Mary M. Walsh Art Advisory

For Marianne 💛

Sotheby’s C.E.O. Charles Stewart announced in an internal memo that Nathan Drahi, son of Sotheby’s owner Patrick Drahi, will assume the role of global head of business development on February 3. By @artmarket

Hey, New Yorker writer, where were you when the statue of Thomas Jefferson was removed from City Council chambers, the statue of Teddy Roosevelt was removed from the Museum of Natural History, and monuments to George Washington and other figures were vandalized... all right here in New York. I'm sure you were arguing passionately against the erasure of those towering figures of American history with the same moral outrage you're mustering for a still-living political General with no real achievement to his name who'll barely be a footnote in twenty years. No? Oh okay, so nobody should listen to a single thing you say on the matter.

Two lawsuits against the Broad center on a COO who fired staffers, one brand new, one reportedly a beloved ten-year veteran. They allege wrongful termination based on race and sex, discrimination, a hostile work environment based on sex, and retaliation. news.artnet.com/art-world/wron…

Smithsonian Closes Diversity Office After Trump’s Executive Order. The museum’s move followed a similar one last week by the National Gallery, as museums try to comply with an executive order that called diversity programs “illegal and immoral.” nytimes.com/2025/01/28/art…

What happened on the day the Palisades Fire broke out? How staff at the Getty Villa sprung into action: gty.art/4jypCkC

The USAID email announcing the directive to “remove all artwork and photographs from the offices and common spaces across all buildings.”

Around 1917, Isaac Israels was loaned two of Vincent van Gogh's paintings by Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Theo van Gogh's widow. The two pictures, 'Sunflowers,' and 'The Yellow house in Arles,' were incorporated into Israels' own work which features ephemeral moments from everyday life. Jo van Gogh-Bonger was argubly the person most responsible for securing Vincent van Gogh's legacy; she had hoped to marry Isaac Israels but broke off the relationship when she realised he wasn't interested in marriage.

Thank you, Boris !

Set of 4 Aesthetic Movement mother-of-pearl- & brass-inlaid ebonized side chairs inset with Minton porcelain tiles by John Moyr Smith (1839-1912) of old English scenes sold for $2176 (e $800/1200) at @StairGalleries maineantiquedigest.com/stories/object… #antiques #antique #chairs #furniture

Absolutely devastated, a brilliant man and dear friend with the most amazing knowledge and wonderful sense of humour, always happy to help 💔

Breaking News: The Louvre Museum in Paris will move the Mona Lisa to a new exhibition space, President Emmanuel Macron of France announced as he unveiled sweeping plans to renovate the world’s biggest and most visited museum. nyti.ms/40DtOH9

Desperately sad news. Such a knowledgeable and approachable man. It was always a great pleasure to share a joke with on here. He will be very much missed.

After the devastating 2023 earthquake, Marrakech’s pioneering museum MACAAL reopens #Marrakech #MACAAL #ArtMuseum #MoroccanArt #EarthquakeRecovery #Morocco via @TheArtNewspaper theartnewspaper.com/2025/01/27/aft…

While Goodyear reasoned that the glowing tires would provide an additional layer of safety because they were more visible in fog and poor weather, they oftentimes had the opposite effect. Since they looked like something straight out of science fiction, other drivers would dangerously hit their brakes or turn their heads to get a better look. Although the tires never went into production, one set made it into the hands of Jim “Street” Skonzakes, who poured $75,000 (or about $750K today) into creating the tripped-out Golden Sahara II in the early ’60s. The second iteration of a George Barris custom that started with a 1953 Lincoln Capri, the Golden Sahara II wore gold paint mixed with pulverized fish scales, was adorned with gold-plated ornamental work, and featured TV, (non-working) telephone, and a bar in back. It was equipped with state-of-the-art features like remote control start, sensor-based automatic emergency braking, and the ability to drive with one hand by using a “unitrol stick” that controlled both steering and braking. Those new-fangled Goodyear tires, which Skonzakes referred to as “glass,” were the cherry on the sundae. In 2018, Golden Sahara II sold at auction in unrestored condition for $385,000. “We refer to the car as a laboratory on wheels,” Skonzakes told television host Garry Moore on I’ve Got A Secret in 1962. “Everyone seems interested in a futuristic car, and the Golden Sahara is a very successful car at auto shows. People appreciate it.” When the Golden Sahara II was restored following Skonzakes’ death in 2018, Goodyear contributed to the restoration by re-creating a set of urethane tires. While the originals could be filled with air, the new ones are completely solid, meaning the car is only drivable at low speeds. Goodyear held tight to the idea that its Neothane tires would one day become as common as their black rubber counterparts, but that didn’t happen. After 10 years of work, engineers threw in the towel. Keith Buckley, senior engineer at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., said in a brief phone interview with the promise of a longer conversation that never materialized—that the new-fangled tires were doomed for several reasons. For one, while the low melting point made them easy to manufacture, the same low melting point also made them susceptible to melting while braking. And while the idea of changing tires to match your mood (or your wife’s outfit) seemed like an amazing idea at the time, each tire weighed about 150 pounds, meaning there was no such thing as a “quick change.” “Cost was the big thing, but they weren’t practical either,” Buckley said. “The Neothane didn’t have the grip of standard tires, which made them more dangerous in rainy conditions. And it wouldn’t take long before they were covered in road grime, which negated the illumination—and that was their big drawing card.” That’s still their primary source of fascination, even if they’re just a footnote in automotive history.

On the 'whirling dervish', inspiration for much artwork.

'The First C8 Corvette ZR1 Just Sold for $3.7 Million' robbreport.com/motors/cars/fi…

The London-based Wiener Holocaust Library has been published online for the first time, making more than 150,000 documents detailing Nazi Germany's genocide of six million European Jews available to the public. dw.com/en/survivors-m…

New York Magazine literally cropped all the black people out of this cover photo and then complained that “the entire room is white”