Art news daily

Plus: China blocks return of missing Kiefer works found by German museum director | Workers at New York’s Shed seek to unionise | Florian Hufnagl (1948–2019) | and recommended reading

Plus: Earthquakes in Puerto Rico force museums to close | and Palais de Tokyo faces criticism over partnership with Qatari state museum

Plus: Saudi Ministry of Culture launches first artist residency | and Joyce Foundation announces 2020 recipients of $50,000 award

Plus: Foundation for Contemporary Arts announces inaugural Helen Frankenthaler Award for Painting | and cemetery of high-status Romans discovered in Somerset

Plus: John Baldessari (1931–2020) | National Gallery of Australia closes due to bushfire smoke | British Museum acquires export-barred Pahari painting | and recommended reading

Plus: Russian collectors in Belgium arrested on suspicion of fraud and money laundering | Cheung Yee (1936–2019)

Plus: Art-world figures recognised in New Year’s Honours list | Picasso painting of Dora Maar defaced at Tate Modern | and authenticity of dozens of Goya paintings called into question

Plus: Artgenève to expand with two new Moscow fairs | and Thomas Hart Benton heirs sue Kansas City bank for estate mismanagement

Plus: Eric Shiner to direct Pioneer Works in Brooklyn | and Mellon Foundation cancels $1.5m grant to North Carolina university over plans for Confederate monument

Plus: archaeologists discover two 3,500-year-old ancient Greek tombs | Aliph announces $10m in grants for 20 heritage conservation projects | and Art Basel Hong Kong offers discounts and flexibility to participating dealers as the city’s protests continue

Plus: French culture minister promises to return 26 artefacts to Benin by 2021 | and shortlist announced for Margaret Tait Award

Plus: Arts Council England to monitor class background of arts workers | Protests at Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts over unpaid staff wages | and Caroline Fowler named director of Research and Academic Program at Clark Art Institute

Plus: TEFAF awards €50,000 in conservation grants to LACMA and V&A | Maurizio Cattelan’s banana artwork sparks uprising from janitors in Miami | and recommended reading

Plus: Art Berlin fair cancelled permanently | and cave painting found in Indonesia believed to be world’s oldest narrative art

Plus: Painting discovered in gallery wall could be stolen Klimt | Deborah Cullen-Morales steps down as director of Bronx Museum | An unconventional portrayal of Zapata sparks protests in Mexico | and May Stevens (1924–2019)

Plus: Charles Saumarez Smith leaves post at Blain Southern | Catherine Opie to chair UCLA’s art department in newly endowed position | and National Museum of the Resistance to be built in Milan

Plus: Maori carvings to return to New Zealand after 130 years | MOCA in LA to recognise workers’ union | and Donald B. Marron (1934–2019)

Plus: Contemporary Arts Museum Houston announces new director | and recommended reading

Plus: German art collective issue apology for controversial Berlin monument | UN rebukes threats against former Kyrgyz museum director | Dresden police receive more than 500 tip-off calls about Green Vault heist | Smithsonian museums rebrand as National Museum of Asian art

Plus: Christopher Breward appointed director of National Museums Scotland | and Stephen Garrett (1922–2019)

Plus: Turkish court rules that Kariye Museum must become mosque | Byron Kim announced as recipient of Robert De Niro, Sr. Prize | and Andrés Jaque announced as curator of Shanghai Biennale

Plus: UNESCO-listed town in Austria damaged by major fire | Danish court prevents Tal R painting from being chopped up to make watches | and burglars steal medals and jewellery from Stasi Museum

Plus:  Reward of €500,000 offered for recovery of Green Vault jewels | Nancy Astor statue unveiled in Plymouth | and recommended reading

Plus: Juan Pablo Langlois (1936–2019) | and three artists elected to Hong Kong District Councils