost]
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