FeatureObituaries
Peregrine Pollen, who revitalised auction industry and laid the ground for the booming art market of the 21st century, has died, age 89
One of the most dynamic figures in the international expansion of Sotheby's in the 1960s and 1970s, descended from generations of collectors and men of action
NewsObituaries
Maurice Berger, critic and curator, has died of complications from Covid-19, aged 63
The author and historian penned 11 books, curated a stream of shows and authored his Race Stories column in The New York Times beginning in 2012
NewsObituaries
Albert Uderzo, the artist behind French cartoon icon Asterix, dies aged 92
"Asterix really showed me that history could be fun and daft,” says the Irish archaeologist Neil Jackman as tributes are paid to the artist
NewsObituaries
New York gallerist Paul Kasmin, who helped build the Chelsea gallery scene, has died, aged 60
The London-born dealer first visited the US with his father as a child, and went on to develop the careers of many artists
NewsObituaries
Vittorio Gregotti, the last modern architect of Venice, dies of coronavirus aged 92
He designed many prestigious buildings in Italy and internationally and led the visual arts section of the Venice Biennale twice in the 1970s
NewsObituaries
Genesis P-Orridge, pioneering artist and musician, has died, aged 70
The artist’s life-long work was using he/r body and self as a medium
NewsObituaries
Pioneering performance artist Ulay has died, aged 76
Marina Abramović's former partner and collaborator passed away in Ljubljana
NewsArt market
Leading French auctioneer François Tajan dies, aged 57
The deputy chairman of the Paris-based auction house Artcurial was suffering from food poisoning
NewsObituaries
Jack Youngerman, second-wave abstractionist, has died, aged 93
The Missouri-born artist, known for his shaped canvases and bold patterns, became a leading abstract painter after moving from Paris to New York
NewsObituaries
Beverly Pepper, sculptor of colossal forms, has died, aged 97
Artist reveled in the corrosion and patination of her towering creations
NewsObituaries
Canadian Modernist painter Gordon Smith has died, aged 100
The Vancouver-based artist, one of the last of a generation that shaped the city’s mid-century cultural scene, was known for his monumental abstract canvases inspired by nature
FeatureObituaries
The Getty Museum curator who hired the Rolling Stones for 15 shillings a head
Self-taught Gillian Wilson put together the 20th century’s best collection of French decorative arts
NewsObituaries
‘Godfather of conceptual art’ John Baldessari dies aged 88
The Californian artist and teacher won numerous awards including the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale and the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama
NewsObituaries
Stephen Garrett, inaugural director of the Getty and the Hammer, has died, aged 96
“Bon vivant” took over at museum villa and expanded its mission after J. Paul Getty died in 1976
FeatureObituaries
Obituary: Nathalie Brooke, a leading figure in the preservation of Venice
A remarkable cultural ambassador in London's art, political, and musical scene and on return visits to her native Russia. One of the founders of Venice in Peril
NewsObituaries
Chinese artist and provocateur Huang Yong Ping has died, aged 65
Curator and collaborator Hou Hanru says that the late Chinese artist provided “an alternative viewpoint on the world”
NewsObituaries
Stefan Edlis, prolific Chicago philanthropist and collector of contemporary art, has died, aged 94
Along with his wife Gael Neeson, the plastics mogul was considered a "Nobel Laureate of Chicago Philanthropy"
NewsObituaries
Modern art historian, US museum director and clergyman EA Carmean, Jr has died, age 74
He was the National Gallery of Art’s founding curator of 20th-century art and led the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
NewsObituaries
Artist, activist and Andy Warhol muse John Giorno has died, aged 82
Tributes paid to key figure of US counterculture whose work was “groundbreaking for its time”
NewsObituaries
Deborah Marrow, the Getty’s longest-serving leader, has died, aged 70
Starting in 1983 as publications coordinator, she spent most of her three decades at the Getty overseeing its grant-making programme
NewsObituaries
Jacques Chirac, former French president, dies, aged 86
The politician, who also served as prime minister and Paris mayor, championed the founding of the Musée du Quai Branly
NewsObituaries
Huguette Caland—leading artist of the Arab world—has died, aged 88
Lebanese artist and designer who was known for her erotic line drawings and abstract paintings was "clearly ahead of her own time"
NewsObituaries
Gianfranco Gorgoni, photographer of Land Art and the New York avant-garde, has died, aged 77
The photographer, first known for his intimate portraits of artists, was later renowned for his monumental images of art in remote places
NewsObituaries
Vancouver street photographer Fred Herzog has died, age 88
The German-born Canadian captured a view of the city that has since been lost, but he did not receive major recognition until late in life
NewsObituaries
Robert Frank, the foreigner who framed America in photographs, dies aged 94
Swiss-born photographer, best know for his series The Americans, had a wide and enduring impact on photography
NewsObituaries
Francisco Toledo, renowned Mexican artist and activist, has died, aged 79
Known for powerful imagery rooted in his native Oaxaca, he was also a cultural benefactor
NewsObituaries
Greek sculptor Panayiotis Vassilakis, known as Takis, has died at 93
The self-taught artist explored magnetic field energy in his kinetic works, admired by Duchamp and the American Beat poets
NewsObituaries
Nancy Reddin Kienholz, artist and partner of Ed Kienholz, dies age 75
The pair created provocative installations about American society, race and sex
NewsObituaries
Kamal Boullata—Palestinian master of abstract art and Arabic calligraphy—dies, aged 77
Jerusalem-born artist who lived 50 years in exile was a pioneer of the hurufiyya movement and one of the first to write about Palestine's art history
NewsObituaries
Dealer Karsten Schubert—champion of YBAs including Rachel Whiteread and Gary Hume—has died, aged 57
The German-born gallerist and publisher was a key figure in the London art world for more than 30 years
NewsObituaries
Carlos Cruz-Diez, kinetic art trailblazer who was obsessed with colour, dies aged 95
Venezuelan artist was an important figure in the history of abstraction
NewsObituaries
Marisa Merz, only woman linked to Arte Povera group, dies aged 93
The intensely private artist won the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 2013 Venice Biennale
NewsObituaries
Frieder Burda—leading German collector of Modern masters including Picasso and Pollock—dies aged 83
Museum Frieder Burda in Baden-Baden is home to the philanthropist's collection of around 1,000 works
NewsObituaries
Sadie Roberts-Joseph, founder of Baton Rouge African American Museum, has died
The tireless community advocate was found murdered last week, aged 75
NewsObituaries
Art historian Douglas Crimp, who defined the Pictures Generation, dies aged 74
Writer, curator and editor organised the influential Pictures exhibition and championed artist activism during the Aids crisis
NewsObituaries
Post-war painter Leon Kossoff, who captured London life and landscapes, dies aged 92
British artist whose School of London classmates included Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach “saw beauty in everything and in everybody”, his gallery says
NewsObituaries
Young New York-based artist Devra Freelander killed in a bicycle accident
The 28-year-old recently showed work in Times Square
NewsObituaries
Barbara Hunt McLanahan, the executive director of the Children's Museum of the Arts, has died aged 55
Her tenure reflected her "steadfast belief in the transformative power of art", the museum says
FeatureObituaries
My father, the polymath, artist and adventurer, Friedrich Meckseper
The New York-based artist Josephine Meckseper shares personal memories of her father’s life and work
NewsObituaries
Artist Martin Roth has died, aged 41
The artist's last solo exhibition centred on gun violence
NewsObituaries
Robert Therrien, whose outsize art teetered between fantasy and reality, has died at 71
The artist delved into quotidian objects like a 10-foot-high kitchen table
NewsObituaries
Leah Chase, New Orleans chef and collector of African American art, has died aged 96
The “Queen of Creole Cuisine” showed works by artists including Elizabeth Catlett and Jacob Lawrence in her legendary restaurant Dooky Chase's
NewsObituaries
The Modernist architect I.M. Pei has died, aged 102
The Chinese-American designer created some of the world’s most striking museum projects, including the Louvre’s glass pyramid entrance and the National Gallery of Art’s East Building
FeatureObituaries
Remembering Jayne Wrightsman
A reminiscence of the New York socialite, arts patron and philanthropist by Keith Christiansen, the chairman of the Met's European Paintings Department
NewsObituaries
Philanthropist Henry Wollman Bloch has died aged 96
Bloch was an avid collector who made important contributions to the Nelson-Atkins Museum
NewsObituaries
Tributes to Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, giant of contemporary Iranian art
Curators and artists, including Shirin Neshat, remember the artist who called her geometric mirror works “signs of light and life”
NewsObituaries
French sculptor Claude Lalanne has died, aged 93
Her imaginative works inspired by flora and fauna sometimes carried a Surrealist touch
CommentOkwui Enwezor
Okwui Enwezor was one of the most influential curators in history
The Art Newspaper's features editor Ben Luke pays tribute
CommentObituaries
Hans Ulrich Obrist remembers his friend Okwui Enwezor
Many of Enwezor's ideas "are more relevant today than ever before", Obrist says
NewsObituaries
Pioneering artist and film-maker Agnès Varda has died, aged 90
Varda was part of France's New Wave movement and her recent documentary with street artist JR was nominated for an Oscar
CommentObituaries
Remembering Edmund Capon, longest-serving director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
He shook up a moribund institution by abolishing entry fees and staging lively exhibitions
Podcast
David Bailey in focus, plus Picasso biographer John Richardson remembered
We meet the photographer David Bailey at his London studio to discuss his new book and we talk with Gijs van Hensbergen about John Richardson, who died aged 95 last week. Produced in association with Bonhams, auctioneers since 1793.
NewsObituaries
Matisse expert and archivist Wanda de Guebriant has died, aged 69
The only authorised authenticator of the artist’s work started her 40-year career as an assistant to Matisse’s daughter, Marguerite Duthuit
NewsObituaries
Experimental film-maker Barbara Hammer dies, aged 79
The pioneer of lesbian film became an advocate for medical aid in dying
NewsObituaries
Obituary: Lamia al-Gailani, the archaeologist who brought new life to the looted Basrah museum
She was a key figure in the post-war re-establishment of Iraq’s antiquities museums
NewsObituaries
Okwui Enwezor, curator of Documenta and Venice Biennale, has died aged 55
Enwezor inspired a global, inclusive view of art history
CommentObituaries
Tribute to Marella Agnelli—doyenne of high society
The art collector and museum founder who married into the Agnelli dynasty was a woman of charm and intelligence
NewsDisasters & destruction
Tributes pour in for Italian marine archaeologist Sebastiano Tusa who died in Ethiopian Airlines plane crash
He was was an expert on the battle of Egadi of 241BC
InterviewArtists
Picasso biographer John Richardson dies, aged 95
We recently spoke to the art historian about his new book focusing on his extraordinary life, his homes and his eclectic personal collection
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
The astonishing life of Johan van Gogh: Vincent's great-nephew dies aged 96
A tribute to Theo van Gogh’s grandson, who served in the Dutch secret service
NewsObituaries
'Forces of time snatch people like devils': remembering pioneering feminist artist Carolee Schneemann
The painter, performance artist and film-maker, who won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2017, has died aged 79
CommentObituaries
When Karl Lagerfeld sold his art collection
The fashion designer, who died this week at the age of 85, spent lavishly on decorating his houses in the style of the Ancien Régime
NewsRobert Ryman
Art world tributes for Minimalist painter Robert Ryman, who has died aged 88
“In defining art's formal limits, he was the most radical painter of his time,” says art historian Robert Storr
NewsObituaries
Lyn Kienholz, champion of art in Southern California, has died at 88
She founded the LA History Project, which led to the exhibition series Pacific Standard Time
NewsObituaries
Susan Hiller, a ‘paraconceptualist’ who abandoned anthropology in favour of art, has died, aged 78
“In art, the viewer can be forced into a situation that creates empathy, which cannot be done in the social sciences,” she said
NewsObituaries
'Authority, concision and style': historian Theodore K. Rabb dies, aged 81
The specialist of the Early Modern period was a regular contributor to The Art Newspaper
NewsObituaries
Jonas Mekas, ‘godfather of American avant-garde cinema’, dies at 96
Without Mekas, “experimental film is unthinkable”, says Stuart Comer, MoMA's chief curator of media and performance art
NewsObituaries
Nicola L., known for her feminist functional design, has died at 81
The artist’s 50-year career transcended art and design and provided humourous political critique
NewsObituaries
Tributes for the art historian Sister Wendy Beckett who has died, aged 88
Her unscripted commentaries on Rembrandt, Monet and Leonardo da Vinci turned her into an unlikely television star
NewsObituaries
Robert Morris, the conceptual sculptor and leading Minimalist, has died, aged 87
We once asked the artist for his thoughts on Minimalism; he called our questions “trivial, superficial, puerile, misdirected, irrelevant, egregious, distracted, dull, feeble, breathless, gossip-mongering, smarmy and lizard-like”
NewsObituaries
Shirin Aliabadi, known for depicting rebellious Iranian women, has died
Artist photographed women breaking free of state-imposed rules
CommentObituaries
What Jayne Wrightsman did when you criticised her style
Anna Somers Cocks recalls a telling episode in her relations with the Met’s benefactor, who died on 20 April
Anna Somers Cocks