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.

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.

Nicholas Pope, sculptor whose career came in two acts, 1949–2026

Nicholas Pope, a British sculptor known for his organic, post-minimalist works, has died at age 76. His career unfolded in two distinct acts: an early phase in the 1970s producing roughly-hewn wooden columns like *Oak Tree Column* (1973) and *Drooping Column* (1975), which earned him a spot in the British Pavilion at the 1980 Venice Biennale, followed by a decades-long hiatus after contracting viral encephalitis in Tanzania. He later returned to sculpture with brighter, brasher works in ceramic, glass, and felt, including *The Apostles Speaking in Tongues Lit By Their Own Lamps* (1993–96) and collaborations like *The Conundrum of the Chalices of the Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Virtues* (2015) with James Maskrey.

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 Georg Baselitz, Nicole Hollander, and Doris Fisher

Hyperallergic's weekly 'In Memoriam' column honors seven figures from the art world who recently passed away, including German Neo-Expressionist painter Georg Baselitz, feminist cartoonist Nicole Hollander, and arts patron Doris F. Fisher, co-founder of The Gap. Other notable figures remembered are photographer Stephanie Chernikowski, West Coast assemblage artist George Herms, Spanish artist and designer José María Cruz Novillo, and Bay Area muralist Dan Fontes. The article provides brief biographies and highlights of their contributions to visual art, photography, comics, and public art.

The Great Lone Wolf of Art

Der große Einzelgänger der Kunst

Georg Baselitz, the German painter known for his radical, figurative works and iconic upside-down motifs, has died at age 88. Born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, Saxony, he fled East Germany for West Berlin in 1957 after being expelled from art school for "socio-political immaturity." Baselitz rose to international fame with his expressive, fractured depictions of the human figure, famously inverting his compositions starting with "Der Wald auf dem Kopf" (1969). He also worked as a stage and costume designer for operas by Harrison Birtwistle, György Ligeti, and Richard Wagner.

In His Last Interview, Georg Baselitz Unpacks His New Nudes, Identity Art, and Being a Lifelong Outsider

Georg Baselitz, the influential German painter known for his inverted, upside-down works, gave his final interview before his death on April 30 at age 88. In the conversation, he discussed his upcoming exhibition "Eroi d’Oro [Heroes of Gold]" at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, featuring monumental gold-primed canvases depicting nude portraits of himself and his wife Elke. Baselitz reflected on his lifelong outsider status, his refusal to follow artistic movements, and the controversial nature of his work, including his 1963 painting that led to an obscenity trial.

A Tribute to Asher Remy-Toledo

Asher Remy-Toledo, a visionary gallerist, curator, and collector, has passed away after a career spanning over three decades. He founded influential initiatives including Remy Toledo Gallery in Chelsea (2004), Hyphen Hub (2013), No Longer Empty (2009), and Yuanfen Gallery in Beijing, the first new media gallery in mainland China. Remy-Toledo was a tireless champion of women artists, supporting figures such as Carolee Schneemann, Judy Chicago, Mary Beth Edelson, and Ana Mendieta, as well as emerging international artists. He also amassed significant private collections, including works by the article's author and Schneemann's Infinity Kisses series.

È morto Paolo Masi. La lunga ricerca dell’artista fiorentino sulla trasformazione dei materiali poveri

Paolo Masi, the Florentine artist known for his lifelong exploration of poor materials and their transformation, died in Florence on Wednesday, May 6, just days before his 93rd birthday. His career spanned from informal experiments in the 1950s through a rigorous investigation of materials in the 1960s, including his first solo show at the Strozzina in 1960. He joined the aesthetic research group Centro F/Uno alongside Baldi, Lecci, and Nannucci, and later co-founded the collective spaces Zona (1974) and Base (1998) with Mario Mariotti and Maurizio Nannucci. Masi participated in the Venice Biennale (1978) and the Rome Quadriennale (1986), and his works are held by major museums and foundations internationally. His later years saw significant retrospectives at the Museo MAGA in Gallarate (2018) and at Le Murate in Florence (2018), as well as a 2023 solo show at Florence's Galleria Frittelli, which remembered him as an extraordinary artist and dear friend.

Steven Durland, Champion of Performance Art, Dies at 75

Steven Durland, a longtime editor of *High Performance* magazine and a champion of performance art, died on March 11 at age 75 after a brief illness. His life partner, Linda Frye Burnham, confirmed his death in Saxapahaw, North Carolina. Durland was born in Long Beach, California, raised in South Dakota, and trained as a ceramic artist with a BFA from the University of South Dakota and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He became deeply involved in performance and mail art, and from 1986 to 1994 served as editor of *High Performance*, a magazine founded by Burnham that featured thousands of artists including Nancy Buchanan, Carolee Schneemann, Paul McCarthy, Suzanne Lacy, and Ulysses Jenkins. Durland also maintained his own artistic practice, creating performances such as "Win Defeat/BID FOR POWER" (1978) and "Death and Taxis" (1982), and produced the micro-newspaper *Tacit*.

Stephanie Chernikowski, 84, Dies; Photographed the ‘Rough Magic’ of Punk

Stephanie Chernikowski, a photographer who documented the raw energy of New York City's punk scene in the 1970s, has died at age 84. She captured iconic images of bands like the Ramones, Blondie, and the Patti Smith Group performing at legendary clubs such as CBGB, preserving the "rough magic" of that era.

Nicole Hollander, Acerbic Feminist Cartoonist, Dies at 86

Nicole Hollander, the creator of the long-running comic strip "Sylvia," has died at the age of 86. For over three decades, she wrote and illustrated the strip, which centered on a tart-tongued, witty woman who freely expressed her many opinions, becoming a staple of feminist humor in American newspapers.

George Herms Dies at 90; Turned Castoff Objects Into Art

George Herms, the California artist who transformed discarded objects into evocative assemblages, has died at age 90. Known for his poetic, often whimsical sculptures made from rusted tools, old photographs, and other found materials, Herms was a central figure in the West Coast assemblage movement that emerged in the 1960s. His work bridged Beat-era spontaneity with a deeply personal, tactile approach to art-making, earning him a devoted following and exhibitions at major institutions.