Warhol Is Out, Gulfstreams Are In: The Superrich Are Souring on Art

Something unusual is happening in the art market. Sales are stagnant while other businesses that cater to the superrich, like private jet companies, are booming.

The wealthy might simply be putting their cash into other assets because paintings turned out to be a disappointing investment. Weak sales could also be a sign that the art world has become too reliant on baby boomer collectors who are past their peak buying years.

Via WSJ

$102 Million Verdict Over Robert Indiana Artwork May End Years-Long Legal Battle

Over $102 million in damages has been awarded to Robert Indiana‘s former business partner in a verdict that may end a protracted legal battle over the rights to some of the late Pop artist’s best-known works.

The partner, Morgan Art Foundation, won its lawsuit against art publisher Michael McKenzie on April 23, when a jury in Manhattan federal court found him guilty of making and selling unauthorized Indiana artworks for millions of dollars. McKenzie and Jamie Thomas, the caretaker to whom Indiana gave power of attorney over his estate, have both also been accused by Morgan of taking advantage of the elderly artist in his final years. The latest verdict follows a knotty legal saga centering around accusations of exploitation, fraud, and copyright infringement that commenced just one day before Indiana’s death on May 19, 2018.

Via Artnet

$30,000 in cuts – Chicago Architecture Center. NEA funding was cut for the popular Open House program

How Chicago arts and culture orgs plan to stay strong despite federal cuts

Months before last September’s Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Kate Dumbleton learned that a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts had been canceled.

Dumbleton, the festival’s artistic and executive director, scrambled to raise the funds needed to cover artist fees. But the ordeal left her skeptical as to whether government funding could be a reliable source in the future.

“The bigger question is whether the NEA is going to be there for arts organizations,” she says.

Via Crain's Chicago