Richard Prince faces another lawsuit
3 June
Yet another copyright lawsuit was filed against the appropriation artist Richard Prince and his gallery Gagosian, over the use of three photos of the 1970s punk rock band the Sex Pistols, including one of its charismatic bass guitarist Sid Vicious. The London-based photographer’s corporation Dennis Morris is seeking unspecified damages and any profits the artist and his dealer made from Prince’s alleged use of the images in work exhibited in 2011 at the Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York, and offered for sale over the internet as an untitled work.
Artists invited to illuminate the Thames
7 June
A charity led by Hannah Rothschild plans to transform central London’s many bridges. A design competition has been launched for the £20m project, titled Illuminated River, in which 18 Thames river crossings, two of which are yet to be built, will be reimagined. Sadiq Khan, the new mayor of London, has backed the project in his first endorsement of an ambitious cultural project.
France helps flood-hit historic monuments
9 June
The French culture ministry has announced an €8m fund to conserve historic monuments that do not belong to the state and have been damaged by recent severe flooding, which caused damage across the country totalling an estimated €1bn. An additional grant will go to the non-profit La Fondation du Patrimoine for conserving water-damaged gardens that are listed as heritage sites, but are not protected under the official title of “historic monument”.
Long-lost Gauguin surfaces in Connecticut
16 June
A still-life by Paul Gauguin that belonged to a Manhattan antiques dealer, who was not aware that it was by the artist, was rediscovered by a Connecticut auction house. Summer Flowers in a Goblet (1885) appears to be a long-lost work that is listed in the artist’s catalogue raisonné, where it is illustrated with a black-and-white photo. As The Art Newspaper went to press, it was due to be sold on 29 June at Litchfield County Auction, with an estimate of $800,000 to $1.2m.
Christo’s Floating Piers closes for repairs
23 June
The Floating Piers (until 3 July), a public project by Christo that links islands in Italy’s Lake Iseo with fabric-covered walkways, proved so popular that it had to be closed for repairs and cleaning. Organisers initially expected around 45,000 visitors a day, a number that more than doubled to 97,000 on 22 June. Organisers also worked with officials to delay train travel to Lake Iseo as a crowd-control measure.