Gemma Sudlow on the rostrum for Hindman’s inaugural New York auction, Time & Space: Watches from the Collection of Glen de Vries. Image courtesy of Hindman.

Hindman and Freeman’s auction houses merge to become Freeman’s Hindman

Gemma Sudlow on the rostrum for Hindman’s inaugural New York auction, Time & Space: Watches from the Collection of Glen de Vries. Image courtesy of Hindman

Gemma Sudlow on the rostrum for Hindman’s inaugural New York auction, Time & Space: Watches from the Collection of Glen de Vries. Image courtesy of Hindman.

CHICAGO and PHILADELPHIA – Chicago auction house Hindman has announced a merger with Philadelphia-based Freeman’s and the opening of a permanent saleroom in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The new firm, which consolidates two of America’s top regional firms, will henceforth operate under the name Freeman’s Hindman.

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Research fellows share new discoveries about artworks on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) as part of a regular series of gallery talks. On July 31, SAAM received a gift of $2 million from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation to fund a fellowship in modern and contemporary art and related efforts. Image courtesy of SAAM, photo by Charla Jasper

Smithsonian American Art Museum receives $2M gift from Frankenthaler Foundation

Research fellows share new discoveries about artworks on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) as part of a regular series of gallery talks. On July 31, SAAM received a gift of $2 million from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation to fund a fellowship in modern and contemporary art and related efforts. Image courtesy of SAAM, photo by Charla Jasper

Research fellows share new discoveries about artworks on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) as part of a regular series of gallery talks. On July 31, SAAM received a gift of $2 million from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation to fund a fellowship in modern and contemporary art and related efforts. Image courtesy of SAAM, photo by Charla Jasper

WASHINGTON, DC – On July 31, the Smithsonian American Art Museum announced a $2 million gift from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation that culminates a major campaign to support the museum’s fellowship program, considered the preeminent program for American art scholarship since being founded in 1970. The gift will establish an endowment to support the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Fellowship in modern and contemporary art and the professional development of fellows at the museum. It is the largest single gift to the campaign and the largest gift ever to the museum’s fellowship program.

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George II carved giltwood pier mirror, estimated at £40,000-£60,000 ($50,900-$76,400). Image courtesy of Dreweatts

Collection of renowned interior designer Robert Kime to sell at Dreweatts this fall

The late interior design titan Robert Kime at his Provencal home, ‘La Gonette.’ Image courtesy of Dreweatts, photo credit Tessa Traeger

The late interior design titan Robert Kime at his Provencal home, ‘La Gonette.’ Image courtesy of Dreweatts, photo credit Tessa Traeger

NEWBURY, U.K. – Dreweatts Donnington Priory will auction the personal collection of Robert Kime (1946-2022), the man known across the world as a titan of design and a polymath who was dubbed the ‘great assembler’ of beautiful things. Kime’s unique eye and aesthetic sensibility led him to become a leading interior design figure. The culmination of his lifetime of collecting will form a three-day auction at Dreweatts titled Robert Kime: The Personal Collection, which will take place on October 4-6 and will comprise more than 750 lots ranging in value from £30 to £100,000 ($38 to $127,700). It is expected to achieve in excess of £1.5 million (roughly $1.9 million).

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Undated photo of the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Va. In July, it unveiled a bronze plaque that acknowledges the Indigenous Peoples who are affiliated with the land on which the museum sits. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Gosscj at English Wikipedia, who has released it into the public domain.

Chrysler Museum of Art unveils bronze plaque acknowledging Indigenous Peoples

Undated photo of the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Va. In July, it unveiled a bronze plaque that acknowledges the Indigenous Peoples who had held the land on which the museum sits. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Gosscj at English Wikipedia, who has released it into the public domain.

Undated photo of the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Va. In July, it unveiled a bronze plaque that acknowledges the Indigenous Peoples who are affiliated with the land on which the museum sits. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Gosscj at English Wikipedia, who has released it into the public domain.

NORFOLK, Va. – The Chrysler Museum of Art recently unveiled a bronze plaque recognizing the Indigenous Peoples, the traditional stewards of Tsenacommacah, the land on which the museum is located. The plaque is placed in Huber Court. The acknowledgment affirms the Chrysler Museum’s commitment to honoring the Indigenous Peoples whose cultural heritage and artwork is currently held in its collection.

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After being informed of its origins in winter 2022, the Chrysler Museum has returned a circa-1600 Akwanshi Head, a stone Bakor monolith, to Nigeria. The piece was given to the museum in 2012; neither the museum nor its donors were aware it had been looted. Image courtesy of the Chrysler Museum of Art

Chrysler Museum of Art returns Bakor monolith to Nigeria

After being informed of its origins in winter 2022, the Chrysler Museum has returned a circa-1600 Akwanshi Head, a stone Bakor monolith, to Nigeria. The piece was given to the museum in 2012; neither the museum nor its donors were aware it had been looted. Image courtesy of the Chrysler Museum of Art

After being informed of its origins in late winter, the Chrysler Museum has returned a circa-1600 Akwanshi Head, a stone Bakor monolith, to Nigeria. The piece was given to the museum in 2012; neither the museum nor its donors were aware it had been looted. Image courtesy of the Chrysler Museum of Art

NORFOLK, Va. – The Chrysler Museum of Art and the National Commission for Museums and Monuments Nigeria (NCMM) have collaborated on the restitution of an original Bakor monolith from the village of Njemetop in Cross River State to Nigeria.

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The Cannon of Kandy, shown in an undated photo provided by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The lavishly decorated cannon is among six pieces that the museum is returning to Sri Lanka; Dutch East India Company troops looted the cannon in 1765. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit the Rijksmuseum. Shared under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Artifacts looted during colonial period returned to Sri Lanka and Indonesia

The Cannon of Kandy, shown in an undated photo provided by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The lavishly decorated cannon is among six pieces that the museum is returning to Sri Lanka; Dutch East India Company troops looted the cannon in 1765. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit the Rijksmuseum. Shared under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

The Cannon of Kandy, shown in an undated photo provided by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The lavishly decorated cannon is among six pieces that the museum is returning to Sri Lanka; Dutch East India Company troops looted the cannon in 1765. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit the Rijksmuseum. Shared under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – Two Dutch museums have handed over hundreds of cultural artifacts back to Indonesia and Sri Lanka – from a richly decorated cannon to precious metals and jewelry – that were taken, often by force, in the colonial era. The government announced the planned restitution of 478 “cultural objects” on July 6. Some Western nations are returning looted artifacts and other objects as part of a reckoning with their often brutal colonial histories.

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Europe’s great churches struggle to accommodate both worshippers and tourists

Interior of the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain, designed by Antoni Gaudi, photographed in September 2014. It is among the many iconic churches and religious buildings in Europe that have struggled to remain functional as sites of worship while also welcoming tourists. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Ank Kumar. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Interior of the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain, designed by Antoni Gaudi, photographed in September 2014. It is among the many iconic churches and religious buildings in Europe that have struggled to remain functional as sites of worship while also welcoming tourists. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Ank Kumar. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – A recent Saturday evening Mass at Sagrada Familia parish had all the hallmarks of a neighborhood worship service, from prayers for ill and deceased members to name-day wishes for two congregants in the pews. But it also featured security checks to get in and curious tourists peering down to take photos of the worshippers from above. The regular Mass is held in the crypt of modernist architect Antoni Gaudi’s masterpiece church, one of Europe’s most visited monuments. With tourism reaching or surpassing pre-pandemic records in Barcelona and across southern Europe, iconic sacred sites are struggling to accommodate the faithful who come to pray and the millions of visitors who often pay to view the art and architecture.

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Bob Dylan’s 18,357-square-foot mansion in the Scottish highlands includes 16 bedrooms, each with lovely garden views, and 11 bathrooms. Image courtesy of Knight Frank and TopTenRealEstateDeals.com

Bob Dylan’s 1914 Scottish Highlands estate lists for $3.9M

Bob Dylan’s 18,357-square-foot mansion in the Scottish highlands includes 16 bedrooms, each with lovely garden views, and 11 bathrooms. Image courtesy of Knight Frank and TopTenRealEstateDeals.com

Bob Dylan’s 18,357-square-foot mansion in the Scottish highlands includes 16 bedrooms, each with garden views, and 11 bathrooms. Image courtesy of Knight Frank and TopTenRealEstateDeals.com

NETHY BRIDGE, Scotland – Bob Dylan, one of America’s greatest songwriters, rose to fame during the 1960s with hits such as Blowin’ in the Wind and The Times They Are A-Changin’. His songs captured the tumultuous spirit of the time and became anthems for the anti-war and civil rights movements. The winner of 10 Grammy awards, an Academy Award, a Pulitzer Prize, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Dylan has sold more than 145 million albums and performed more than 3,000 shows. Now 82, Dylan continues to tour, having recently wrapped up his European concert series. In addition to his musical career, Dylan has published nine books of paintings and drawings and his visual art has been exhibited at major galleries. For the last 17 years, he has owned a stately mansion known as Aultmore House in Nethy Bridge in the Cairngorm National Park in Scotland. Unable to visit it since the Covid-19 pandemic, Dylan has listed the property for sale, accepting offers in excess of £3,000,000, or $3.9 million.

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Detail of Henry Abraham Chatelain’s 1719 New World map, ‘Carte Tres Curieuse de la Mer du Sud,’ $17,250

Old World Auctions sale of antique maps navigated its way to $290K

Henry Abraham Chatelain’s 1719 New World map, ‘Carte Tres Curieuse de la Mer du Sud,’ $17,250

Henry Abraham Chatelain’s 1719 New World map, ‘Carte Tres Curieuse de la Mer du Sud,’ $17,250

RICHMOND, Va. – A spectacular wall map celebrating the New World – Henry Abraham Chatelain’s Carte Tres Curieuse de la Mer du Sud – and rare maps from 1622 and 1596 were among the top-selling items in Old World Auctions’ latest auction, which ran for two weeks and ended on June 21. Of the nearly 800 lots in the auction, 78% sold, and the event totaled $290,000.

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Photograph taken within the bounds of what is now the Oregon portion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in May 2015. On July 18, a federal appeals court upheld the legality of an expansion of the national monument enacted by President Barack Obama in 2017. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Bob Wick of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument’s legality affirmed by appeals court

Photograph taken within the bounds of what is now the Oregon portion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in May 2015. On July 18, a federal appeals court upheld the legality of an expansion of the national monument enacted by President Barack Obama in 2017. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Bob Wick of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.


Photograph taken within the bounds of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Oregon in May 2015. On July 18, a federal appeals court upheld the legality of an expansion of the national monument enacted by President Barack Obama in 2017. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Bob Wick of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On July 18, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the legality of an expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument made by President Obama in 2017, reversing a lower court decision that threw the monument’s boundaries into doubt. This federal court ruling joins a victorious ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in April that also declared the monument expansion lawful.

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