MoMA to Return Kirchner Painting to Heirs of Collector

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

MoMA Returns Kirchner Painting to Heirs of Original Owner | After years of research into its provenance, MoMA is to return a painting by Expressionist artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner to the heirs of the Jewish art collector Max Fischer, reports the New York Times. The painting, titled Sand Hills in Engadine (1917–18) was one of many that Fischer lost when he was forced to flee Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

UK and India to Stage Cross-Cultural Festival | The UK and India have announced a cross-cultural festival to celebrate 70 years of Indian Independence in 2017, reports The Art Newspaper. Events will include a major exhibition at Mumbai’s CSMVS museum featuring important loans from the British Museum, and texts from the British Library including Shakespeare’s first folio will tour through India. In the UK, an exhibition themed on India will be staged at the Manchester Museum.

Native American Artist’s Paintings to be Removed from Exhibition | Washington state has decided to remove four paintings by Native American artist and convicted murderer Leonard Peltier from an exhibition in the lobby of its Department of Labor and Industries HQ, reports ABC News. The decision comes after protests about the inclusion of the artist’s work from an association representing retired FBI agents; in 1977, Peltier was convicted of killing two FBI agents.

Sotheby’s Offers Staff Voluntary Buyouts | Sotheby’s has offered its employees voluntary buyouts in a bid to cut costs, reports the New York Times. Tad Smith, the auction house’s chief executive, admitted that the downsizing initiative might seem ‘unexpected’ after two weeks of strong sales, but wanted to offer ‘colleagues an attractive economic opportunity to volunteer to resign, should they wish to do so’.

Lucian Freud Archive Donated to the UK | An archive of the work of Lucian Freud, including 162 childhood drawings, has been donated to the National Portrait Gallery, having been accepted by the nation in lieu of tax, reports The Guardian. The archive has never before been exhibited in public, and includes many studies believed to have led to the artist’s major works.

Constant Dullaart Wins Prix Net Art | Dutch artist Constant Dullaart has been awarded the second annual Prix Net Art. The prize, which celebrates internet art, rewards its winner with $10,000, with a runner up – in this case, Germany’s Weise7 collective – receiving $5,000.