Bonaparte Letter Goes to Auction, Vandalized Works in Austria, Picasso Drawing Recovered by US Officials, and More: Morning Links for July 25, 2024

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THE HEADLINES

UNDER THE HAMMER. A letter, estimated at £350 ($450) to £450 ($580), is to be sold at auction in Shrewsbury, reports the BBC. It was written by Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon Bonaparte’s younger brother, while he was a paroled prisoner in 1813. In it, he seeks help to translate from French to English, his epic poem “Charlemagne”, also known as “The Church Delivered”. Halls Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers’ stamps specialist, Andy Neal, described the letter as being “of postal, historical and literary importance”. Lucien Bonaparte was a French politician and diplomat of the French Revolution, who also participated in the coup that brought his brother, Napoleon, to power. In 1810, he set sail from Italy to start a new life in the USA, but was captured and brought to Britain. He spent time at Dinham, near Ludlow, and then purchased the Thorngrove house near Worcester. Bonaparte and his family were restricted to a 10-mile radius.

WHAT YOU DON’T WISH FOR. Six billboards by the German artist Anne Imhof, emblazoned with the words “Wish You Were Gay”, have been vandalized “in an act of violent aggression”, the artist stated, in the Austrian city of Bregenz. Imhof, who represented Germany at the 2017 Venice Biennale, further described the damage as a “hate crime”. The works were recently installed in one of Bregenz’s main thoroughfares, Bregenzer Seestrasse, as part of the artist’s exhibition at the Kunsthaus Bregenz (“Wish You Were Gay”, until September 22). In a statement posted on Instagram, Imhof said that “the billboards serve as a space for public art and are a tradition of the museum since 1997. Destroying them is not only an assault on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, two spirit and questioning people but an assault on the community of Bregenz”. The billboards, designed in collaboration with the Zak Group, a London-based art and design firm, will be replaced as soon as possible. In a email to The Art Newspaper, the museum confirmed that police have since opened an investigation into the incident.

THE DIGEST

The Monnaie de Paris—the Paris Mint, responsible for forging coins and home to thematic exhibitions, will soon welcome the “House of African Worlds” project. Championed by Emmanuel Macron since 2021, MansA—a hybridization of mansio, Latin for “dwelling”, and Mansa Musa, the 14th-century Malian ruler—is set to open “following a major redevelopment work, and architectural intervention on the façade.” [Beaux Arts]

After almost ten months, over 38,000 Palestinians have been killed and a further 90,000 injured. A global creative community has been bound together to establish initiatives that offer help to the conflict’s countless victims. These include Arts for Impact, a charity auction which aims to raise funds to support urgent medical care in Palestine through the charity Doctors Without Borders. The online sale starting tomorrow is set to include items and experiences that have been offered by prominent figures in the worlds of fashion, music, architecture, literature and art, from one of Castro Smith’s hand-engraved signet rings to one of Wales Bonner’s collegiate-style jackets. [AnOther]

Swiss artist Nicolas Party has designed a pool at the iconic luxury hotel Le Sirenuse, in the Italian seaside town of Positano. The hotel’s owner Antonio Sersale vividly remembers his first plunge into Party’s vision. “It was unbelievable,” he said. “Once it had been filled with water, it couldn’t be heated for a number of days because the tiles had to adjust. The water was freezing, but we just wanted to swim in it immediately and celebrate this beautiful art.” [Artnet]

Right now, in Manhattan’s Garment District, a towering 35-foot black sculpture by American artist Chakaia Booker rises and falls in a spindling honeycomb net of rubber and steel across a plaza on Broadway. The sculpture, titled “Shaved Portions”, is on view on Broadway between 39th and 40th Streets as part of a recurring public sculpture initiative organized by the Garment District Alliance. [Artnet]

A $1.2 million drawing by Pablo Picasso, purchased at Christie’s New York in 2014, was allegedly paid for with money embezzled from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign investment fund. US officials announced this week that they have struck a deal with the former general counsel of the scandalized fund in order to recover the work on paper acquired with misappropriated money. [The Art Newspaper]

THE KICKER

EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A CAT.  The Shanghai Museum is currently home to 780 cultural relics highlighting different eras of ancient Egypt. Everyone knows that in ancient Egypt, felines were considered sacred animals. The cat-headed goddess Bastet, embodying benevolence, protection and femininity, is a case in point. To spice up the experience of its spaces and attract the attention of as many people as possible, the Chinese institution is inviting cat owners to visit its newest display in the company of their loyal pets during ten exceptional nights. The maximum capacity is 200 felines per evening. Veterinarians will be around to ensure the animals‘s comfort. The question is, will other museums follow the Shanghai Museum’s example? [Creapills]