Philippe de Montebello joins Acquavella Galleries

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Philippe de Montebello joins Acquavella Galleries | Former Metropolitan Museum of Art director Philippe de Montebello has joined New York’s Acquavella Galleries in a directorial role that will see him curating special exhibitions and developing publications. ‘We have been talking over the last few years since I left the Met about how I could use some of my academic and other experience with the gallery,’ de Montebello told the New York Times. De Montebello is currently the chairman of the Hispanic Society of America and a professor at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, as well as serving as a trustee of Madrid’s Prado Museum. He plans to retain all three posts.

Arts Council England delays plans for ‘Quality Metrics’ | Arts Council England’s plans to introduce metrics to quantify artistic quality have been suspended. The £2.7m scheme would apply to all organisations seeking more than £250,000 from ACE. The funding body now says that it is ‘reviewing its approach’ to introducing the initiative, and that it expects to put it in place by April 2019. ACE has not cited a reason for the delay, but it has been suggested that it may be down to problems with the procurement process.

Plans approved for Colosseum archaeological park | Italy’s most senior administrative court has ruled that the country’s government can proceed with plans to develop an archaeological park around the Colosseum, reports the Art Newspaper. The decision overturns a challenge from the mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, whose appeal against the government’s proposals last month was upheld on the grounds that the management structure of the new park would give ‘excessive power’ to the culture ministry and disturb the integrity of Rome’s UNESCO-protected centre.

Garfield Weston Foundation pledges £5m to Imperial War Museum | The Garfield Weston Foundation has pledged £5m towards transforming the Imperial War Museum’s exhibition spaces. The money will contribute to the institution’s £33.5m project to create new galleries devoted to the Second World War and the Holocaust as well as new education facilities.