Looted Legacies and Flooded Galleries

Hyperallergic’s editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara highlights a deep dive by Erin L. Thompson that asks why so many US museums hold treasures linked to a convicted antiquities dealer. The prompt for the question is specific: after the Metropolitan Museum of Art returned a Roman bust connected to Phoenix Ancient Art, the article says what happens next for other works sold by that gallery to dozens of US institutions “remains open.” In the same roundup, Hyperallergic also points readers to Julia Curl’s piece on Peter Hujar’s contact sheets, which explores whether darkroom work prints—never intended for public consumption—should be seen, framing the portraits as excerpts of a conversation rather than isolated memories. Together, the entries keep circling one idea: what institutions choose to show, and what they choose to hold.

Staying in New York, ARTnews reports that flash flooding this weekend tested the New Museum after a significant water leak on Saturday in a gallery housing work by WangShui. Video shared with ARTnews and confirmed by the museum shows water pooling on the floor as staff placed buckets beneath active leaks, with water streaming down the didactic for “New Humans: Memories of the Future.” The museum closed early Saturday and said it would remain closed Sunday due to the flash flood warning; a spokesperson told ARTnews that immediate steps were taken and “no artwork was harmed,” adding that the museum would stay closed Sunday 7/19 and refund ticket holders. The gallery includes WangShui’s oppose the serpent (2024), made of hand-anodized aluminum panels colored with cochineal.

That’s the download for today—find links to both stories in the show notes, and come back tomorrow for another fast, opinionated sweep through the art world. Chinga la migra

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