Galerie’s Weekly Art and Design Industry News Brief

Here are this week’s must-read news stories in the fields of art and design.

1. Getty acquires Betye Saar archive, launches African American Art History Initiative

The Getty Research Institute announced the establishment of the African American Art History Initiative with the acquisition of the archive of world-renowned artist Betye Saar. The Getty is starting the project with an initial $5 million allocation and will be raising additional funds as the project develops.

After 20 years with Donatella Versace at the helm, the Italian fashion house will be sold to Michael Kors. Photo: Getty Images/Estrop

2. Michael Kors buys Versace for $2.1 billion

Michael Kors announced on Tuesday that it would buy Versace in a bid to challenge Europe’s conglomerates at a time of rapid consolidation in the global luxury market. Milan-based Versace was one of the last independent European fashion houses. The American company stated that the acquisition will allow it to expand the Versace brand by opening 100 new stores.

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3. MFA Boston acquires Howard Greenberg Collection of Photographs

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has announced the acquisition of the Howard Greenberg Collection of Photographs, funded by a major gift from the Phillip Leonian and Edith Rosenbaum Leonian Charitable Trust. Amassed over more than three decades, the collection comprises 447 photographs by 191 artists, including rare prints of modernist masterpieces and mid-20th-century classics.

Claude Monet’s Le bassin aux nymphéas. Estimate: $30,000,000–50,000,000. Offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on November 11 at Christie’s in New York. Photo: Christie's

4. Christie’s to offer $30 million Monet while Sotheby’s will bring a $25 million Basquiat to auction this fall

Christie’s announced today that one of Claude Monet’s last paintings, Le Bassin aux nymphéas, will go on offer as part of its Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in November. Across town, Jean-Michel Baqsuiat’s Pollo Frito will be included in Sotheby’s Contemporary Art auction, also taking place in November.

5. A photographer is suing Netflix over the alleged use of his work on Stranger Things

Montana photographer Sean R. Heavey has filed suit against Netflix, alleging that it stole his image of a cloud formation without permission. The lawsuit centers around art featured on Beyond Stranger Things—a show that goes behind the scenes of the sci-fi blockbuster—which, according to Heavey, is a photo he took in 2010 titled The Mothership. A Netflix attorney wrote that the concept art is “not virtually identical,” therefore not within the “thin copyright” the photo has.

Architect David Adjaye speaks at the annual Lunch at a Landmark event. Photo: Chris George/Courtesy of the New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation

6. David Adjaye speaks at the New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation 

On Thursday, renowned architect David Adjaye presented at this year’s Lunch at a Landmark, the annual fundraiser held by the New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation. This year’s event was held at the New-York Historical Society, the city’s first museum. Speakers included Basil Walter, Samuel G. White, and Studio Museum director Thelma Golden, who introduced Adjaye. The architect went on to discuss his various past and upcoming projects, including his first skyscraper—now under construction downtown—and the new home for the Studio Museum in Harlem.

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7. Edouard Kopp named chief curator of the Menil Drawing Institute

The Menil Collection announced this month that Edouard Kopp has been named chief curator of the Menil Drawing Institute. In his new position, Kopp will be in charge of managing the institute’s archive of drawings, which is the fastest-growing component of the Menil’s holdings.