Linda Nochlin (1931–2017)

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Linda Nochlin (1931–2017) | American art historian and writer Linda Nochlin died yesterday, at the age of 86. Nochlin was celebrated for her pioneering contributions to feminist art history, most famously in her 1971 essay ‘Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?’ Until her retirement in 2013 Nochlin taught at the New York University Institute of Fine Arts, where she was professor of modern art. For an account of Nochlin’s many other achievements, see the Artnews obituary here.

British Museum ends agreement with stalled Abu Dhabi museum | The British Museum has ended its 10-year agreement, signed in 2009, with Abu Dhabi’s tourism development and investment company, under which the BM had agreed to provide loans and advisory services to the UAE capital’s future Zayed National Museum. The early termination of the deal comes four years after the Foster + Partners-designed building in Abu Dhabi was originally due to open in 2013. According to the Art Newspaper’s report, the agreement – while no longer operational – has not been cancelled, leaving open the possibility for future co-operation between the two institutions, although the fate of the ZNM is not particularly clear at this point.

Art industry figures sign open letter denouncing sexual harassment | In the wake of last week’s news that Artforum’s (now-resigned) publisher Knight Landesman is being sued for sexual misconduct, a group of industry figures has gathered to write an open letter denouncing sexual harassment in the art world, which the Guardian has published here. The letter is titled ‘Not Surprised’, after the Jenny Holzer slogan ‘abuse of power comes as no surprise’. According to the Guardian’s report, 150 people – including prominent gallerists, artists, curators, and writers – penned the collective text, which currently has over 2,000 signatories. Further signatures can be added to the letter via a dedicated website which has been set up.

V&A acquires Wilton’s Music Hall archive | The Victoria & Albert Museum’s theatre collection has acquired an archive documenting the history of Wilton’s Music Hall in London, one of a very few surviving music halls in the UK. The archive records the building’s journey from its opening in 1859, through a period of dereliction in the late 20th century and the subsequent preservation campaign and restoration project.

Five UK locations bid for European Capital of Culture title | Five locations across Britain – Nottingham, Milton Keynes, Leeds, Belfast and Derry, and Dundee – have submitted their final bids to be named European Capital of Culture in 2023. The UK government has affirmed its commitment to hosting the event, alongside Hungary, in six years despite the prospect of the UK leaving the European Union. The DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) has issued a statement warning that the event is ‘subject to the outcome of those exit negotiations which could have a bearing on the UK’s participation’.

Recommended reading | In the latest issue of the New York Review of Books  the novelist and playwright Darryl Pinckney writes about Kara Walker’s recent exhibition at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. Meanwhile, in the New York Times, Robin Pogrebin looks at the different strategies adopted by art galleries to cope with the changing economics of the art market. And in the London Review of Books, Adam Smyth considers The Print Before Photography: An Introduction to European Printmaking 1550–1820 by Antony Griffiths, which won the 2016 Apollo Award for book of the year.