Philip Alexius de László (1869-1937)

This lively portrait of a bold, noble Scotswoman by Philip Alexius de László fetched a good price, followed by a joyous procession painted by Lucien Jonas.

The idea is not a new one. Even before Penn or Avedon, Man Ray and Paul Outerbridge were already juggling art and fashion. With Philip-Lorca diCorcia there is also a blurring of boundaries, as witness the eleven series he produced between 1997 and 2008...

There was no devaluation for this florin d’or à la reine, which, on the contrary, broke a world record.

Born with a rare congenital condition called phocomelia, Biffin had neither arms nor legs. She nonetheless overcame this challenge to become a favorite portraitist amongst the British royals; she learned to perform many tasks, painting included, with her mouth. The exhibition is on show through December 21.

The 98-year-old American painter died on December 17 in New York. After an early career in illustration, he devoted himself to the human figure, going against the grain of abstract expressionism and conceptual and minimal art. His realistic nudes paved the way for the work of Alex Katz and Alfred Leslie.

Musa Mayer, daughter of the Canadian American artist, donated the artworks that include 96 paintings and 124 drawings to the New York museum. With these works, the Met is now the largest holder of Guston's work. Mayer has also donated $10M to the museum to establish the Philip Guston Endowment Fund. (NYT)

This parchment written by the Iron King (r. 1285-1314) reminds us of the major and often murky role that his right-hand man, Guillaume de Nogaret, played during his reign.

Hauser & Wirth will exhibit a group of paintings by the painter, whose depiction of hooded Klansmen caused controversy and the two-year postponement of an international retrospective. The “challenging works” are among late works that mark a return to figuration from Abstract Expressionism. (press release)

Following controversy in October when the senior curator spoke out against the institution’s decision to postpone their retrospective on the painter – which would feature his works depicting Klu Kux Klan figures – Godfrey will now leave “as part of the voluntary redundancy scheme” in place at the Tate. (ARTnews)

A sign bearing Johnson’s name will be concealed during the ‘Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America’ exhibition. This is the first concrete action MoMA has taken since activists last year called for Johnson’s name to be removed from titles & spaces due to his “widely documented” racism. (Hyperallergic)