Lord Snowdon, royal photographer, dies at 86

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Lord Snowdon (1930–2017) | Lord Snowdon, the photographer and former husband of Princess Margaret, has died at home at the age of 86. Born Antony Armstrong-Jones in London in 1930, he began his career as a photographer in the 1950s, working on projects related to fashion, design, and theatre. He took a role as artistic advisor at the Sunday Times Magazine and co-designed the aviary at London Zoo with Cedric Price and Frank Newby. He married Princess Margaret in 1960, and was created Earl of Snowdon and Viscount Linley, retaining the title after the couple’s divorce in 1978. He is probably best known for his portrait photography, which was celebrated with a major retrospective at the National Portrait Gallery in 2001. In 2014, he donated more than 130 photographs to the museum in one of the largest donations in its history.

Tristram Hunt to take over at V&A | In a surprise appointment, the Victoria and Albert Museum has announced that historian, broadcaster, and politician Tristram Hunt is to take over as its next director, replacing Martin Roth. Hunt, who has served as the Labour Party’s MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central since 2010, is a newcomer to museum management, but has sat on the judging panel for the UK’s annual Museum of the Year award and is a serving trustee of the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Manchester ‘Factory’ given green light | A proposed arts centre for Manchester designed by Rem Koolhaas’s OMA architecture firm has been granted planning permission by city councillors, reports the Guardian. The Factory, as it will be called, is an integral part of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ project, for which £78 million of government money was pledged in 2014, a sum which was confirmed this week. The building, construction of which is expected to begin this spring, will be located on the site of the former Granada TV studios and will be run by the Manchester International Festival.

Tania Bruguera detained in Cuba | Tania Bruguera was detained and interrogated in Cuba yesterday, after travelling to her home country as part of a humanitarian aid mission. According to The Art Newspaper, Bruguera and her companion were intercepted by police and apparently subjected to six hours of interrogation. Eventually, Bruguera was released but prevented from delivering the aid materials. She is expected to fly to Boston today.

Brice Marden joins Gagosian roster | Artist Brice Marden has joined the roster of the Gagosian gallery after more than 20 years with Matthew Marks, reports the New York Times. Marden, 78, described Marks as a ‘fantastic dealer’, but said he is in need of a change. Larry Gagosian has hinted that he will exhibit Marden’s at the gallery’s Grosvenor Hill outpost in October.