Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
Barbara Lee Collection of Art by Women
The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, is celebrating a second major gift from Barbara Lee, the Boston-based philanthropist and vice-chair of the museum’s board. The 20 works by 12 female artists, worth an estimated $42m, include two rare sculptures from the late 1960s by Eva Hesse and a silhouetted wall piece by Kara Walker from 2010. The institute’s director Jill Medvedow says that Walker’s 57ft-long installation “brings an essential engagement between the work in our galleries and the critical issues of our time”. Lee established the Barbara Lee Collection of Art by Women at the museum in 2014, with a gift of 43 works. Her foundation is dedicated to advancing women’s equality in US politics and contemporary art.
British Museum, London
Neil MacGregor’s final acquisitions
Before he retired as director of the British Museum in December, Neil MacGregor announced two final acquisitions: a portrait of himself by the photographer Wolfgang Tillmans and a wooden cross made in Lampedusa from the wreckage of a refugee boat. The Lampedusa Cross was donated by the carpenter Francesco Tuccio to honour the African victims and survivors of the 2013 disaster.
Tate, London
Ed Ruscha prints
The US artist Ed Ruscha is giving one impression of all his future prints to the Tate. The museum’s director Nicholas Serota called the gift a “rare and generous commitment” and “a wonderful resource for future exhibitions in the UK”. Ruscha marked the occasion with an initial gift of 18 recent prints, including Music (2014), a poster designed for the 50th anniversary of the Music Center in Los Angeles. The works, which reflect Ruscha’s affection for Los Angeles and fascination with word play, join seven paintings and 111 prints by him already in the Tate’s collection.
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Ai Weiwei’s Letgo Room
Ai Weiwei is donating Letgo Room (2015), a room-sized installation that nearly 100 volunteers assembled from more than two million Lego-like plastic bricks, to the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. The gallery commissioned the work, which features portraits of and quotes from 20 Australian human rights activists, for the exhibition Andy Warhol/Ai Weiwei (until 24 April).
