Germany Approves Controversial Cultural Property Bill

Controversial Cultural Property Bill Approved in Germany | Presumably Georg Baselitz will not be a happy man today. The German cabinet has approved a widely debated bill amending legislation on the protection of cultural property, reports Art Magazin. If the bill is ratified when it goes before Parliament, it could well draw the ire of artists and dealers, some of whom – Baselitz and Gerhard Richter among them – spoke out earlier in the process.

UK Culture Ministry Imposes Export Bar on Hans Coper Bowl | Another week, another treasure at risk of leaving British shores. Culture Minister Ed Vaizey has placed a temporary export bar on a 1950s bowl designed by ceramicist Hans Coper. Valued at over £90,000, the bowl is decorated with an abstract bird design, and dates from a pivotal moment in Coper’s career.

Orange Order Accused of Censoring Art | The Royal Ulster Academy has not agreed to the Orange Order’s demand that they remove a painting from display, reports the Independent. The work in question is the last known painting by artist Joseph McWilliam, and according to the Orange Order contains a ‘small blurred section’ depicting Orangemen in the costume of the Ku Klux Klan.

Picasso’s La Gommeuse Gives Sotheby’s Sale a Boost | Picasso’s La Gommeuse sold for $67 million at yesterday’s Impressionist & Modern evening sale at Sotheby’s, breaking records for the artist’s ‘Blue Period’. The sale brought in $306.7 million in all, reports The Art Newspaper.

ICA Miami Will Soon Break Ground on New Building | The ICA Miami has named the date on which it will break ground on its new home in the city’s Design District. The 37,500 square-foot building will include a sculpture garden and 20,000 square feet of adjustable gallery space.

Dilapidated Rail Shed to be Converted into Cultural Space in Perth | Could Western Australia be the new Berlin? A run down goods shed in the Perth suburb of Claremont is to be converted into a state of the art cultural centre, reports ABC News. The shed, which was built in 1900, will house a gallery space as well as facilities for artists in residence.

Richard Gorman Wins Savills Art Prize | Artist Richard Gorman has won the inaugural Savills Art Prize, reports the Irish Times. The prize, which is funded by property company Savills, was awarded on the opening night of Ireland’s Vue 2015 contemporary art fair.

Sylvie Patry Leaves Musée d’Orsay for Barnes Foundation | Sylvie Patry has accepted the post of chief curator and deputy director for collections and exhibitions at Philadelphia’s Barnes Foundation, reports The Art Newspaper. Patry, who has worked as a curator at Paris’s Musée d’Orsay for a decade, will take up the position in January.