Art Outlook: 24 April

Some of the stories and discussions we’ve spotted online this week

Notorious businessman Alfred Taubman dies aged 91

The former Sotheby’s chairman was sent to jail in 2001 for his part in the auction house price-fixing scandal. Graham W.J. Beal remembered him as one of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ ‘greatest patrons…He will be greatly missed.’

Chris Dercon is leaving Tate Modern…but not until 2017

The Belgian director is heading back to Europe to lead the experimental Volksbuhne Theatre in Berlin. His counterpart at Tate Britain, Penelope Curtis, announced her resignation only last month.

Hispanic Society of America gets high-profile new Chair

The appointment of Philippe de Montebello, the former director of the Metropolitan Museum, looks set to raise the profile of the New-York collection, which includes art and manuscripts from Spain, Portugal and Latin America. He hopes to raise $5 million to fund a renovation and expansion.

Six finalists selected for the Guggenheim Helsinki

An exhibition of six shortlisted proposals opens at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York this weekend. But ‘The Next Helsinki’ – a rival competition launched specifically to challenge the Guggenheim franchise – has hit back with its own alternative list of development plans.

New York gets ready to welcome the new Whitney

There’s a real buzz building around the imminent reopening of the Whitney on 1 May– the Empire State Building is even set to light up in celebration. It inaugurates its impressive new building with a huge exhibition, ‘America is hard to see’.

El Anatsui wins Venice’s prestigious Golden Lion Award

As the art world gears up for the next Venice Biennale, El Anatsui has been named as the recipient of its lifetime achievement award. The jury praised ‘not just his recent successes internationally, but also his artistic influence amongst two generations of artists working in West Africa’.