Art Institute of Chicago acquires newly rediscovered Sebastiano painting

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Art Institute of Chicago acquires rediscovered painting by Sebastiano Del Piombo | The Art Institute of Chicago has bought Sebastiano Del Piombo’s Christ Carrying the Cross (1515/1517), a masterpiece that has only recently been identified as the work of the Renaissance artist. The AIC has not revealed what it paid for the painting, but credits London-based gallery Colnaghi with its rediscovery. Sebastiano painted several scenes based on the subject, which can be found in museums including the Prado and the State Hermitage. The acquisition is something of a coup: ‘We couldn’t be more thrilled to have this rare and wonderful opportunity to bring such an important painting […] into the Art Institute’s permanent collection,’ says Gloria Groom, Chair of European Painting and Sculpture at the AIC.

Iranian artist prevented from leaving the country | Parviz Tanavoli, one of Iran’s leading contemporary artists, was stopped by customs at Tehran airport on Sunday and prevented from leaving the country, reports The Art Newspaper. Tanavoli, who had been due to attend a talk at the British Museum, had his passport confiscated and was told he could not leave for London. ‘I am still pending and I still have no idea why I am kept here,’ he told TAN. ‘They tell me soon my case will be sorted out. What case? When is soon? I have no idea.’

Ellsworth Kelly Foundation donates $1 million to FCA for new award | The Foundation for Contemporary Art has received $1 million from the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation as an endowment to set up a new award for contemporary art. The $40,000 Ellsworth Kelly Award will be a prize to support solo exhibitions by emerging, mid-career, or under-recognised artists in US regional museums or university art galleries. The inaugural recipient is the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, for a exhibition of film, video, and sculpture by Cauleen Smith in autumn 2018.

Mami Kataoka named artistic director of 21st Sydney Biennale | Mami Kataoka, Chief Curator at Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum, has been appointed artistic director of the 21st Sydney Biennale, to be held in 2018. Kataoka, who advised on this year’s 20th biennale, is the first curator from Asia to take the leading role. She has worked widely with international organisations including the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, where she contributed to the successful ‘Ai Weiwei: According to What?’ show in 2012.

K.G. Subramanyan (1924–2016) | Artist K.G. Subramanyan has died aged 92, reports the Times of India. Born in Kerala in 1924, Subramanyan was involved with his homeland’s independence struggle as a young man, and was briefly imprisoned by British authorities. He turned his attentions to art in the second half of the 1940s, studying at Santiniketan under the tutelage of Benode Behari Mukherjee, Nandalal Bose and Ramkinkar Baij. His work drew on many sources, from folk-art traditions to modernism, taking in weaving, pottery and murals. In 2012, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award.