US Supreme Court Denies Petition to Block 29 Benin Bronzes Being Restituted to Nigeria, Artist Bjarne Melgaard Sues Patrons for ‘Stealing’ His Career: Morning Links for October 14, 2024

To receive Morning Links in your inbox every weekday, sign up for our Breakfast with ARTnews newsletter.

The Headlines

PETITION TO BLOCK BRONZE RETURN DISMISSED. The US Supreme Court has denied a petition to block the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. from restituting 29 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, reports The Art Newspaper. The petition was filed by Deadria Farmer-Paellmann and the organization, Restitution Study Group (RSG), which she leads. Farmer-Paellmann has been outspoken about opposition to the restitution due to the historic links between the bronzes and ancestors of African Americans who were sold into slavery in exchange for the metal used to create the artworks. The bronzes “were made with melted manilla currency [that] the Benin Kingdom was paid in exchange for our ancestors they sold to European slave traders,” she told reporters. Following the judge’s dismissal of the case, a lawyer representing the petitioners said they would “continue to explore legal avenues to have our concerns addressed.” Farmer-Paellmann added: “These bronzes are our link to learning who we are, and we will continue to fight for permanent access to these relics that connect us to our African heritage.”

BAD HANGOVER. The provocative Norwegian artist Bjarne Melgaard is suing two art patrons for allegedly pushing him to sign away his artistic production to clear debts to them, and with it, his future as an artist, reports The New York Times. The investors, Svein Roar Grande and Stein Lie, don’t see it that way, however, and said that the nearly $10 million they paid Melgaard from 2008 to 2020 to support his art practice was squandered on reckless spending and further debts to them, amounting to over $16 million owed. A so-called “Main Agreement” contract that Melgaard signed was supposed to clear up those debts, and in exchange, he pledged to hand over ownership of hundreds of paintings, prints, and rights to produce sculptures. Now the artist says he signed the contract while drunk. “My biggest mistake is the same one that most artists make,” he said. “You would do just about anything for your art.” Tomorrow a Norwegian court will rule on the case.

The Digest

Coveted sculptures by Francois-Xavier Lalanne fetched $58.9 million at Christie’s in New York on Thursday night. The artist’s daughter, Dorothee Lalanne, sold the works from her collection, which includes the animal and plant-inspired sculptures by Francois-Xavier’s wife, Claude. The couple are known as the duo, Les Lalanne, though they rarely collaborated on pieces. Often with a functional purpose, these whimsical works stradde design, craft, and sculpture, and have repeatedly sold for well over their estimates. [AFP and Barron’s]

The Swiss artist Miriam Cahn was a no-show at her award ceremony for the prestigious Goslar Kaiserring award in Germany but meant no h-arm. She sent a sculpture of a left arm instead, with the award — an actual aquamarine set in gold ring, with the engraved seal of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor — slipped onto its ring finger. The artist reportedly wanted her art to speak for itself and made the sculpture as a gift to Goslar’s Mönchehaus Museum. [DPA and Monopol Magazine]

The artist behind the mysterious New York City crossing signs featuring the silhouette of former president Donald Trump has been revealed. A Reddit photo showed the artist Scott LoBaido and two assistants installing one of the unauthorized street signs in Manhattan. LoBaido is known for his controversial, right-wing views. [New York Post]

Robert Fitzpatrick, former president of the California Institute of the Arts has died at age 84. Fitzpatrick also spearheaded the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival in Los Angeles. [The Los Angeles Times]

The UK’s Swan auction house in Oxfordshire canceled a planned sale of human and ancestral remains, including shrunken skulls. The moves came following criticism from Native groups, who also called for their repatriation. [The Guardian]

Visitors to the University of Cambridge’s Museum of Zoology will be able to have AI chats with animals, including the extinct dodo bird, a narwhal, a red panda, and even a cockroach. The museum’s assistant director Jack Ashby said they were curious to learn “whether catting to the animals sill change people’s attitudes towards them.” [BBC]

The Kicker

CHALLENGING THE BRITISH MUSEUM. The artist Hew Locke discusses a provocative exhibit he’s preparing for the British Museum, with The Observer’s Tim Adams. For the project, he’s tackling Britain’s history of colonialism, and shines a spotlight on contested items in the museum’s own collection which go far beyond the thorny question of the Parthenon Marbles. In addition to creating his own figurative sculptures, Locke gathered together rarely displayed items taken from former British colonies. For an example, 15th-century Taíno wooden carved sculptures from Jamaica. “For Jamaica this is the Elgin marbles, you know, they want them back,” he said. While wondering “how far” he can push the museum, he reflected that, “from the institution’s point of view, their reputation is on the line; and from my point of view, my reputation is on the line.”