marian goodman titanic dealer of contemporary art dies at 97 2739431

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.

legendary dealer marian goodman dies louvre shutters again amid strike morning links for january 26 2026 1234770905

Marian Goodman, the legendary art dealer known for her lifelong commitment to artists and resistance to market trends, died on Thursday in a Los Angeles hospital at age 97. She opened Marian Goodman Gallery in Midtown Manhattan in 1977 at age 49, launching with an exhibition of Marcel Broodthaers. Over five decades, she championed European artists under-recognized in the US, including Gerhard Richter, Steve McQueen, Julie Mehretu, and William Kentridge. Separately, the Louvre closed again due to a strike, the fourth closure since mid-December, while the Minneapolis Institute of Art remained closed amid ICE protests and unrest following the killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti. Scotland is considering a government-funded basic income for artists, following Ireland's permanent scheme.

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Günther Uecker, the German postwar artist known for hammering nails into canvases to create abstract works, died at age 95. His death was announced by his New York gallery, Lévy Gorvy Dayan, after he had been hospitalized in Düsseldorf. Uecker was a core member of the avant-garde ZERO group, founded in 1957 by Otto Piene and Heinz Mack, and his nail-based abstractions—applied to surfaces from canvases to lightboxes and TV sets—defined his practice from the 1950s onward. He participated in major exhibitions including Documenta and MoMA's 1965 "The Responsive Eye," and continued working daily in his Düsseldorf studio into his 90s.

seyni awa camara sculptor dead 1234770913

Seyni Awa Camara, a Diola sculptor from Bignona, Senegal, known for her totemic clay sculptures of stacked human bodies, has died. Her work, steeped in spirituality and inspired by a ram's horn she called a 'genie,' gained international recognition after being discovered by anthropologist Michèle Odeyé-Finzi and introduced to Europe by gallerist André Magnin. Despite her global following—including fans like Pharrell Williams and Louise Bourgeois—Camara remained largely unknown in her home country, relying on foreign buyers to sustain her practice.

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Hisachika Takahashi, an artist who worked as an assistant to Robert Rauschenberg and earlier to Lucio Fontana, has died at age 85. His death was announced by Misako & Rosen, a Tokyo gallery collaborating with Hong Kong's Empty Gallery on a current exhibition of his work. Takahashi remained relatively obscure for decades despite close ties to major figures like Jasper Johns, Brice Marden, and Gordon Matta-Clark, whom he enlisted for his project "From Memory Draw a Map of the United States." He also introduced sushi and sashimi to the menu at Food, the famed artist-run restaurant in New York. In recent years, his work gained renewed attention through efforts by artist Yuki Okumura, leading to exhibitions at WIELS Centre for Contemporary Art in Brussels and Fondazione Prada in Milan.

multimedia artist raymond saunders dies at 90 1234747890

Raymond Saunders, a multimedia artist known for his enigmatic, sociopolitical paintings and assemblage style, has died at age 90. His passing was announced jointly by his representing galleries—Casemore, Andrew Kreps, and David Zwirner—on Instagram. Saunders's work often explored the Black American experience through extensive use of black paint and complex narratives, as articulated in his influential 1967 essay "Black Is a Color." His first career-spanning retrospective, "Flowers from a Black Garden," recently closed at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, his hometown. Saunders had a long teaching career in the Bay Area and received numerous honors, including a Rome Prize Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

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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.

Remembering Pat Steir, one of the 20th century’s late-blooming great artists

Pat Steir, the acclaimed American painter known for her Waterfall series, died in Manhattan on 25 March at age 87. The article traces her career from early struggles as a freelance illustrator and art director, through her transformative encounter with Sol LeWitt in the early 1970s, to her eventual emergence as a major figure in contemporary painting. It highlights her teaching at CalArts and Parsons, her involvement with feminist and artist-run institutions like Heresies and Printed Matter, and the pivotal moment in the early 1980s when she cut up a reproduction of a Jan Brueghel the Elder flower painting into 64 panels, repainting each in a different historical style.

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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.

James Hayward, West Coast Painter with a Cult Following, Dies at 82

James Hayward, a West Coast painter known for his thickly applied monochrome abstractions, died on April 16 at the age of 82. His work, which developed a dedicated following among fellow artists, was characterized by a deliberate, eccentric process that set it apart from other minimalist painting of his era.

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.

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Agosto Machado, a seminal figure in the Downtown New York art scene and a veteran of the Stonewall uprising, has died following a brief illness. Known as a 'pre-Stonewall street queen,' Machado transitioned from a community activist and archivist to a recognized artist whose intricate altar sculptures are currently featured in the 2024 Whitney Biennial. His work, which utilizes found objects and ephemera to create shrines for queer icons and AIDS victims, serves as a vital act of 'ancestor worship' and historical preservation for a community often marginalized by mainstream institutions.

san francisco dealer rena bransten dead at 92 1234774731

Rena Bransten, a foundational figure in the San Francisco art scene, has died at the age of 92 following a heart attack and a subsequent fall. Since founding her eponymous gallery in 1975, Bransten became a champion for California-based artists, with a pioneering focus on women and artists of color. Her gallery represented major figures including John Waters, Dawoud Bey, and Fred Wilson, evolving from its origins in ceramics to a multidisciplinary powerhouse that recently transitioned to a nomadic model.

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Beatriz González, a pioneering Colombian painter and one of the most important Latin American artists of the 20th century, died on Friday at her home in Bogotá at age 93. Her Zurich-based representative, Galerie Peter Kilchmann, announced her passing but did not specify a cause. González first gained fame in the 1960s by remaking art historical masterpieces by Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci in a deliberately garish color palette, later pivoting in the 1980s to explicitly political works critiquing government violence in Colombia. Her career included major exhibitions at Documenta 14 in 2017, the Museum of Modern Art's 2019 rehang, and a retrospective that premiered at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo and will travel to the Barbican Centre in London and the Astrup Fearnley Museet in Oslo.

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Arnulf Rainer, the Austrian artist known for his relentless experimentation and his signature "overpaintings" (Übermalungen), died on December 18 at age 96 at his home in Austria. His death was confirmed by his gallery, Thaddaeus Ropac. Over seven decades, Rainer produced abstract works tied to the Art Informel movement, layering dense pigment over existing images—first his own, then works by artists like Emilio Vedova. He also created "blind drawings" and overpainted photographic self-portraits in series such as "Face Farces" and "Body Poses." His career included major exhibitions at Documenta, the Venice Biennale, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Centre Pompidou, and he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna from 1981 to 1995.

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Mel Leipzig, a painter known for his intensely detailed, realistic portraits of everyday people and places, died on November 1 at age 90. Over a career spanning more than five decades, the Brooklyn-born artist taught at Mercer County Community College from 1968 to 2013, founded the Trenton Artist Workshop Association (TAWA) in 1979, and never painted from photographs, instead practicing what he called 'designing with reality.' His work is held by major institutions including the Whitney Museum, the National Academy Museum, and the New Jersey State Museum.

raquelin mendieta ana mendieta estate administrator dead 1234760248

Raquelín Mendieta, the longtime administrator of the estate of her sister, artist Ana Mendieta, died on October 24 in Miami at age 79 due to a long illness. Raquelín took charge of Ana's legacy after the artist's death in 1985, organizing a retrospective at the New Museum in 1987 and partnering with Galerie Lelong in 1991 to establish a market for Ana's work. Under her stewardship, Ana's art was acquired by major museums like the Whitney Museum and included in over 600 group shows and 55 solo exhibitions, including 16 museum retrospectives.

Georg Baselitz, German artist who turned figurative painting on its head, has died, aged 88

Georg Baselitz, the influential German painter and sculptor, died on 30 April at age 88. Born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, he grew up amid the ruins of Nazi Germany and later adopted his surname from his birthplace. Expelled from the East Berlin Academy for "sociopolitical immaturity," he moved to West Berlin, where he rejected both gestural abstraction and Expressionism. His first solo exhibition in 1963 was shut down for obscenity. In 1969 he pioneered his signature inverted paintings, turning subjects upside down to sever image from representation. He also created large carved sculptures using axes and chainsaws. His later series, from 2014 onward, are considered his most astonishing work, culminating in a sustained focus on his wife, artist Elke Kretzschmar.

Georg Baselitz, artist who turned painting upside down, 1938–2026

Georg Baselitz, the German painter, sculptor, and printmaker known for turning his canvases upside down, has died at age 88. Born Hans-Georg Kern in Saxony in 1938, he witnessed the bombing of Dresden as a child, an experience that shaped his artistic vision. Expelled from art school in East Berlin, he moved to West Berlin and adopted the name Baselitz. His first solo exhibition in 1963 was deemed obscene and confiscated. In 1969, he created his first upside-down painting, which became his signature. He rose to international prominence as a neo-expressionist in the late 1970s and 80s, represented Germany at the Venice Biennale in 1980, and continued working until his death. A recent series of his paintings will be shown at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice from May to September 2026.

Georg Baselitz, Lion of German Neo-Expressionism, Dead at 88

Georg Baselitz, the influential German Neo-Expressionist painter, printmaker, and sculptor, died on April 30 at age 88. His death was announced by Thaddaeus Ropac gallery, his longtime representative. Born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938 in Saxony, Baselitz was profoundly shaped by his childhood experience of war and the destruction of Nazi Germany. He was expelled from art school in East Berlin for "socio-political immaturity," moved to West Berlin, and adopted his pseudonym from his hometown. His first solo exhibition in 1963 was raided by police for obscenity, cementing his reputation as a provocateur. Known for his upside-down figures and fierce brushwork, he created series such as "Heroes" and "Fracture" that addressed trauma, violence, and the psychic toll of postwar life.

Remembering Glen Baxter, Pat Steir, Melvin Edwards

The art world mourns the recent deaths of several significant figures. British absurdist cartoonist Glen Baxter, known for his work in The New Yorker and exhibitions at Flowers Gallery, has died. American sculptor Melvin Edwards, renowned for his welded steel Lynch Fragments addressing racist violence, and pioneering feminist painter Pat Steir, celebrated for her conceptual, process-based works, have also passed. The article additionally notes the deaths of Lebanese painter Ali Sbeity, killed in an airstrike; Mexican folk artist Josefina Aguilar; British heritage leader Neil Cossons; British painter Charles Debenham; and Cypriot painter Andreas Karayian.

Dóra Maurer, Hungarian Conceptual Artist, Dies at 88

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Dóra Maurer, a preeminent figure of Hungarian conceptual art, has died at the age of 88. Known for her multidisciplinary approach spanning film, photography, and painting, Maurer rose to prominence for her experimental work created under Soviet rule in Hungary. Her practice frequently explored themes of displacement, perception, and the mathematical shifting of forms, ranging from her 1970s performance-based photography to her later vibrant, geometric "Overlappings" paintings.

Marica Vilcek, Art Historian Whose Foundation Upheld the Work of Immigrants, Dies at 89

Marica Vilcek, art historian and co-founder of the Vilcek Foundation, has died at 89 in New York. She and her husband Jan, both immigrants from Czechoslovakia, established the foundation in 2000 to provide grants and prizes, primarily to immigrant artists, curators, and scientists, celebrating their contributions to American society.

thomas kellein kunsthalle basel chinati foundation dead 1234753427

Thomas Kellein, a curator and art historian known for leading museums in Europe and the US, died in Berlin at age 70 following a serious illness. He directed the Kunsthalle Basel (1988–1995), organizing shows for Cindy Sherman, Mike Kelley, and Rachel Whiteread, and later led the Kunsthalle Bielefield (1996–2010) with exhibitions of Caspar David Friedrich, Jeff Koons, and others. He briefly directed the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas (2010–2012) before resigning, and subsequently led the Written Art Collection in Germany, commissioning text-based works by Lawrence Weiner, Jenny Holzer, and Qiu Zhijie.

agnes gund dead moma art collecting 1234752843

Agnes Gund, one of the most influential art patrons in the United States, has died at 87. Her collecting and philanthropy transformed the American art world, particularly at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where she served as president from 1991 to 2002 and remained a life trustee. Gund helped fund MoMA's 2004 expansion, designed by Yoshio Taniguchi, and played a key role in bringing MoMA PS1 under the museum's aegis in 1999. She was a longtime donor of over 250 works to MoMA, including pieces by Jasper Johns, Elizabeth Murray, and Julie Mehretu, and appeared on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list every year from 1990 to 2018.

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Christophe de Menil, a collector, designer, and patron who cultivated deep relationships with many of the 20th century's most influential artists, died in New York on August 5 at age 92. A member of the renowned Menil family, she was the daughter of John and Dominique de Menil, founders of the Menil Collection in Houston. Her close friends included Merce Cunningham, Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning, and Jasper Johns. She married artist Enrique Castro-Cid and was the grandmother of artist Dash Snow. De Menil appeared three times on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list and built a collection featuring works by René Magritte, Barnett Newman, and others. She also worked as a fashion designer, creating garments for theater director Robert Wilson, and commissioned Frank Gehry and Doug Wheeler for her New York home renovation.

art calvin tompkins new yorker dies

Calvin Tomkins, the longtime New Yorker writer known for his intimate profiles of modern and contemporary artists, has died at age 100 in his home in Middletown, Rhode Island. Over more than six decades, Tomkins profiled giants of the art world including Marcel Duchamp, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, John Cage, Georgia O'Keeffe, Kerry James Marshall, and Rashid Johnson, beginning with a 1959 assignment on Duchamp that launched his career. He continued writing sweeping profiles as recently as 2024.

frank gehry architect obituary 2724729

Frank Gehry, the renowned American architect, has died at age 96 in his Santa Monica home after a brief respiratory illness. He is survived by his wife, three children, and a vast portfolio of iconic buildings including the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and the 8 Spruce skyscraper in New York. The article traces his life from his birth in Toronto in 1929, his education at USC and Harvard, his early career at Gruen Associates, and his rise to fame through innovative, sculptural designs that transformed modern architecture.

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Leonard A. Lauder, the billionaire art collector, philanthropist, and cosmetics magnate, has died at age 92. Lauder helped grow his mother Estée Lauder's namesake business into a global cosmetics empire, serving as president, CEO, and chairman. He was also one of the most significant art philanthropists of his era, donating a Cubist art collection valued at over $1 billion—including 78 works by Picasso, Braque, Léger, and Gris—to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2014, later expanded with additional works and funding for the Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art. He also made the largest gift in Whitney Museum history in 2008, worth $131 million, and amassed a collection of 130,000 historic postcards promised to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

George Herms, Titan of West Coast Assemblage, Dies at 90

George Herms, a pioneering figure in the West Coast Assemblage movement, died on April 24 at age 90. Known for transforming found materials, rusted metal, and debris into poetic sculptures and collages, Herms emerged from the Beat scene in Topanga Canyon and was influenced by artist Wallace Berman. His first assemblage show, Secret Exhibition (1957), was held in a vacant lot, and he was later included in MoMA's landmark 1961 exhibition The Art of Assemblage. Over seven decades, he exhibited widely, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and Morán Morán, and created public artworks in LA such as 'Portals to Poetry' and 'Clocktower: Monument to the Unknown.'