Art News. Vasari Codex

candle obituary schedule Jan 6, 2026 visibility 32 link 24 artists, 3 galleries

john p axelrod dead collector

John P. Axelrod, a prominent art collector and retired lawyer, was killed in a hit-and-run incident on January 3 in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood while walking his dog. The suspect, William Haney, 42, allegedly drove onto a pedestrian mall and struck Axelrod before fleeing; he has been charged with murder and animal cruelty. Axelrod, 79, was a longtime collector of American painting, African American and Latin American art, and decorative arts, and was listed on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list from 1997 to 2000.

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candle obituary schedule Dec 17, 2025 visibility 22 link 14 artists, 2 galleries

art green founding figure of chicago harry who obituary

Arthur “Art” Green, a key Chicago Imagist painter and original member of the Hairy Who, died at age 83 in April. The news was announced by Garth Greenan Gallery in New York, which represented him. Green rose to prominence in the mid-1960s alongside five fellow School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduates, exhibiting together as the Hairy Who from 1966 to 1969. Their work offered a humorous, hallucinatory take on American culture, blending Surrealism, Art Brut, and advertising conventions. Green developed a rich personal iconography featuring ice cream cones, wood grain, flames, and fingernails, and taught for decades, influencing a generation of artists.

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candle obituary schedule Nov 13, 2025 visibility 18 link 5 artists, 2 galleries

mel leipzig painter dead

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.

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candle obituary schedule May 15, 2026 visibility 19 link 10 artists, 1 gallery

Mary Lovelace O’Neal Leaves Her Mark

Abstract mixed-media painter Mary Lovelace O’Neal, a Civil Rights activist and influential artist known for her monumental canvases and inventive 'lampblack' works, died at age 84. The article also reports that Manhattan’s Neue Galerie will merge with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and covers the NADA New York art fair, Todd Gray's exhibition, and the Lehman College Art Gallery thesis show.

newspaper Hyperallergic open_in_new Read original

candle obituary schedule May 13, 2026 visibility 18 link 22 artists, 6 galleries

Remembering Bruno Bischofberger, Manuela Hoelterhoff, and Steven Durland

This week's In Memoriam column from Hyperallergic honors seven figures from the art world who recently passed away, including Swiss collector and dealer Bruno Bischofberger (1940–2026), Pulitzer-winning arts critic Manuela Hoelterhoff (1949–2026), and artist-editor Steven Durland (1951–2026). Other notable losses include British painter Ray Burgoyne, iconographer Christina Dochwat, German gallerist Jenny Falckenberg, realist painter Ward Nichols, and MoMA preparator Pamela A. Popeson. Each entry provides a brief biography and highlights their contributions to visual art, criticism, and cultural organizing.

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candle obituary schedule Apr 22, 2026 visibility 31 link 19 artists, 4 galleries

Remembering Desmond Morris, James Hayward, and Flo Oy Wong

This week's obituaries mark the passing of several significant figures in the visual arts. They include British surrealist painter and zoologist Desmond Morris, known for his 'biomorph' paintings and experiments with chimpanzee art; West Coast monochrome abstractionist James Hayward, who developed a cult following for his thickly painted canvases; and Chinese American artist Flo Oy Wong, a foundational storyteller of Oakland's Chinatown and the Asian American experience. Also remembered are assemblage artist Aldwyth, Ethiopian painter and educator Behailu Bezabih, Anglo-Irish conservator and designer Alec Cobbe, Bangladeshi art director Tarun Ghosh, and New Mexico painter Michael Hurd.

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candle obituary schedule Apr 3, 2026 visibility 35 link 8 artists, 1 gallery

Glen Baxter obituary

Cartoonist and surrealist Glen Baxter has died at the age of 82. He was celebrated for his distinctive style, which blended deadpan captions with pop art-inspired scenes featuring characters like cowboys and spacemen in bizarre situations. His work appeared in major publications like the New Yorker and the Observer, and he was also a staple of humorous greeting cards.

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candle obituary schedule Apr 21, 2026 visibility 20 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

Desmond Morris, zoologist, presenter and surrealist painter, 1928–2026

Desmond Morris, the zoologist, author, television presenter, and surrealist painter, has died at the age of 98. He was best known for his 1967 book *The Naked Ape* and the television program *Zoo Time*, but maintained a parallel, influential career in the visual arts as a painter and curator.

newspaper ArtReview open_in_new Read original

candle obituary schedule Jul 7, 2025 visibility 23 link 19 artists, 1 gallery

Remembering Peter Phillips, the pioneering British Pop artist, who has died, aged 86

British Pop artist Peter Phillips has died at age 86. Known for his collage-like, saturated compositions incorporating mechanical parts, comic books, and pin-up imagery, Phillips emerged from Birmingham's industrial landscape and studied at the Royal College of Art alongside peers like David Hockney and R.B. Kitaj. His work, such as *The Entertainment Machine* (1961) and the *Custom Painting* series, reflected his working-class upbringing and fascination with car manufacturing and commercial design.

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candle obituary schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 22 link 4 artists, 6 galleries

Post-Minimalist sculptor Joel Shapiro has died, aged 83

Post-Minimalist sculptor Joel Shapiro died on 14 June in Manhattan at age 83 from acute myeloid leukemia. Best known for vibrant, humanoid sculptures built from wooden beams that balance abstraction and figuration, Shapiro completed over 30 public commissions, including *Loss and Regeneration* (1993) at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. His career began with fingerprint drawings that caught gallerist Paula Cooper's attention, leading to a 1982 mid-career retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art. He later showed at Pace Gallery and other major venues, with his most recent solo exhibition at Pace in New York in September 2024.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

candle obituary schedule Nov 21, 2025 visibility 18 link 17 artists, 1 gallery

michael h smith dealer curator artist dead

Michael H. Smith, an artist, dealer, and curator who played a pivotal role in developing Southern California's art scene in the 1970s and '80s, died on October 31 in Santa Barbara at age 80. Smith opened his eponymous gallery in Los Angeles in 1971, later became a partner at the Jack Glenn Gallery, and served as director of the Baxter Art Gallery at Caltech from 1977 to 1982, where he staged exhibitions for artists including Hans Haacke, Richard Tuttle, and Berenice Abbott. He also founded a consultancy for artists, taught at UC Irvine, and worked as a conceptual photographer whose works were exhibited by dealer Craig Krull.

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candle obituary schedule Jan 19, 2026 visibility 18 link 8 artists, 2 galleries

Remembering Gathie Falk, Canadian artist whose singular practice sparked comparisons to Surrealism and Pop art

Gathie Falk, the acclaimed Canadian artist known for her six-decade practice spanning Surrealist paintings, hand-fashioned ceramics, sculptural installations, and performance, died at her home in Vancouver on 22 December at age 97. Her work transformed everyday objects—glazed ceramic apples, cabbages, shoes, and watermelons—into jewel-like sculptures and installations, with notable series including "Picnics" (1976-77), "Cement With Poppies" (1982), and "55 Oranges" (1969-70). Born in rural Manitoba in 1928 to Mennonite refugees, Falk initially pursued music before turning to art at age 37, studying ceramics with Glenn Lewis and developing a practice rooted in what she called a "veneration of the ordinary."

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candle obituary schedule May 11, 2026 visibility 14 link 4 artists, 3 galleries

Acclaimed Wilkes Artist Ward Nichols dies

Ward Hampton Nichols, a celebrated artist from North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, died on May 5 at the age of 95 at the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home, surrounded by his children. A few weeks before his passing, a celebration of his life, legacy, and art was held at the Wilkes Art Gallery. Nichols, born in 1930 in Welch, West Virginia, taught himself to draw as a child and later served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean conflict, where he designed a NATO shoulder patch and co-founded a shipboard newspaper. After his service, he pursued a lifelong passion for art, painting until January of this year, and was also an avid aviator and sports car enthusiast.

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candle obituary schedule Apr 8, 2026 visibility 17 link 2 artists

Linda Dresner, Old-School Guru of Avant-Garde Fashion, Dies at 88

Linda Dresner, the influential fashion retailer known for her minimalist, gallery-like boutiques, has died at the age of 88. Operating high-end spaces on New York’s Park Avenue and in Birmingham, Michigan, Dresner was a pioneer in treating avant-garde fashion as fine art, curating collections from designers like Comme des Garçons, Yohji Yamamoto, and Maison Margiela long before they became household names.

newspaper New York Times Art open_in_new Read original

candle obituary schedule Apr 26, 2026 visibility 16 link 3 artists, 2 galleries

Patrick Mukabi: Inside the life and legacy of artist who nurtured a movement

Legendary Kenyan painter Patrick Mukabi, known as Panye, has died at age 56 after an illness. Born in Nairobi in 1969, he studied graphic design at the Technical University of Kenya before dedicating himself to fine art. His bold, colorful works were displayed at venues like Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Java House outlets, and in over 20 countries. He developed the Cover Girls series celebrating curvy women and worked at major art spaces including the Nairobi National Museum, Kuona Artists Collective, GoDown Arts Centre, and the Railway Museum. At Dust Depo Studio, he mentored many young artists, teaching them both technique and the business of art. His protégé Jimmy Kitheka recalls Mukabi's warmth and discipline, and how the studio became a creative hub. Even during his illness, the art community rallied to support him through benefit exhibitions like the Patrick Mukabi Medical Fund Benefit Art Exhibition in April 2026 and a solo show at Banana Hill Art Gallery.

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