Enfilade

Left: Guercino, King David, 1651, oil on canvas, 224 × 170 cm (Accepted in lieu of Inheritance Tax by HM Government and allocated to the National Gallery). Right: John Deare, Edward and Eleanor, 1790, marble (Accepted in Lieu of Inheritance Tax from the Estate of Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum).

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From the press release:

The legacy of UK cultural luminary Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild (1936–2024) is being celebrated by two of his artworks joining the collections of the National Gallery and the V&A, through the Acceptance in Lieu scheme. The National Gallery—where Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild served as Chair of Trustees between 1985 and 1998—will receive King David (1651) by renowned Bolognese painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591–1666), known as Guercino, reuniting it with the two works both created to be its pendant, already part of the Trafalgar Square collection. The V&A will receive the marble relief Edward and Eleanor (1790) by John Deare (1759–1798), one of the most talented neoclassical sculptors working at the end of the 18th century.

Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild, in addition to chairing the National Gallery, led the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the family’s flagship, Waddesdon Manor. He supported many causes, some close to his home in Buckinghamshire, others as far afield as Albania, Greece, Israel, and the United States. He was committed to helping communities, the environment, education and above all, the arts. His exemplary service to his country was recognised on several occasions, with a GBE, a CVO and as a member of the Order of Merit.

His daughter, Dame Hannah Rothschild—who also served as Chair of the National Gallery—said, “My father, Jacob, was a devoted patron of the arts and a steadfast champion of the National Gallery. He regarded Guercino’s King David, a masterwork of the Italian Baroque, as one of the crowning acquisitions of his lifetime. It was his wish to see King David reunited with its two Sibyls at the National Gallery and his family is grateful to the AIL Panel and to the National Gallery for giving it a distinguished home amongst such illustrious company. The exquisite marble relief by John Deare is of such rarity and importance that my father, Jacob, felt it must find its home in a national institution. Our family is delighted that the AIL Panel and the V&A have accepted this bequest, fulfilling his vision with such care and distinction.”

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Celebrated as one of the most innovative and gifted British neoclassical sculptors, John Deare (1759–1798) spent most of his career in Rome, where the relief of Edward and Eleanor was carved in 1790. Due to his early death at age 38, his production was limited to around fifty documented works, though very few of these are known today. The majority were reliefs of classical and allegorical subjects or related to English history, commissioned by British Grand Tourists to decorate their country houses.

Until now, only two other marble sculptures by Deare were held in British public collections: Cupid and Psyche (1791) at the Bradford District Museums & Galleries and Julius Caesar Invading Britain (1796) acquired by the V&A in 2011 (on display in the Hintze Gallery, G22). Plaster versions of the Edward and Eleanor composition are held at Wimpole Hall and at the Walker Art Gallery.

The relief depicting Eleanor of Castile sucking poison from the wound of Prince Edward (later Edward I) will be installed in the British Galleries (G119) at V&A South Kensington later this year—the first time it has been on public display. In this exceptional relief, which demonstrates Deare’s virtuoso technique in carving marble with great subtlety, the sculptor has adapted an episode of medieval British history into a depiction of Greek history, in a refined neoclassical style.

The work is of particular interest to the V&A, as it predates the Caesar Invading Britain relief and shows various sources of inspiration in the composition, including the paintings of Angelika Kauffman. The V&A also holds several albums of drawings by John Deare, including a study of a woman (E.260-1968) believed to be preparatory for the figure of Eleanor.

Much remains to be discovered about Deare’s production. The V&A is hosting an international conference on 16 and 17 May 2025 on the theme of sculptural exchanges between Italy and Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries, where the relief will be the focus of a spotlight presentation, marking the start of a new line of research into the artist’s work.

Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, said: “These remarkable acquisitions, made possible by the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, will forever represent Lord Rothschild’s legacy as a great connoisseur, champion of the arts and relentless supporter of British cultural institutions.”

John Deare (1759–1798) Edward and Eleanor: Accepted in Lieu of Inheritance Tax from the Estate of Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The acceptance of this sculpture settled £1,120,000 in tax.

Additional information about Guercino’s King David is available from the full press release»

View of the National Gallery Sainsbury Wing from Trafalgar Square. After contentious early designs were scuttled in the 1980s, the Sainsbury Wing, as conceived by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, opened in 1991. The latest revisioning, an £85m project, was led by Annabelle Selldorf. (Photo by Edmund Sumner, ©The National Gallery, London).

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From the press release (9 May 2025) . . .

The National Gallery’s new main entrance reopened to the public on Saturday 10 May 2025, as part of the Gallery’s 200th birthday celebrations.

View looking up the main staircase of the Sainsbury Wing (Photo by Edmund Sumner, ©The National Gallery, London).

The Sainsbury Wing closed in February 2023 to undergo sensitive interventions to its external façade, foyer, and first floor, providing a better and more welcoming first experience to the National Gallery’s millions of visitors, in a plan designed by New York-based Selldorf Architects, working with heritage architects Purcell.

At the entrance, some of the Gallery’s footprint has been given over to public realm, creating a ‘square-within-a-square’, and leading to a more spacious entrance to the Gallery. The original dark glass of the stairs up to the gallery spaces has been replaced with clear glazing, bringing daylight across the foyer while revealing subtle views of the 1830s National Gallery building by William Wilkins (1778–1839). The glazing also allows people in Trafalgar Square to see directly into the Gallery for the first time.

This entrance opens into a new double-height foyer, which is larger, more open, and brightly lit. A 12-metre wide, 16K screen shows astounding details of National Gallery paintings. Visitors will find a new espresso bar, ‘Bar Giorgio’, by Giorgio Locatelli, on the ground floor. ‘Locatelli’, the restaurant by the same chef, will be on the mezzanine level, alongside a new bookshop and spaces for meetings and events. A bar will provide the to-date only publicly accessible space in London to enjoy a drink with views onto Trafalgar Square.

Paula Figueiroa Rego (1935–2022), Crivelli’s Garden, 1990–91, acrylic on canvas. Commissioned by the National Gallery in 1989, the painting responds to the predella of Carlo Crivelli’s Madonna of the Swallow (1491)—with an emphasis on the actions of strong women.

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Facing the restaurant diners will be Paula Rego’s (1935–2022) Crivelli’s Garden (1990–91). Rego was the National Gallery’s first Associate Artist and was inspired to create the work by looking at Renaissance paintings by Carlo Crivelli (about 1430/5 – about 1494) for the Sainsbury Wing Dining Room on its original opening in 1991.

Also reopening is the recently renamed Pigott Theatre, on the lower ground floor. The theatre has been fully refurbished with a new colour scheme and refitted for increased comfort and accessibility, including level access to the stage.

The palette of high-quality materials used throughout the new spaces includes the same grey Florentine limestone (pietra serena) employed in the Venturi-Scott Brown designed gallery spaces, along with Chamesson limestone from northern Burgundy, slate, oak, and black granite. Wherever possible existing materials have been re-used, recycled, or repurposed in other building projects.

The NG200 Welcome project has been made possible thanks to support from many generous donations, from both major benefactors and members of the public. In particular, The Linbury Trust and The Headley Trust which, together with The Monument Trust, funded the original establishment of the Sainsbury Wing 35 years ago, have been instrumental in helping the Gallery to realise the evolution of the building for its changing visitor needs.

Statements by Timothy Sainsbury, Gabriele Finaldi, Annabelle Selldorf, and Chris Bryant are available in the full press release.

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In his review of the newly unveiled spaces, Oliver Wainwright provides a useful summary of the architectural controversies that have always been part of the Sainsbury Wing’s history.

Oliver Wainwright, “‘Tranquillising Good Taste’: Can the National Gallery’s Airy New Entrance Exorcise Its Demons?” The Guardian (6 May 2025). When the Sainsbury Wing opened, it was called ‘vulgar pastiche’. Now, after an £85m revamp, it has become the famous gallery’s main entrance. But have its spiky complexities been tamed? And why all the empty space?

When the Sainsbury Wing first opened in 1991, it was not loved. It was variously slammed as “a vulgar American piece of postmodern mannerist pastiche” and “picturesque mediocre slime.” It was too traditional for modernists and too playful for traditionalists. Its dark, low-ceilinged entrance was damned as “a nasty cellar-like space” cluttered with a maze of (non-structural) columns. “It just didn’t work,” says the gallery’s deputy director, Paul Gray, adding that visitor numbers have swelled from three million back then to approaching six million now. The wing was never intended to handle such volumes. “The modern visitor expects so much more now. They want big, open, welcoming spaces, and it never felt like that.”

But time garners affection. And there is nothing like the threat of change to arouse fondness. When Selldorf’s modernising plans were first unveiled in 2022, the same critics who had pooh-poohed Venturi Scott Brown’s design leapt to its defence. . . .

The full article is available here»

In Room 34 George Stubbs’s Whistlejacket (ca. 1762) is surrounded by a new ‘salon’ hang of British painting, 1740–1800.

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In addition to the reworking of the entrance and secondary spaces, galleries were rehung under the direction of Christine Riding, as described by Martin Bailey for The Art Newspaper:

Martin Bailey, “First Look: The ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Rehang at London’s National Gallery,” The Art Newspaper (5 May 2025).

The Art Newspaper was given an early tour by Christine Riding, the director of collections and research, who has overseen the rehang. She describes her task as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. Now virtually completed, the rehang means that the National Gallery will show nearly 40% of its collection.

There will be 1,045 paintings hanging in the upper-floor rooms: 919 from the collection, plus 126 on loan. Nearly a third will be in the Sainsbury Wing and the rest on the main floor of the original Wilkins building. . . .

The number of works on display is slightly greater than before, thanks to a marginally denser hang, more glass cases in the centre of rooms, two walls with 34 plein-air landscape oil sketches (Room 39) and an additional space (Room 15a) with small Dutch pictures.

Riding has been particularly keen to emphasise “how artists have been influenced by their predecessors.” For instance, Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun’s Self Portrait in a Straw Hat (1782) is hung in the same octagonal space (Room 15) as the picture that inspired it, Peter Paul Rubens’s presumed Portrait of Susanna Lunden (1622–25). . . .

The Sainsbury Wing will now be the main entry point for visitors, with possibly more than 90% coming through there rather than via the portico or Getty entrances.

The full article is available here»

Room 34 of the National Gallery unveiled as the Blavatnik Family Foundation Room in recognition of its significant gift to the NG200 campaign.

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From the press release (7 May 2025) . . .

Room 34 of the National Gallery will today be unveiled as the Blavatnik Family Foundation Room in recognition of its significant gift to NG200. The generous gift marks the culmination of NG200, the National Gallery’s year-long bicentenary celebration of art, creativity, and imagination, marking two centuries of bringing people and paintings together.

Led by Sir Leonard Blavatnik, founder and chairman of Access Industries, the Blavatnik Family Foundation promotes innovation, discovery, and creativity to benefit the whole of society. Through the Foundation, the Blavatnik family has contributed over $1billion globally to advance science, education, arts and culture, and social justice. They have provided essential funding to dozens of scientists in the early stages of their careers through the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, made major gifts to universities such as Harvard and Yale, and funded The Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University. The Blavatnik Family Foundation has also supported more than 180 leading cultural organisations, including the National Portrait Gallery, Royal Academy, V&A, Courtauld, and the expansion of Tate Modern.

Room 34 of the National Gallery is a showcase of the best of British painting in the second half of the 18th century. It is home to such iconic works as the monumental horse painting Whistlejacket (about 1762) by George Stubbs (1727–1788), Mr and Mrs Andrews (about 1750) by Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788), and William Hogarth’s (1697–1764) six painting series Marriage A-la Mode (about 1743).

Sir Leonard Blavatnik, said: “I’m delighted to support the National Gallery’s bicentenary and this magnificent room that celebrates Britain’s artistic heritage.”

Sir Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, said: “We are thrilled by the extraordinary and transformative philanthropy of the Blavatnik Family Foundation at this seminal moment in the National Gallery’s history and are delighted to recognise the generosity of the Blavatnik Family in one of our most beautiful and important rooms.”

The original core collection of ancient sculpture that would become the Archaeological Museum of Venice was on public view in the Marciana Library—built by Sansovino and Scamozzi—starting in 1596. Of the several courtyards of the Procuratie Nuove, the Courtyard of Agrippa is the only one designed by Scamozzi. From the press release (via Art Daily) . . .

Courtyard of Agrippa. Photo from the website of the National Archaeological Museum of Venice.

The Museo archeologico nazionale di Venezia (National Archaeological Museum of Venice)—part of the Musei archeologici nazionali di Venezia e della Laguna (National Archaeological Museums of Venice and the Lagoon)—announces the reopening of the Courtyard of Agrippa, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the museum’s history. Starting May 6, the museum reopens its historic entrance at No. 17 Piazzetta San Marco, directly facing the Doge’s Palace. This new access complements the existing one through the Correr Museum and signifies the launch of a significant reorganization process. It also underscores the museum’s commitment to accessibility and a renewed, inclusive visitor experience.

In line with this vision, the museum route returns to the original order established between 1924 and 1926 by Carlo Anti, a distinguished classicist, professor of Archaeology, and later rector of the University of Padua. The itinerary offers a chronological narrative of Greek and Roman art through sculpture—from the 5th century BC to the late imperial era—alongside ceramics, bronze statuettes, coins, and other precious objects collected and donated by the Venetian aristocracy between the 16th and 19th centuries.

To enhance the visitor experience, a new independent ticketing system for the Archaeological Museum and the Marciana Library is introduced and added to the existing one, along with an annual subscription that provides unlimited, flexible access to the collections. A newly created multifunctional space will also showcase prestigious artifacts and provide visitors with updates on the museum’s ongoing reinstallation project.

The Courtyard of Agrippa is visible at the left edge of this screenshot from Google Maps.

These initiatives represent the first tangible step in the formation of a new institution under Italy’s Ministry of Culture: the Musei archeologici nazionali di Venezia e della Laguna (National Archaeological Museums of Venice and the Lagoon), established in May 2024 under the direction of Marianna Bressan. This institution encompasses the Museo archeologico nazionale di Venezia, the Museo di Palazzo Grimani, the Parco archeologico di Altino (Archaeological Park of Altino), and the upcoming Museo archeologico nazionale della laguna di Venezia (National Archaeological Museum of the Venice Lagoon) on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio. Together, they promote an integrated and coherent cultural offering that enhances the archaeological heritage of Venice and its lagoon.

To celebrate this reopening, the courtyard will also host a striking site-specific installation during the preview days of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. Lines by Kengo Kito, curated by Masahiko Haito and supported by anonymous art project, will be installed both in the Courtyard of Agrippa and Room V of the Museum. The work establishes a dialogue with Venetian cultural heritage and Renaissance architecture, sparking a reflection on the interaction between art and public space.

Canaletto, The Piazzetta, Venice, Looking North, ca. 1740 (Pasadena: Norton Simon Museum). The Marciana Library is visible to the left, in front of the bell tower.

Also part of the exhibition, a temporary conservation intervention—also supported by anonymous art project—on the wall behind the statue of Agrippa, weathered by time and humidity. The work includes surface dust removal, consolidation, and subtle tone harmonization, aiming to create a dynamic relationship between ancient, modern, and contemporary art. This experimental restoration model may inform future developments within the museum. The artistic project will contribute to further enhance this restoration, underlining the importance of the continuous comparison between the historicity of the place and current artistic expressions.

“The reopening of the museum’s historic entrance on Piazzetta San Marco,” states Marianna Bressan, Director of the Musei archeologici nazionali di Venezia e della Laguna, “is the first tangible act in Venice by this new institution. It reflects the cultural vision we aim to develop. The intervention in fact returns to the city and to the world a jewel of Renaissance architecture, studies the distribution of ancient sculptures and the architectural space for a mutual valorisation, proposes a conceptually flexible installation, part permanent exhibition and part visitable depot. Furthermore, it intends to reconnect the relationship of the Archaeological Museum with Venice both physically, through the access directly from the Piazza level, and in the proposal of cultural fruition: in the room adjacent to the ticket office, the Museum will recount step by step the phases of its rebirth, visitors, both male and female, by subscribing, will be able to return as many times as they want to see the progress, to participate in the dedicated events, to familiarize themselves with the collections and the history of this place, so linked to the history of Venice itself.”

Crossing the museum’s new threshold, visitors are welcomed into the Courtyard of Agrippa, home to the monumental statue believed to depict the Roman statesman and general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (63 BC – AD 12). This space acts as a bridge between the Marciana area’s architecture, Venice’s political centre, and the legacy of classical antiquity collecting. The statue introduces the deep connection between Venice and ancient Rome, a theme echoed throughout the museum’s collection. This link reveals how collecting was a strategic tool to bolster the cultural and political identity of the Serenissima.

Having become part of public collections in the 1860s, the work represents a significant historical testimony, which confirms a long tradition of private collections donated to the Republic and begun in the early decades of the sixteenth century by Domenico Grimani (1461–1523). Integrating his uncle’s donation with his own collections, in 1587 Giovanni Grimani (1506–1593) donated part of his collection to the Serenissima and committed to setting up the Statuary in the anteroom of the then ‘Libreria’ Marciana, opened to the public in 1596 among the first examples of a public museum in the world. The Grimani donations marked the beginning of a process of active involvement of the Venetian patriciate in strengthening the prestige of the State. Numerous members of the Venetian nobility, in fact, would follow their example, donating part of their collections to the city. The predominance of ancient works of art, especially Roman, becomes clear evidence of the desire to associate Venice with a historical tradition that, although not part of its foundation, could legitimise it as a cultural, political and military power. The collection of ancient art thus becomes a bridge between the Serenissima and the great Roman history, strengthening the position of Venice as heir to the dominion and power of the Roman Empire, especially in the eastern Mediterranean.

In a program that aims to offer a complete cultural experience, the new independent entrance to the museum, designed for those who wish to visit only the Archaeological Museum, integrates with the existing access from the Museo Correr.

The addition of a new passageway restores the Courtyard of Agrippa to its original visibility and accessibility: the space, in fact, is the only one among the courtyards of the Procuratie Nuove designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi, one of the greatest interpreters of the Renaissance architectural language.

To re-establish the visit according to the original route, the new entrance corresponds to a separate ticket. To this is also added an adjacent multifunctional space, where stone works belonging to the permanent collection will be set up, creating a real visitable depot. Here, an infographic designed to be flexible and updatable will tell visitors about the process of re-setting up the National Archaeological Museum of Venice, which begins with the reopening of the Courtyard of Agrippa.

Finally, to make the offer as inclusive and usable as possible, an annual subscription will be introduced, which will allow flexible entry to the collections, as well as access to the Museum’s event program. The initiative thus opens the institution to the city, building visitor loyalty and guaranteeing them a more dynamic visit.

The reopening of the Courtyard of Agrippa marks an important step in the process of reorganization and enhancement of the archaeological heritage of Venice, which finds new synergy within the National Archaeological Museums of Venice and the Lagoon. Within this institution, belonging to the Ministry of Culture, the different facets of the identity and history of the Venetian territory are integrated.

The Museum of Palazzo Grimani and the National Archaeological Museum offer a historical-artistic narrative on collecting linked to archaeology and classical art: Palazzo Grimani, in particular, celebrates, through the reorganization of the Tribuna, the collecting experience of the Grimani family—specifically the patriarch of Aquileia, Giovanni—while the National Archaeological Museum of Venice tells the story of Venetian collecting.

A belated posting for a major announcement from October:

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Self Portrait in Studio Costume, ca. 1800 (Williamstown, Massachusetts: Clark Art Institute).

The Clark Art Institute has received one of the largest gifts in its history from the foundation of the late philanthropist Aso O. Tavitian. The gift includes 331 works of art from Mr. Tavitian’s personal collection and more than $45 million to endow a curatorial position to oversee the collection, provide necessary support for the collection’s long-term care, and fund construction of a new Aso O. Tavitian Wing at the Clark.

“It is an incredible honor to receive this transformational gift,” said Olivier Meslay, Hardymon Director of the Clark Art Institute. “During his lifetime, Aso Tavitian was a wonderful friend to the Clark and a generous supporter who provided us with exceptional leadership and dedication. We are deeply moved by his decision to place the heart of his collection in our trust and immensely grateful to the Trustees of his Foundation for their generosity in ensuring that we can fulfill his desire to share these treasures with the world through the addition of the new Aso O. Tavitian Wing that will house these remarkable works of art.”

Mr. Tavitian, who had homes in New York City and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, died in 2020. He served on the Clark’s Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2012 and remained engaged with the Clark throughout his lifetime. In 2011, Mr. Tavitian loaned thirty paintings and one sculpture from his collection to the Clark for the exhibition Eye to Eye: European Portraits, 1450–1850. Prior to his death, Mr. Tavitian made the decision to gift a significant portion of his collection to the Clark and had numerous conversations with the Institute’s leadership about his intentions.

The 331 works of art in the gift include 132 paintings, 130 sculptures, thirty-nine drawings, and thirty decorative arts objects, creating an important addition to the Clark’s holdings. The entirety of the Tavitian gift will be on view when the new Aso O. Tavitian Wing opens. Following an introductory presentation at the time of the new wing’s opening, the works on paper included in the gift will be made available for study purposes and be presented in periodic displays. The majority of paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts objects will be shown on a continual basis, both in the new Tavitian Wing and in the Clark’s permanent collection galleries.

The Tavitian gift is particularly rich in portraiture, including important works by Parmigianino, Peter Paul Rubens, Elizabeth Vigée Lebrun, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and Jacques- Louis David, among others. Also included in the collection are landscapes by Hubert Robert, Claude-Joseph Vernet, and others, as well as religious paintings by artists including Jan van Eyck and Agnolo Bronzino. Sculpture is a great strength of the Tavitian Collection, with works in bronze, plaster, terracotta, marble, and other materials dating from the Renaissance through the late nineteenth-century by artists including Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Andrea della Robbia, Gil de Siloé, Clodion (Claude Michel), and Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux.

“Aso Tavitian’s collection of Early Modern paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, and drawings is truly one of the finest in the world,” said Esther Bell, Deputy Director and Robert and Martha Berman Lipp Chief Curator of the Clark. “In making this tremendous gift to the Clark, Aso ensured that the public will have access to these beautiful objects for future generations. We are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to share these works with our visitors.”

The Clark’s existing collection of paintings and sculpture ranges from the Renaissance to the end of the nineteenth century, with strengths in the second half of this period, and greater strength in paintings than in sculpture. The Tavitian gift covers the same period, but with strengths in the earlier periods, and with greater balance between paintings and sculpture. As such, this collection forms a perfect complement and addition to the Clark’s current holdings.

“Aso Tavitian was committed to creating a home for a significant part of his collection at the Clark, where the works that brought him such deep pleasure could be shared with the public,” said Candace Beinecke, President of the Aso O. Tavitian Foundation. “The trustees of the Tavitian Foundation are thrilled to see Aso’s wishes come to life in new galleries that will provide a glorious setting for his magnificent collection and a fitting tribute to this remarkable man’s legacy.”

In addition to the works of art and funding for a new addition, the gift creates an endowment for a new curatorial position, the Aso O. Tavitian Curator of Early Modern European Painting and Sculpture, as well as additional staffing to ensure continuous oversight of the works included in the collection. The gift also supports the publication of a catalogue documenting the collection, as well as the ongoing care and maintenance of the Tavitian Collection and the new facility.

The Aso O. Tavitian Wing

The Clark and the Trustees of the Tavitian Foundation jointly selected Selldorf Architects to design the new Aso O. Tavitian Wing that will be constructed on the Clark’s campus. The new facility will be positioned between the existing Museum Building and the Manton Research Center, creating a completely reconceived and more meaningful link between the two buildings and replacing the ‘bridge’ that was originally created during the 1973 addition designed by Pietro Belluschi and The Architects Collaborative, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Annabelle Selldorf leads the design team on the project, marking her third major engagement with the Clark. Selldorf previously oversaw the 2014 renovation of the Museum Building and the 2016 renovation of the Manton Research Center’s public spaces and galleries. Completion of the new building is anticipated for some time between 2027 and 2028.

Highlights of the Tavitian Collection at The Clark

Beginning in 2004 and continuing until his death, Mr. Tavitian assembled one of the most important private groupings of Early Modern art amassed in this generation. Mr. Tavitian’s collection reflected his personal taste, his extraordinary eye, and his belief that seeing these works displayed together further illuminated each object.

Following Mr. Tavitian’s death, his foundation gifted two paintings from his collection to The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Francesco Salviati’s Bindo Altoviti, ca.1545) and The Frick Collection (Giovanni Battista Moroni’s Portrait of a Woman, ca.1575). These paintings featured prominently in exhibitions that were presented at these institutions in recent years. The gift to the Clark honors Mr. Tavitian’s wishes to keep a significant portion of his art collection intact so that the artworks could be displayed together.

The collection includes major works by many noted artists. Among the many important works included in the Tavitian gift are:

• Jan van Eyck (Netherlandish, ca. 1390–1441) and workshop, Madonna of the Fountain, ca. 1440, oil on panel. This rare panel is one of several period versions of one of Van Eyck’s last paintings, dated to 1439 and in the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Antwerp.

• Andrea della Robbia (Italian, 1435–1525/1528), Portrait of a Youth, ca. 1470–80, glazed terracotta. This exceptional work by Ieading Italian Renaissance sculptor della Robbia is modeled in deep relief, with the head and neck set off against a simple roundel glazed in blue, resulting in a sculpture that is remarkably lifelike and modern.

• Gil de Siloé (Spanish, active 1486, died ca. 1501), Saint Cecile, ca. 1500, marble. This rare, delicately carved, sculpture was made by one of the leading Late Gothic artists of fifteenth-century northern Spain, likely as an object of private devotion.

• Jacopo da Pontormo (Italian, 1494–1557), Portrait of a Boy, ca. 1535–40 or later, oil on fired tile. This sensitive, Mannerist depiction of an unknown boy, possibly a studio assistant, is rendered on the unusual support of a thick terracotta tile.

• Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), Portrait of a Young Man, ca. 1613–15, oil on panel. While the identity of the sitter is no longer known, this portrait—made following the artist’s return from Rome in what is arguably his most fertile period—is a superb example of Rubens’s ability to capture the subtleties of character.

• Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Italian, 1598–1680), Countess Matilda of Canossa, ca. 1630–39, bronze. This small-scale bronze figure is a reduction of the over life-size marble Bernini made for the tomb of Countess Matilda in St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome. The Tavitian gift also includes a rare painting by Bernini, thought to be a portrait of his brother Luigi.

• Hubert Robert (French, 1733–1808), Colonnade and Gardens at the Villa Medici, ca. 1759, oil on canvas. The collection includes three landscapes by Hubert Robert, including this monumental plein air vista of gentlemen sketching on the grounds of the French Academy in Rome.

• Jean-Antoine Houdon (French, 1741–1828), Little Lise, 1775, marble. The delicate carving of the hair, ribbon, and face of a young woman demonstrates Houdon’s unparalleled artistic refinement.

• Elizabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun (French, 1755–1842), Self-Portrait in Studio Costume, ca. 1800, oil on panel. Several works by women artists are included in the collection, including eighteenth-century portrait painter Vigée-Lebrun, who is represented by this confident self-portrait.

• Jacques Louis David (French, 1748–1825), Portrait of Dominique-Vincent Ramel de Nogaret, 1820, oil on canvas. The artist painted the former finance minister of France during a period when both men were in exile in Brussels following the final abdication of Napoleon in 1815. The gift also includes two other portraits by David, including the pendant portrait of Ramel de Nogaret’s wife, Ange-Pauline-Charlotte Ramel de Nogaret and the portrait of the artist’s son, Jules.

From the press release (via Art Daily) . . .

Portrait of Shawn Yuan, courtesy of the San Antonio Museum of Art.

The Norton Museum of Art, in West Palm Beach, has appointed Shawn Yuan as the Elizabeth B. McGraw Senior Curator of Asian Art. The Norton, Florida’s largest art museum, is internationally known for its Collection of Contemporary art, Early European art, Modern art, and Photography, as well as Chinese art. Yuan will oversee the Asian Collection, which primarily focuses on Chinese art. In his new role, Yuan also will focus on works created by artists of other Asian cultures. His tenure at the Museum will begin April 7.

Yuan joins the Norton from the World Heritage Center in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to his role at the World Heritage Center, he held positions at the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art, and the Crow Museum of Asian Art at the University of Texas, Dallas.

At the Norton, Yuan will be responsible for developing, growing, and interpreting the Museum’s Asian Collection, encompassing more than 700 objects, including bronzes, ceramics, decorative arts, glass, jades, porcelain, and works of various other mediums. The Norton’s Asian Art Collection was an early addition to the Museum’s holdings, which began in 1942 under the Museum’s founder, Ralph Hubbard Norton, just one year after the Museum opened. The Museum’s earliest acquisitions for this area of the Collection consisted of Chinese jade and bronzes, and expanded over the years to include ceramics, lacquer, export and import porcelain, and most recently, paintings. Yuan’s hiring marks the Norton’s broadening scope of collecting to more robustly include other Asian cultures such as Japan, Korea, and India.

“We are impressed by Shawn’s enthusiasm for our collections, and his passion for making these venerable works of art relatable to modern audiences,” said Ghislain d’Humières, Kenneth C. Griffin Director and CEO. “I look forward to working with him and collaborating on the development of innovative, original exhibition programming that expands the Norton’s storied Chinese holdings and welcomes new audiences through the focused inclusion of work from diverse Asian cultures.”

Yuan has curated several original exhibitions, including Samurai Spirit: Swords, Accessories, and Paintings; Creative Splendor: Japanese Bamboo Baskets from the Thomas Collection; Elegant Pursuits: The Arts of China’s Educated Elite, 1400–1900; Korean Ceramics from the San Antonio Museum of Art Collection; Radiant Wisdom: Tibetan and Indian Buddhist and Hindu Art from the John Hendry Collection; Texas Collects Asia; and Tending the Afterlife: Chinese Tomb Art from the Neolithic Period to the Ming Dynasty.

“I have long admired the Norton’s exceptional collection of Asian art, particularly its remarkable holdings of Chinese art,” Yuan said. “Thanks to visionary acquisitions throughout the Museum’s history, the Collection features outstanding examples across all major categories, spanning more than 3,000 years of Chinese history.”

Yuan fills a position that will soon be vacated by Laurie Barnes, who is retiring after 19 years as the Elizabeth B. McGraw Senior Curator of Chinese Art. During her tenure, Barnes expanded the Collection, leading the Norton to acquire several rare and noteworthy works, such as a 10th-century ‘Secret Color’ Yue stoneware box and a set of paintings depicting a late Ming dynasty (1368–1644) Lantern Festival celebration in the city of Nanjing. She also was a contributing author to Chinese Ceramics: From the Paleolithic Period through the Qing Dynasty, a bilingual encyclopedic survey published by Yale University in collaboration with the Beijing Foreign Languages Press and curated the critically acclaimed 2015 exhibition High Tea: Glorious Manifestations East and West, a wide-ranging exploration of the art and culture of tea. Barnes leaves a lasting impact on the Norton’s community and is thrilled to observe the direction that Yuan takes the Museum’s expanded Asian Art department.

“It will truly be an honor to work with this esteemed Collection and contribute to its continued growth,” Yuan said. “I also look forward to collaborating with the Norton team to create exhibitions that serve as a gateway to Asian cultures while enriching the vibrant and diverse cultural landscape of South Florida.”

From the press release (4 March 2025) . . .

Dr. Bernd Ebert (Photo by Oliver Killig).

The Saxon state government agreed today that Dr Bernd Ebert will become the General Director of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD or Dresden State Art Collections) from 1 May 2025 onwards. His contract will run until 30 June 2033. He will follow in the footsteps of Prof. Dr Marion Ackermann, who is becoming President of the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation).

Dr Bernd Ebert is returning to Dresden after the previous stages in his career ideally prepared him for his new job at Saxony’s Art Collections. He impressed an international selection committee consisting of many prominent personalities, who unanimously recommended him to take up this internationally important museum position following a multi-stage selection procedure. Dr Bernd Ebert will move from his current leadership role at the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (Bavarian State Painting Collections) to become the General Director of the SKD.

The Saxon State Culture Minister, Barbara Klepsch, issued the following strong statement. ”l’m delighted that we’ve once again been able to attract an outstanding person to Saxony: a high-profile and sought-after art historian and museum expert is taking over as the new General Director of our Dresden State Art Collections. He convinced us with his clear ideas about how he plans to lead the internationally renowned network of museums into a highly promising future. With his enthusiasm for the collections and thanks to his national and international experience and networks, he’s the ideal person to take over the position of General Director. We’re more than happy to hand over the responsibility for the successful Dresden State Art Collections to him from May 2025 onwards.”

Neil McGregor emphasized, “The search committee was fortunate in having a strong field of candidates, with a wide range of different experience: and we were unanimous in choosing Dr Bernd Ebert as the outstanding candidate to lead the SKD. He is of course a distinguished art historian with an international reputation as a scholar. But he is much more than that. He brings to the role a rare mix of legal, financial, and administrative skills; he has direct experience of tackling the intellectual, practical, and political complexities of a great encyclopaedic collection like the SKD; and he has an impressive track record of exhibitions, designed to win new audiences and to break down the traditional boundaries between art history and other disciplines. What most convinced us was his ambitious vision for the future of the collections as a whole, for what they can mean for Dresden, for Saxony, and for the world — and a clear understanding of how that vision can be made a reality.“

Dr Bernd Ebert comments, “In Saxony, lt’s wonderful to see how amazingly popular the collections and the multi-faceted programme formats at the SKD are with the general public and experience the depth of the bond between the population and their art treasures. Working with the team at SKD, it’s my goal to not only intensify the research work into the many and varied items in the collections, but also promote the way that their message is communicated in our modern world. One of the issues closest to my heart also involves extending the range of services for different groups of visitors and increasing the quality of the time that the general public spends in the SKD centres in order to make their overall experience even more attractive. l’m looking forward to publicising the cultural heritage, which is unique around the world in its quality and variety, to an even greater degree, both nationally and internationally, and l’m more than happy to commit myself to the passion for art that is part and parcel of life here in Saxony.”

Bernd Ebert (who was born in Berlin in 1972) started his career in Dresden with a training course to become a qualified banking clerk at Deutsche Bank AG. He then studied art history, jurisprudence, and business management in Bonn and simultaneously gained practical professional experience at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Newtown Galleries in Johannesburg, the National Gallery of South Africa, and the lrma Stern Museum in Cape Town, as well as at renowned private collections and in the art trade.

He gained his doctorate (with the highest possible honours) in 2005 with a thesis focusing on the Dutch baroque painters, Simon and lsaack Luttichuys, having spent several years conducting research in the Netherlands as part of his doctorate.

Dr Ebert worked at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (State Museums in Berlin) from 2005 until 2013, initially as an academic museum assistant to the General Directorate and the painting gallery and then as an academic expert for the General Director. In this role, he coordinated the departments of research and scholarship as well as international cooperation arrangements across the collections, such as the EU twinning project with the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi and the exhibition entitled ”The Art of the Enlightenment” at the Chinese National Museum in Beijing. He was a visiting fellow at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles in 2011.

Since 2013, Dr Ebert has been the Head of the Collection of Dutch and German Baroque Paintings at the Bavarian State Painting Collections and has been responsible for the state galleries in Bayreuth and Bamberg. His outstanding special exhibitions include Circle, Sphere, Cosmos (Berlin, Schwäbisch Hall, 2006/07); Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe (Utrecht, Munich 2018/19); and Rachel Ruysch: Nature into Art (Munich, Toledo, and Boston, 2024/25).