Georg Baselitz obituary

Georg Baselitz, the German painter and sculptor known for his provocative, expressionistic works and his iconic upside-down paintings, has died at the age of 88. The article traces his life from his childhood in war-torn Germany, through his early career as a rebellious artist in divided Berlin, to his rise as an international art star. It highlights his 1961 manifesto poster "Pandemonium I," his rejection of American abstraction, and his controversial 1963 exhibition that was raided by police for its explicit content.

marian goodman titanic dealer of contemporary art dies at 97

Marian Goodman, the revered contemporary art dealer who built one of the most influential galleries of the past half-century, died in Los Angeles on Thursday at age 97. Goodman launched Marian Goodman Gallery in New York in 1977 after 15 years running an editions business, and over six decades she championed a roster of challenging artists including Gerhard Richter, John Baldessari, Julie Mehretu, Tacita Dean, and Pierre Huyghe. Her gallery operated on West 57th Street in Manhattan with branches in London and Paris, and she was awarded the Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the Légion of Honor by France.

bob monk gagosian director dead

Bob Monk, a longtime director at Gagosian who worked closely with artists such as Ed Ruscha and Richard Artschwager, died on December 15 at age 75 due to complications from a heart condition. Monk spent over two decades at Gagosian, and his career also included stints at Leo Castelli Gallery, his own SoHo gallery Lorence-Monk Gallery, and Sotheby's, where he headed the contemporary prints and contemporary art departments.

2025 art obituaries

Artnet News has published its annual roundup of art world figures who died in 2025, honoring a diverse range of individuals including museum directors, painters, curators, philanthropists, and an archaeologist. Among those remembered are Julia Alexander, former director of the Yale Center for British Art; Sylvain Amic, recently appointed to lead the Musée d'Orsay; philanthropist Wallis Annenberg; abstract painters Timothy App and Jo Baer; curator Leonid Bazhanov; and Tony Bechara, painter and former director of El Museo del Barrio.

Raghu Rai obituary

Raghu Rai, the renowned Indian photographer known for capturing his country's post-independence history through singular, enduring images, has died at age 83 from cancer. Rai's career spanned six decades, during which he documented events from the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster to the Bangladesh war of independence, and photographed figures including Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and the Dalai Lama. He joined Magnum Photos in 1977 after being invited by Henri Cartier-Bresson, and worked as a staff photographer for the Statesman and as picture editor for India Today.

Éliane Radigue, Electronic Music Pioneer, Dies at 94

eliane radigue dead electronic music

Éliane Radigue, a pioneering French composer and electronic music visionary, has died at the age of 94 in Paris. A student of musique concrète founders Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry, Radigue became renowned for her meditative, long-form compositions created primarily on the ARP 2500 modular synthesizer. Her work, deeply influenced by Tibetan Buddhism, focused on the subtle, sculptural qualities of sound and "barely perceptible" sonic shifts.

in memoriam 2024

Artnet News published an alphabetical in memoriam list commemorating art world figures who died in 2024, including printmaker Norman Ackroyd, museum director Hope Alswang, sculptor Carl Andre, curator and writer David Anfam, painter Frank Auerbach, and gallerist Patti Astor. Each entry includes a brief tribute highlighting their key achievements and contributions, such as Ackroyd's meticulous printmaking techniques, Alswang's diversification of the Norton Museum of Art's collection, Andre's foundational role in Minimalism, Anfam's influential scholarship on Abstract Expressionism, Auerbach's distinctive painterly style, and Astor's pioneering East Village gallery.

joel shapiro sculptor dead

Joel Shapiro, the acclaimed Post-Minimalist sculptor known for his playful yet conceptually rigorous works in bronze, aluminum, and wood, died on Saturday at age 83 due to acute myeloid leukemia. His death was announced by Pace Gallery. Shapiro's career spanned decades, with his work appearing at major institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the United States Holocaust Museum. He began at Paula Cooper Gallery in the 1970s, creating tiny cast-iron houses and chairs that subverted Minimalist monumentality, before evolving toward large-scale figural sculptures made from beams of metal. His 2024 exhibition at Pace Gallery in New York featured towering works, though he resisted calling them colossal.

david lynch obituary

David Lynch, the acclaimed artist, filmmaker, and musician known for his surreal and unsettling aesthetic, has died at age 78. His family announced his passing on Facebook, noting he had been battling emphysema after a lifetime of smoking. Lynch's career spanned over four decades, producing iconic films like *Blue Velvet* (1986) and *Inland Empire* (2006), as well as the hit TV series *Twin Peaks* (1990–91). Beyond cinema, he maintained a rich visual art practice, creating figurative paintings, assemblages, and photographs that echoed his cinematic themes of home, light, and dream logic.

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Painter Who Defied the Bounds of Abstraction, Dies at 84

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, the American painter known for her large-scale abstract works that defied easy categorization, died in Mérida, Mexico, on May 10 at age 84. Her death was confirmed by her galleries, Jenkins Johnson and Marianne Boesky, on May 13. Active in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, O’Neal developed a distinctive practice that blended Minimalism, Abstract Expressionism, and figurative elements, most notably through her Lampblack series and later the "Whales Fucking" series. Her work gained renewed attention in the 21st century, with exhibitions at Mnuchin Gallery and the Museum of the African Diaspora, and her painting *Blue Whale a.k.a. #12* (1983) was selected for the 2024 Whitney Biennial.

Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Painter Who Used Her Art to Fight for Justice, Dies at 46

Acclaimed American painter Celeste Dupuy-Spencer has passed away at the age of 46 at her home in Los Angeles. Known for her visceral and politically charged figurative works, Dupuy-Spencer rose to prominence through her inclusion in the 2017 Whitney Biennial and the 2018 Made in L.A. biennial. Her death was announced by the Jeffrey Deitch gallery just ahead of a scheduled exhibition of her new work in Los Angeles.

VALIE EXPORT, pioneering artist who centred the female body, 1940–2026

VALIE EXPORT, the pioneering Austrian feminist artist known for her provocative performances centered on the female body, has died at age 85. Born in Linz in 1940, she adopted the name VALIE EXPORT in 1967 and quickly rose to prominence with iconic actions such as *TAP and TOUCH Cinema* (1968) and *Action Pants: Genital Panic* (1968), which challenged passive representations of women. Her work spanned photography, film, and expanded cinema, and she participated in major international exhibitions including documenta 6 and 12, and the Venice Biennale, where she and Maria Lassnig became the first women to represent Austria in 1980.

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Author of Uncategorizable Abstractions, Dies at 84

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, an activist, educator, and artist known for her monumental lampblack paintings that expanded the possibilities of abstraction, died on May 10 in Mérida, Mexico, at age 84. Despite a six-decade career, she was long considered an "artist's artist" before gaining international acclaim in recent years, with major exhibitions at Mnuchin Gallery, Marianne Boesky Gallery, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and inclusion in the 2024 Whitney Biennial and the 2025 group show "Paris Noir" at the Centre Pompidou.

German artist Georg Baselitz dies aged 88

German artist Georg Baselitz has died at age 88, as confirmed by the Thaddaeus Ropac gallery. Known for his expressive paintings and sculptures, Baselitz rose to prominence in the 1960s after a scandal over sexually symbolic works led to a high-profile court case. He pioneered painting canvases upside down from 1969 onward, a technique he used to grapple with German history and collective guilt. His work spanned six decades and included notable sculptures, such as a wooden figure at the 1980 Venice Biennale that appeared to perform a Nazi salute, which he later clarified was inspired by an African artifact. Baselitz achieved international acclaim in the 1980s and became one of Germany's highest-priced living artists, alongside Gerhard Richter.

art world figures remember late patron agnes gund a legend and icon

Agnes Gund, a towering art collector and patron of New York's Museum of Modern Art, died Thursday in Manhattan at age 87. Following the announcement, artists and cultural workers including Roxana Marcoci, Glenn Ligon, Lorna Simpson, and Hoor Al Qasimi honored her memory on social media, recalling her friendship, generosity, and commitment to social justice. Gund spearheaded MoMA's 1990s expansion, founded the arts education nonprofit Studio in the School in 1977, and in 2017 sold Roy Lichtenstein's "Masterpiece" (1962) to launch the Art for Justice Fund, a $100 million grant initiative for criminal justice reform.

Remembering F. John Sierra, Valie Export, and Mary Lovelace O’Neal

This week's In Memoriam column honors seven figures from the art world who recently passed away, including muralist and Chicano art champion F. John Sierra (1942–2026), Austrian feminist performance and film artist Valie Export (1940–2026), and painter and Civil Rights activist Mary Lovelace O'Neal (1942–2026). Also remembered are Maltese coin and monument designer Noel Galea Bason (1955–2026), Iranian-Irish gallerist and polymath Jamshid MirFenderesky (1947–2026), Philadelphia painter and educator Peter Paone (1936–2026), and Italian sculptor and installation artist Remo Salvadori (1947–2026). Each entry highlights their key contributions, from founding institutions and participating in major biennials to shaping cultural identity and challenging societal norms through art.

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Painter and Civil Rights Luminary, Dies at 84

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, a painter, educator, and Civil Rights activist, died on May 10 at age 84 in Mérida, Mexico. Known for her monumental canvases and inventive “lampblack” works, she moved fluidly between abstraction and figuration, using layers of black pigment to assert Blackness and presence. Her career included studies at Howard University and Columbia University, activism with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and connections to the Black Arts Movement.

Sculptor Thaddeus Mosley dies at 99.

Sculptor Thaddeus Mosley dies at 99.

Sculptor Thaddeus Mosley, a self-taught artist renowned for his monumental abstract wood sculptures, has died at the age of 99. Working for decades in his Pittsburgh basement, Mosley used locally sourced felled trees and traditional hand tools to create dynamic, asymmetrical forms that channeled both modernist principles and African artistic traditions. His prolific career, which began in his 30s, gained significant institutional recognition only in his later decades, culminating in a major 2022 solo exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

iris cantor collector philanthropist dead met museum

Iris Cantor, the prolific art collector and philanthropist whose patronage transformed major American institutions, has died at the age of 95 in Palm Beach, Florida. Alongside her late husband, B. Gerald Cantor, she amassed one of the world's most significant private collections of Auguste Rodin sculptures, eventually donating hundreds of works to museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum. Her death marks the end of an era for a donor whose name is synonymous with some of the most prominent gallery spaces and wings in the United States.

henrike naumann obituary

German installation artist Henrike Naumann has passed away at the age of 41 following a battle with cancer. At the time of her death, Naumann was preparing for the pinnacle of her career: representing Germany at the upcoming 61st Venice Biennale. The German pavilion organizers have confirmed that they will work closely with her studio team to realize her finalized artistic vision for the exhibition as planned this May.

martin parr dead photographer magnum

Martin Parr, the acclaimed British photographer known for his wry, colorful images of tourists and leisure culture, died on December 6 at his home in Bristol, England, at age 73. His death was announced by the Martin Parr Foundation, which noted he had been diagnosed with myeloma in 2021. Parr was a longtime member of Magnum Photos and published countless photobooks, shot fashion campaigns for Vogue and Gucci, and created iconic series such as "The Last Resort" (1983–85) and "Small World" (1987–94). A retrospective themed around climate change and overtourism is planned for 2025 at the Jeu de Paume in Paris.

legendary art collector sylvio perlstein has died

Sylvio Perlstein, the legendary art collector, patron, and impresario, died on August 6. Hauser & Wirth confirmed the news, calling him a visionary who shaped one of the most important art collections of the past century. In 2018, the gallery exhibited 380 pieces from his collection across its Chelsea and Hong Kong locations in the show 'The Sylvio Perlstein Collection – A Luta Continua'. Perlstein was born in Belgium in the 1930s, fled to Brazil with his family during World War II, and later joined the diamond business in Antwerp. His collection spanned Dada, Surrealism, American minimalism, and Land art, featuring works by Man Ray, René Magritte, Donald Judd, and many others. He maintained close friendships with artists and displayed works throughout his Paris home, which cultural critic Arthur Lubow described as 'a contemporary version of Ali Baba's cave'.

robert wilson theatre director artist dead

Robert Wilson, the influential playwright and artist known for his spare, slow-moving productions that blurred the line between performance art and theater, died Thursday at age 83 in Water Mill, New York. His death was announced by the Watermill Center, the arts center he founded, which stated he died of a brief but acute illness. Wilson's career spanned stage works like the landmark 1976 opera *Einstein on the Beach* (with Philip Glass and Lucinda Childs), video portraits of figures such as Lady Gaga and Brad Pitt, and sculptures, all characterized by stillness and a radical use of time.

conceptual art ulay is dead at 76

Frank Uwe Laysiepen, known as Ulay, has died at age 76 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The German-born artist was a pioneer of performance art, photography, and body art, best known for his collaborative works with former partner Marina Abramović, including the iconic "Relation Works" series and their 1988 walk along the Great Wall of China. Ulay had been recovering from lymphatic cancer; the cause of death has not been confirmed. He leaves behind the ULAY Foundation in Amsterdam and a project space in Slovenia.

sebastiao salgado photographer dead

Sebastião Salgado, the acclaimed Brazilian photographer known for his powerful black-and-white images documenting worker exploitation, environmental destruction, and human rights abuses, has died at age 81. His death was announced by Instituto Terra, the organization he co-founded with his wife Lélia Wanick Salgado. Salgado had been in declining health since contracting malaria in the 1990s. His work spanned decades and continents, from the Sahel desert to the Amazon rainforest, and he was widely regarded as one of the most beloved photographers of his generation.

koyo kouoh remembered

Koyo Kouoh, the acclaimed Cameroonian-born curator and director of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) in Cape Town, has died at age 57 after a battle with cancer. Tributes pour in from artists Robin Rhode and Julie Mehretu, curator Azu Nwagbogu, and colleagues like Mandla Sibeko, who mourn the loss of a towering figure in African and global contemporary art. Kouoh was also set to serve as artistic director of the 2026 Venice Biennale, making her the first African woman to hold that role.

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Abstract Painter Who Refused to Conform, Dies at 84

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, an abstract painter known for her gestural, unruly works that defied categorization, died on Sunday in Mérida, Mexico, at age 84. Her galleries, Jenkins Johnson and Marianne Boesky, announced her passing. O’Neal produced sprawling paintings characterized by tangles of drippy strokes, often using lamp black pigment to create intensely black canvases. She rejected labels like Abstract Expressionist or Minimalist, insisting she was simply a painter. Her series "Whales Fucking" (1979) and a 2020 exhibition at Mnuchin Gallery revived her profile, leading to inclusion in the 2024 Whitney Biennial.

Arnulf Rainer, a revolutionary figure in postwar Austrian art, has died aged 96

Arnulf Rainer, a revolutionary figure in postwar Austrian art, has died at age 96. His death on 18 December was confirmed by his gallery Thaddaeus Ropac, which described him as one of the most influential artists of the post-war period. Born in 1929 in Baden, Austria, Rainer emerged as a leading figure of the Austrian avant-garde, known for his gestural paintings confronting the atrocities of the Holocaust and Hiroshima, and for his experimental self-portraiture. He was a founding member of Galerie nächst St Stephan in postwar Vienna, a vital hub for artists seeking alternatives to the conservative art world. His signature Übermalungen (overpaintings) involved painting over photographs and self-portraits with aggressive gestures, dense black strokes, and erasures, creating charged works where violence and vulnerability coexist.

Alexander Morrison

Alexander Morrison, a prominent figure in the art world, has passed away. The article, published by The Art Newspaper, reports on his death and likely includes tributes to his contributions, though the provided text is limited to subscription prompts and footer information, lacking full details on his life and career.

Remembering Agosto Machado, Keeper of Queer Histories

Agosto Machado, a seminal performer, archivist, and fixture of New York’s downtown queer arts scene, has passed away. Known as a "keeper of secrets" and a vital connector within the avant-garde community, Machado was a muse to filmmaker Jack Smith and a lifelong friend to Warhol superstar Mario Montez. His life spanned the height of the East Village performance era, where he transitioned from a quiet observer to an essential participant in the preservation of underground history.