Obituaries
Zurab Tsereteli, Georgian-born artist and Russian patriot, has died aged 91
Artist, who also ran museums and institutions in Russia, was best known for his monumental sculptures, including a 30m-high memorial to victims of 9/11 in the US
Guy Ullens, collector and patron of Chinese contemporary art, has died, aged 90
The Belgian businessman co-founded Beijing’s Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in 2007 with his wife Myriam Ullens
Remembering Pope Francis, for 12 years head of the Catholic church and proprietor in trust of the Vatican's library and art collections
The Argentinian pontiff was a powerful progressive voice in world politics, the first Jesuit priest to be spiritual leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics and the first from the Americas or the southern hemisphere to hold the office
Remembering Val Kilmer: film star, artist, collector and subverter of the male archetype
The ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Heat’ star was a fixture on the Los Angeles contemporary art scene—and made his own art exploring themes such as his rich heritage
Avast me hearty: much loved National Maritime Museum curator gets touching send off
Visitors to the museum's pirates exhibition may spot ongoing tributes from staffers
Remembering Rosalind Savill, the porcelain expert who transformed the Wallace Collection
During her 19-year tenure as its director, she turned a sedate institution into a vibrant tribute to the culture of 18th-century France
Remembering Jean-Claude Saintilus, Haitian artist and member of the Atis Rezistans collective, who has died, aged 64
Artist of memorials to family memory and sprits exhibited at the 2011 Venice Biennale, the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles, Documenta Fifteen (2022) and the Ghetto Biennale, in Port au Prince
Remembering Jack Vettriano, an immensely popular artist whose market success reflected 'an appetite for the glamorous'
The sale of “The Singing Butler” at Sotheby’s in 2004, for a record price for a painting by a Scottish artist, caused a sensation and turned attention on Vettriano's critical and institutional neglect
Mel Bochner, conceptual artist known for text paintings and wry humour, has died, aged 84
Bochner was a pioneer of conceptual art, creating works rooted in information systems and decontextualised language
Remembering John Mawurndjul AM (Balang Nakurulk), the Australian Indigenous artist whose meticulous bark paintings captured a hidden power
The painter was also a keen supporter of women artists
Walter Robinson, sharp-eyed painter and critic, has died, aged 74
Robinson, one of the Pictures Generation artists, made brightly irreverent paintings; as a writer, he chronicled the New York scene for decades and coined the term “Zombie Formalism”
Remembering Leonid Bazhanov, larger-than-life curator who pushed Russian contemporary art in new directions
The death of Bazhanov, who founded institutions including the groundbreaking National Centre for Contemporary Art, follows that of two other leading figures of the Conceptualist movement
Remembering Colin Renfrew, a lover of Modern art who revolutionised archaeology
His championing of radiocarbon dating and other new scientific approaches demonstrated the untenability of the conventional explanation for cultural change
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, pathbreaking Native American artist, has died, aged 85
A champion of contemporary Indigenous artists, prolific creator across a range of media and relentless critic of dominant US ideology, Smith received institutional support and success late in life
Jo Baer, painter who pivoted from abstraction to ‘radical figuration’, has died, aged 95
Baer was equally renowned for her work in Minimalist abstraction and figurative painting
Aaron De Groft, Orlando Museum of Art director fired in Basquiat forgery scandal, has died, aged 59
Following successful stints at museums in Virginia and on Florida’s Gulf Coast, De Groft’s career became mired in the Basquiat fakes fiasco
David Lynch, artist and film-maker who portrayed America’s dark side with surreal humour and violence, has died, aged 78
Lynch trained as a painter before becoming a successful film-maker and ultimately returning to visual art in recent decades
Oliviero Toscani, Italian photographer known for his provocative fashion campaigns, dies aged 82
His work for brands such as Benetton sparked conversations about issues including the Aids crisis and anorexia
Pippa Garner, art and gender provocateur, has died, aged 82
Garner's witty deviations in form, text and body addressed the consumerism and sameness plaguing US culture
Joe Average, Canadian artist and Aids activist, has died, aged 67
Known for his bold, bright-hued paintings, prints and murals, Average was a pillar of Vancouver’s creative community
Frank Auerbach's son is busting myths about the late artist
The late artist was actually quite sociable and had stopped producing "thick" paintings decades ago, says his only child
Jimmy Carter, the US president and Renaissance man who believed in art and rock and roll, has died, aged 100
The Southern Baptist peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia, was a dedicated amateur portraitist and made a deep cultural impact when in office
In memoriam: remembering art world figures who died in 2024
Faith Ringgold, Frank Auerbach, Richard Serra, Barbara Gladstone and Lorraine O’Grady were among those who died this year
Zilia Sánchez, Cuban artist renowned for shaped, abstract canvases, has died, aged 98
Sánchez, who fled Cuba and ultimately settled in Puerto Rico, only achieved widespread critical acclaim late in her career
Lorraine O’Grady, conceptual artist who dissected language and dualities, has died, aged 90
O’Grady, who devoted herself to art in her early forties, spent the ensuing decades making incisive works that spanned photography, collage, performance and more
Remembering Joseph Rykwert, influential writer and teacher on the theory of architecture
Warsaw-born RIBA gold medal winner, who became the professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, changed architectural understanding
Remembering Marc Camille Chaimowicz, the godfather of contemporary conceptual art
The French-born London-based artist merged the once-siloed worlds of art and design to create inimitably intimate participatory experiences
Remembering Elizabeth Esteve-Coll, groundbreaking director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London
Charismatic leader who steered the museum through a difficult period in the 1980s, and later became a university vice-chancellor
Remembering Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow, the Unesco boss who fought for the dispossessed
The headline-making director-general of Unesco, who clashed with Reagan and Thatcher, died recently at the age of 103
Remembering Frank Auerbach, one of the leading artists of his generation, who has died aged 93
The German-born British painter, a leading figure in the School of London, produced some of the most enduring and perceptive observations of what it meant to be alive during his time





























