The Houston Museum of Fine Arts to Display the Celebrated Dundas Sofa
Later this month, Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts will display the Dundas Sofa—a rare piece of furniture designed by architect Robert Adam and Thomas Chippendale. The eighteenth century sofa, which was created for the Scottish businessman Sir Lawrence Dundas, will anchor the exhibition Grand Designs: Neoclassical Taste in the 18th Century. The show will explore the history and conservation of the sofa, while presenting other furniture, decorative objects, and prints from the era. Click here to continue reading. (via The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston)

The Black History Museum Inaugurates New Space with Romare Bearden Exhibition
The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, which moved to a new building in May, will host a major exhibition dedicated to the celebrated American Modernist, Romare Bearden. Romare Bearden: Vision and Activism will present fifty-four works by the artist, including collages and lithographs. The show is being presented by the Romare Bearden Foundation—a nonprofit organization established by the artist's estate to preserve and perpetuate his legacy. Click here to continue reading. (via Richmond Times-Dispatch)

The American Antiquarian Society Digitizes Silhouettes from Its Portrait Collection
The American Antiquarian Society, which is home to a major independent research library that includes the largest and most accessible collection of books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, periodicals, music, and graphic arts material printed through 1876 in the United States, has digitized over 200 silhouettes from its portrait collection. The American Antiquarian Society previously digitized its collection of  photographs from the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama dating from 1890 to 1915. Click here to continue reading. (via Hyperallergic)

Guggenheim Helsinki Delayed...Again
The Guggenheim’s Helsinki outpost has been plagued by problems since the project was first presented by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in 2012. The country has repeatedly voiced opposition to the $134-$156 million project, claiming that it is a waste of taxpayers’ money during a time of economic downturn in the country. Now, the Finnish politician Sampo Terho, who is chairman of the Finns party, is claiming that state funding for the museum has been ruled out. Click here to continue reading. (via Reuters)

Lobel Modern Moves to a New Showroom in the New York Design Center
Since 1998, Evan Lobel—founder of New York’s Lobel Modern gallery—has been championing the work of important mid-century designers, while serving as a vital resource for architects, collectors, and interior designers looking to acquire the finest modern furniture, lighting, art, and decorative objects. Earlier this month, Lobel moved to a spacious showroom in the New York Design Center on Lexington Avenue—a change that Lobel says has allowed the gallery to better merchandise and display their exquisite offerings. Click here to continue reading. (via InCollect)

London’s Sir John Soane Museum Reopens After a Seven-Year Restoration
On Tuesday, September 13, London’s Sir John Soane Museum reopened following a seven-year restoration project. The institution was once home to to the influential Neoclassical architect John Soane and currently houses his fine art and antiques collection, as well as drawings and models of his projects. Now that the restoration is complete, the museum is able to display ten-percent more of Soane’s eclectic holdings. The monumental project was funded by a number of major grants, including one from the Monument Trust and another from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Click here to continue reading. (via The Art Newspaper)

Germany Plans to Set Up Art Acquisition Fund
Germany’s culture minister Monika Grütters has proposed a plan for the creation of a multi-million-euro national fund that would allow the country to acquire culturally significant artworks that run the risk of being sold abroad. The UK has a similar scheme in place, which has helped the country retain culturally significant works by Raphael, JMW Turner, Rembrandt, and Titian. Click here to continue reading. (via Artnet News)

The Frick Will Start Offering Free Admission on First Fridays
New York’s Frick Collection will start offering free admission the first Friday of every month beginning on October 7. Frick First Fridays will be held from 6pm-9pm, allowing  visitors to explore the institution’s permanent collection, which includes works by Vermeer, Goya, and Van Dyck, as well as its special exhibition galleries. Guests can also attend talks, lectures, and performances, and partake in open sketching in the institution’s Garden Court. Regular admission to the Frick is $22 for adults. Click here to continue reading. (via DNA Info)

“Little Dancer” Plaster Could be an Authentic Degas
Since 2004, scholars have gone back and forth about the authenticity of a plaster of Edgar Degas’ Little Dancer. Now, over ten years after the discourse began, Arthur Beale—one of world’s leading Degas scholars—announced that he believes that the work was created by the French Impressionist himself. Beale, who once served as the chairman of the department of conservation and collections management at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, had previously disapproved of the theory set forth by the art historian, Gregory Hedberg. Click here to continue reading. (via The New York Times)

Luxury Real Estate: A Woodsy Mid-Century Retreat by Robert McElroy & A Jazz Age Estate in Queens
1. This Robert McElroy-designed treasure is on the market for the first time in 14 years—Robert McElroy designed numerous homes in the Philadelphia region between the 1950s and 1970s. Some of his architectural hallmarks, including a spacious open floor plan, a diamond-shaped roof, vaulted ceilings, exposed beams, and expansive windows overlooking lush surroundings, are beautifully apparent in this four-bedroom residence, designed by the mid-century architect in 1965.  Click here to continue reading. (via InCollect)

London’s Palace of Westminster is in Desperate Need of Repair
A recent report from the Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster stated that the Palace of Westminster—the nineteenth century Gothic Revival structure that serves as the meeting place of the UK’s House of Commons and the House of Lords—is in desperate need of renovation. In order to avoid a potentially “catastrophic event,” the Committee suggested a six-year, $5.3 billion update be carried out immediately. Click here to continue reading. (via Curbed) 

Alec Baldwin Sues Gallerist Mary Boone
Actor Alec Baldwin has decided to take New York gallerist Mary Boone to court over a large-scale floral painting by Ross Bleckner. After falling in love with the piece ten years ago, he implored Boone to get the collector who owned the work to sell, which they did for $190,000. Now, Baldwin, who filed court papers on Monday, September 12, is claiming that the painting is not the work he pined for, but rather a different version of the piece. Boone has disputed the claim. Click here to continue reading. (via The Guardian)

The Tate Loans John Singer Sargent Painting to the Jewish Museum
On Friday, September 16, the Jewish Museum will unveil an exhibition centered on John Singer Sargent’s remarkable painting of Adèle Meyer, the wife of Carl Meyer, who served as chief clerk and negotiator for the Rothschild family as well as deputy chairman of the De Beers mining group, and their two children. The celebrated painting is on loan from Tate Britain and has not been exhibited in the U.S. in over ten years. The work will be complemented by other family portraits, family photographs, personal correspondence, and domestic memorabilia. Click here to continue reading. (via The New Yorker)

Private Collection of Italian Art and Design to Open in the Hudson Valley
Bloomberg has reported that husband and wife collectors Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu are planning to open a private art institution in Cold Spring, New York. The couple will use the space to exhibit their collection of mid-century and contemporary Italian art and design, which includes Arte Povera works. Construction on the structure is currently underway. Click here to continue reading. (via Artnet News)

This Week’s Major Events: LAPADA Art & Antiques Fair, London Design Festival, Painted Furniture in Philadelphia & More
LAPADA Art & Antiques Fair, Berkeley Square, London, September 13-18, 2016—The prestigious LAPADA Art & Antiques Fair is widely regarded as one of the leading international showcases for art and antiques. Held in historic Berkeley Square in the heart of London, the fair features over 100 exhibitors offering everything from fine art and furniture to jewelry, tapestries, clocks, ceramics, and silver. Click here to continue reading. (via InCollect)

Three New Interior Design Books are Hitting the Shelves
As winter approaches, now is the ideal time to stock up on reading material. Luckily, three new interior design books have just been released. Great Houses, Modern Aristocrats by James Reginato provides glimpses of some of England and Ireland’s most storied estates, including Blenheim Palace and Haddon Hall, while Cecil Beaton at Home by Andrew Ginger gives an intimate look inside two of the famed photographer’s homes—Ashcombe and Reddish. Click here to continue reading. (via The New York Times)

France’s FIAC Fair Releases Exhibitor List
FIAC, France’s most important contemporary art fair, has released the full exhibitor list for its 2016 iteration. Held in October at the Grand Palais in Paris, the fair will feature 186 galleries, including forty newcomers. Among the exhibitors are White Cube, Blum & Poe, and David Zwirner. This year’s fair will also feature two new spaces—one in the nearby Petit Palais, where the inaugural On Site section will be held, and the Grand Palais’ new Salon Jean Perrin, where works created during the 1970s will be on view. Click here to continue reading. (via Artnet News)

A New Biography Explores the Life of Louise Nevelson
The influential American sculptor Louise Nevelson is the subject of a new biography by the art historian, Laurie Wilson. Louise Nevelson: Art is Life, which will be released in November, provides a sweeping overview of Nevelson’s career. An icon of the Feminist art movement and one of the most important sculptors of the twentieth century, Nevelson is best known for her monochromatic Abstract Expressionist wall sculptures. Click here to continue reading. (via Artlyst)

Exhibition Highlights Charles Burchfield's Environmental Paintings
A new exhibition at the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo, New York, presents works by Charles Burchfield that explore the impact of industrialization on the environment. Burchfield, who had a lifelong reverence for nature, is best known for his distinct depictions of the natural world, which are bursting with luminous colors, sinuous lines, and dynamic patterns. The works included in Blistering Vision are significantly bleaker, featuring soft brushstrokes and muted palettes. Click here to continue reading. (via Buff State Record)

Brian J. McCarthy Brings European Elegance to Atlanta
There are some designers whose projects are instantly recognizable as their handiwork, and others who prefer to make each space as unique as its occupants. New York-based designer Brian J. McCarthy falls into the latter camp. Known for his exquisite interiors layered with carefully curated antiques and decorative arts, McCarthy, who trained under legendary decorator Albert Hadley, displayed this versatility in his work on an over 10,000-square-foot townhouse in Atlanta. Click here to continue reading. (via InCollect)

MoMA Digitizes Thousands of Exhibition Images
New York’s Museum of Modern Art has added thousands of documents and photographs from its archive to its website, giving the public unprecedented access the history of one of the world’s most storied art institutions. Users can search the database and explore the museum’s major exhibition, including its first show in 1929, which presented works by Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat, and Vincent van Gogh, and see how the institution has evolved over the last eight-seven years. Click here to continue reading. (via The New York Times)

Marcel Duchamp’s “Bottle Rack” is on the Market
Marcel Duchamp’s iconic Bottle Rack sculpture, which once belonged to the influential twentieth century artist Robert Rauschenberg, is on the market. After Rauschenberg’s death in 2008, the work was transferred to the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. The works is being offered by France’s Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac and will be on view in Paris as part of an exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the readymade. Gallerist Thaddaeus Ropac plans to sell the work to a public institution. Click here to continue reading. (via Artnet News)  

Demisch Danant Inaugurates New Gallery with “Made in France” Exhibit
Demisch Danant—a New York-based gallery specializing in twentieth century French design—will inaugurate its new space on West 12th Street with the exhibition, Made in France. The show will present more than two dozen rare and important objects that, together, chart the evolution of French design during the 1960s and 1970s. Works by such luminaries as Étienne Fermigier, Maria Pergay, Joseph André Motte, and Pierre Paulin will be on view. Click here to continue reading. (via Demisch Danant)

 Peter Zumthor to Design the Beyeler Foundation’s Expansion
The Swiss architect Peter Zumthor has been selected to design the Beyeler Foundation’s upcoming expansion. The museum, which is located outside of Basel, Switzerland, was designed by Renzo Piano and completed in 1997. Zumthor, who was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2009, was chosen from a shortlist of eleven firms. The project is expected to cost upward of $80 million. Click here to continue reading. (via ArchDaily)