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The Headlines
AUCTION ACTION. Seven more works from the collection of the late Microsoft cofounder and super-collector Paul Allen are heading to auction at Christie’s in New York in May, Melanie Gerlis reports in her Financial Times column. The lots, carrying combined high estimates of more than $40 million, are three pieces by Georgia O’Keeffe, three by David Hockney, and one by Edward Hopper. Back in November, 60 lots from Allen’s collection went at Christie’s for about $1.5 billion, an all-time record for a single-owner sale at auction. A residence that Allen owned in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which was once the home of O’Keeffe, is also on the market, with an asking price of $15 million, ARTnews reported last month.
SEOUL DISPATCH. A documentary film is in the works about the late South Korean figurative sculptor Kwon Jin Kyu (1922–73), the Korea JoongAng Daily reports. Kwon, a favorite of the art-collecting BTS superstar RM, was the subject of a retrospective last year at the Seoul Museum of Art. Meanwhile, the South Korean skincare giant Sulwhasoo has inked a partnership deal with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Korea Herald reports. The arrangement will see the powerhouse brand support various programs at the New York institution, including the care of Korean artifacts. An event to toast the initiative will be held later this month at the Met, with co-hosts that include Rosé of the unstoppable K-pop group Blackpink and actress Yuh-Jung Youn.
The Digest
Foster + Partners has been tapped to renovate the SanDiego Museum of Art in California. The project will include the creation of a new education pavilion; construction is slated to start in 2026. [Architects’ Journal]
Angelle Siyang-Le, who was named Art Basel Hong Kong’s director late last year, spoke about navigating her career while being a mother, as well as her leadership style. “In any sort of relationship, marriage, partnership or even in a team, you’ve got to give time and be understanding and patient with the people around you,” she said. [South China Morning Post]
Artist Adrian Piper will be given the Harvard Arts Medal, which honors excellence in the arts by an alum of the university or a faculty member. Piper has a master’s and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the school. [The Harvard Gazette]
The National Portrait Gallery in London has commissioned artists Jann Haworth and Liberty Blake to create a mural with 130 women from British history that will be presented when the museum reopens in June, following a renovation. [The Guardian]
Sky High Farm Workwear—the label from artist Dan Colen and fashion vet Daphne Seybold that sells clothes to combat food scarcity—got profiled by Vogue Business. A brand “can live in the zeitgeist in a way that perhaps a non-profit cannot,” Colen said. [Vogue Business]
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT. After 20 years as director of the Whitney Museum in New York, Adam Weinberg will step down at the end of October. Taking his place will be Scott Rothkopf, the museum’s senior deputy director and chief curator. [ARTnews]
The Kicker
HOUSE HUNTING. If Allen’s aforementioned old place is not right for you, Bloomberg art reporter James Tarmy has a story on a home in Greenwich, Connecticut, that might appeal. Built by John Frank, who made a fortune selling Grey Goose vodka to Bacardi , it sports about 18,000 square feet on 19 acres and is priced at $33.8 million. Frank’s primary home is in Florida these days. He said, “When I lived there, I’d go downstairs to my car collection. Now, I have to get into a car and drive to a warehouse.” Make an offer before he decides to take it off the market! [Bloomberg]