MoMA PS1 Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary
The Museum of Modern Art’s contemporary offshoot, MoMA PS1, is commemorating its fortieth anniversary with a year-long celebration. The festivities kicked off this past weekend with the launch of two new exhibitions and an open house. Future events include a show spotlighting works from the museum’s archives in 2017. Click here to continue reading. (via Blouin ArtInfo)

A Monumental Installation by Christo Opens in Italy
Nearly fifty years after its conception, Christo’s Floating Piers has opened to the public. Located on Italy’s Lake Iseo, the monumental installation connects the village of Sulzano with nearby islands via a floating walkway wrapped in marigold nylon. Christo is best known for his large-scale environmental artworks. Working with his late wife, Jeanne-Claude, Christo has wrapped Paris’ oldest bridge, the Pont Neuf, in 450,000 square feet of gold material and surrounded eleven islands in Florida’s Biscayne Bay with pink fabric. Click here to continue reading. (via BBC)

Three of The Met’s Top Employees are Leaving
Two months after the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that it would be taking cost-cutting measures to help quell a growing deficit, three of its top employees have stepped down from their posts. The museum’s chief digital officer, senior vice president for marketing and external relations, and head of design will all be leaving the institution. The Met aims to have its budget sorted out in the next twenty-four months. Click here to continue reading. (via The New York Times)

Nine Men Have Been Accused of Stealing $6 Million Worth of Luxury Watches
The U.S. attorney’s office has announced that nine men have been named in a federal indictment relating to a string of jewelry heists. Between August 2015 and April 2016, the men, who were part of an elaborate robbery scheme, made off with $6 million worth of luxury watches, including pieces by Rolex and Audemars Piguet. The suspects targeted high-end jewelry stores in southern California. Click here to continue reading. (via The Los Angeles Times)   

After A Four-Year Renovation, The Legendary Ritz Paris Reopens
On June 6, the magnificent Ritz Paris reopened following a four-year, $220-million refurbishment. Established in 1898 by the Swiss businessman César Ritz, the legendary hotel is known for its quintessential Parisian elegance and roster of famous guests. Located on the stunning Place Vendôme in the city’s First Arrondissement, the Ritz Paris has welcomed such luminaries as Marcel Proust, Maria Callas, Coco Chanel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway. Click here to continue reading. (via InCollect)

The Astor Place Cube Will Be Reinstalled in August
The New York City Parks Department has announced that the Astor Park Cube will be reinstalled in August. The iconic public sculpture has been in storage for nearly two years as Astor Place has undergone a major redevelopment. The work, which is formally known as Alamo, was created in 1967 by Bernard (Tony) Rosenthal. While off public view, the sculpture has been restored and repainted. Click here to continue reading. (via AM NY)  

A Hermitage Museum Will Open in Barcelona
After four years of deliberation, it has been announced that Barcelona will move forward with plans for a Hermitage museum of its own. Slated to open in 2019, the institution will be designed by the architect  Íñigo Amézola from the Spanish firm, Ricardo Bofill, Taller de Arquitectura. The museum will exhibit works from Russia’s illustrious Hermitage Museum. The project is expected to cost upward of $47 million to realize. Click here to continue reading. (via Artnet News)

 Sotheby’s Establishes an African Art Department in London
Early next year, Sotheby’s will start hosting sales of modern and contemporary African art in London. The new department will be helmed by Hannah O’Leary, who held the same position at Bonhams. Over the past few years, Western interest in African art has been on the rise, beckoning collectors and driving up the cost of works. Click here to continue reading. (via The Art Newspaper)

Luxury Real Estate: Mickey Drexler’s Second TriBeCa Home & A Delightfully Unique Cottage
1. Mickey Drexler unloads another NYC gem. Just last month, we reported that Mickey Drexler was selling his stylish TriBeCa residence. Now, the J. Crew CEO is unloading another stunner in the same neighborhood. The twenty-four-foot-wide, 9,000- square-foot Renaissance-style loft is located in a late-nineteenth century building designed by Hugh Getty for Samuel Crooks, a wholesale coffee and tea merchant. The building was used as a roasting plant before it went residential. Click here to continue reading. (via InCollect)

Revamped Tate Modern Attracts Record Visitors
London’s new and improved Tate Modern attracted a record 143,000 visitors during its opening weekend. The institution, which reopened to the public on Friday, June 17, underwent a major renovation and expansion helmed by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron. The redesign, which included adding a new building dubbed The Switch House, increased the size of the museum by sixty percent. Tate Modern has a number of highly-anticipated exhibitions on deck, including a Georgia O’Keeffe retrospective that will open on July 6.  Click here to continue reading. (via BBC)  

Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Sales Nets a Respectable $151.9 Million
On June 21, Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale in London garnered approximately $151.9 million, surpassing the pre-sale estimate of $119-143 million. The top lot was Pablo Picasso’s Femme Assise, which netted $63.6 million—the seventh highest sum paid for a Picasso at auction. The Cubist masterpiece was followed by Amedeo Modigliani’s portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne, which realized $56.6 million. Click here to continue reading. (via Blouin ArtInfo)

Russia’s Hermitage Museum Will Exhibit Works at the Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris
The venerable Biennale des Antiquaires, which will take place in Paris in September, will feature thirty-five works drawn from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.  The non-selling exhibition will feature an array of eighteenth-century objects in porcelain, silver, and bronze, including a portrait of Louis XV made by the Sèvres porcelain factory. Launched in 1962 and held every two years, the Biennale des Antiquaires recently announced that it will switch to an annual schedule beginning in 2016. Click here to continue reading. (via The Art Newspaper)

A New Book Explores the Art and Architecture of the Los Angeles Central Library
California’s Angel City Press recently released the book Los Angeles Central Library: A History of Its Art and Architecture. The tome, which was published a month ahead of the institution's ninetieth anniversary, features photographs detailing the library’s exquisite paintings, sculptures, murals, gardens, and décor. Built in 1923, the library was designed in the Mediterranean Revival style by the New York -based architect Bertram Goodhue. Click here to continue reading. (via The New York Times)

Thalen & Thalen: A Father-Son Duo Rethink Fine Silver
For the past decade, Rob and Jaap Thalen have been championing the myriad merits of pure silver. Once a ubiquitous material, silver fell by the wayside with the advent of stainless steel and aluminum. Intrigued by the medium's inherent purity, unique luster, and enduring nature, Rob and Jaap embarked on a mission to re-introduce fine silver to the world. Click here to continue reading. (via InCollect)

A Louis Kahn-Designed Home in Philadelphia Wins Preservation Award
The Margaret Esherick House in Philadelphia has been awarded a Citation of Merit by Docomomo US—an organization dedicated to the documentation and conservation of the buildings, sites, and neighborhoods of the modern movement. The house, which was designed by the influential Modernist architect Louis Kahn between 1959 and 1962, underwent a thorough restoration led by its current owners, the architecture firm k YODER design, and interior designer Louise Cohen. Originally built for Margaret Esherick, a local bookseller, the home features a kitchen designed by her uncle, Wharton Esherick. Click here to continue reading. (via Philly Mag)

The International Center for Photography Reopens
On Thursday, June 23, the International Center for Photography reopened to the public in a new venue designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in Manhattan's trendy Nolita neighborhood. The inaugural exhibition, Public, Private, Secret, features 150 works by such luminaries as Garry Winogrand, Weegee, and Cindy Sherman. The institution has been closed since 2015. Click here to continue reading. (via Artnet News)

The U.S. Government Wants to Reclaim an Ad Reinhardt Painting
The U.S. government is on a mission to reclaim an Ad Reinhardt painting it says was created under the Works Progress Administration. The abstract work, which once hung in a school in Staten Island, was acquired by the current owner in 1997 at Sotheby’s. While the auction house has remained mum on the matter, the catalogue from the sale states that the canvas was acquired directly from the artist. Click here to continue reading. (via The New York Post)  

Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Sale Underwhelms
On Wednesday, June 22, Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Sale netted $37.8 million—the lowest grossing evening sale in the category in over a decade. The auction fell short of its presale estimate and twelve of the thirty-three lots offered failed to sell. The sale followed a smashing auction at Sotheby’s, which garnered $151.9 million. The auction at Christie’s took place the night before the controversial Brexit vote in the UK. Click here to continue reading. (via Bloomberg)

Top 3 Interior Design Projects of the Week: A Stylish High Rise, Madonna's Former Beach House & A Neoclassical Villa
1. High Style High Rise by Cullman & Kravis—This chic high rise by Cullman & Kravis features a divine mix of fine art, antiques, and decorative accessories. A neutral palette throughout the home provides a quiet backdrop for bold, abstract canvases and sculptures as well as modern landscapes and works on paper. Luxe finishes, including rich woods, lustrous metals, and plush upholstery add to the home’s inviting atmosphere. Click here to continue reading. (via InCollect)

Sotheby’s Appoints a New Chairman
Benjamin Doller will join Lisa Dennison and George Wachter as the third chairman of Sotheby’s America. Doller, who will assume his new post immediately, has been with the auction house since 1979, working his way from a cataloguer to vice chairman. A number of high-profile employees have left Sotheby’s in recent months, including Alex Rotter and Cheyenne Westphal, who helmed the auction house’s contemporary art department. Click here to continue reading. (via Blouin ArtInfo)

MoMA Announces Louise Lawler Retrospective
The Museum of Modern Art in New York has announced that it will mount a retrospective of the career of Louise Lawler in 2017. Lawler, whose career spans four decades, is best known for her photographs of other artists’ work in a variety of settings, ranging from the home to the gallery wall. The exhibition will also include a sound installation created between 1972 and 1981 called Birdcalls. Click here to continue reading. (via Artnet News)

The Dallas Museum of Art and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Jointly Acquire Works by Walter de Maria
The Dallas Museum of Art and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art have jointly acquired two works by the Minimalist artist Walter de Maria—Large Rod Series: Circle/Rectangle, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, a floor-based sculpture from the artist’s Large Rod Series, and a suite of seven works on paper from his Pure Polygon Series. The Dallas Museum of Art will highlight De Maria’s influential oeuvre this fall. Click here to continue reading. (via Dallas News)

Flooding Threatens Rotterdam’s Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum
The Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam was forced to move displays to higher ground as high rainfall caused water to seep into the institution's basement. The museum’s underground display houses a collection of archaeological artifacts and design objects created between 1300 and 1900. Rare books were also evacuated from the institution's library. Click here to continue reading. (via The Art Newspaper)

Sandra Nunnerley’s Serene Upper East Side Apartment
Apartments go on the market every day in New York City, but there are some real estate gems that don’t come along very often. A residence in a Beaux Arts townhouse designed by Carrère & Hastings (1895‒1924) is one such rarity. So, when Sandra Nunnerley became aware of two apartments in an Upper East Side building by the legendary New York firm, she knew it was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. Click here to continue reading. (via InCollect)