Former shipping executive Paddy Rodgers to direct Royal Museums Greenwich

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Former shipping executive Paddy Rodgers to direct Royal Museums Greenwich | Paddy Rodgers, former CEO of tanker shipping company Euronav, has been appointed as director of the Royal Museums Greenwich. Rodgers announced his departure from Euronav, where he was at the helm for almost 20 years, in February; this unusual career change will see him replace Kevin Fewster, who is retiring after more than a decade as director of the museum.

David L. Lee elected president of Getty Trust board | David L. Lee, the founder of a private equity firm, has been elected president of the J. Paul Getty Trust board by its members. Lee has served on the board since 2009, and his four-year term begins 1 July. He succeeds Maria Hummer-Tuttle, a lawyer. 

Flemish government to offer loans to contemporary art buyers | The Flemish government will offer interest-free loans of €500 to €7,000 for buyers of contemporary art by Flemish and Brussels artists. The pilot program will begin this September. ‘Buying a work of art should be possible for everyone, even if you’re not an expert and don’t have a big budget,’ said Sven Gatz, the Flemish minister for culture.

Stanley Tigerman (1930–2019) | Architect Stanley Tigerman died on Monday at the age of 88. Tigerman, who lived and worked in Chicago, was known for a playful, postmodern style that blended pop culture and classical forms and for enlivening architectural discourse with his dissent from modernism.

Joe Overstreet (1933–2019) | Painter Joe Overstreet has died at the age of 85. Overstreet drew on his African-American and Choctaw heritage in his works, which ranged from geometric abstractions to figuration and were often hung in unusual ways – unframed and unstretched, on floors and ceilings. He also co-founded and ran Kenkeleba House, a non-profit gallery dedicated to artists of colour.