Harold Stevenson (1929-2018)

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Harold Stevenson (1929–2018)  | The American artist Harold Stevenson died last Sunday, aged 89. A close friend of Andy Warhol, he is known for painting large-scale male nudes, most famously The New Adam (1962). Stevenson joined the Art Students League in New York in 1949, exhibiting his work for the first time that year at the Hugo Gallery. He travelled internationally throughout his career, moving to Paris in 1959 upon Duchamp’s suggestion that he avoid the Abstract Expressionist movement then dominating New York.

The National Museum in Damascus has reopened after 6 years | On Sunday part of the National Museum in Damascus reopened to the public. The museum was closed in 2012 in order to remove and store its collection as the civil war spread in Syria. Associated Press has quoted Syrian Culture Minister Mohamed al-Ahmad as stating that ‘the opening of the museum is a genuine message that Syria is still here and her heritage would not be affected by terrorism’ (via The Independent).

Dealer David Kordansky announces plans to expand his LA gallery | The dealer David Kordansky has announced that his South La Brea Avenue gallery will be expanded across an entire block in the spring of 2019. The interior space will gain 7,000 square feet across multiple levels and there will be a new courtyard.

2018 MAXXI Bulgari Prize awarded to Diego Marcon | Italian artist and film-maker Diego Marcon won the 2018 MAXXI Bulgari Prize at an awards ceremony in Rome on Friday. The prize is awarded by the city’s MAXXI contemporary art gallery.