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Good Morning!
THE HEADLINES
100 YEARS UNSEEN. René Magritte’s La Magie Noire, a surrealist masterpiece unseen on the market for almost a century, will hit the auction block at Sotheby’s Paris later this month. The painting was purchased by the family of World War II resistance heroine Suzanne Spaak, who were Magritte’s benefactors at a time when he was struggling financially and had failed to sell a single work for two years. The work, described by Sotheby’s France vice-president Thomas Bompard as “the Taylor Swift of surrealism,” is expected to sell for over $8 million. “If you were to ask a group of schoolchildren to do a presentation on the surrealist movement, this painting alone would be enough to define it. I call it the superstar of surrealism,” he told the Guardian. La Magie Noire dates back to the early 1930s, when the artist had returned to Belgium after a failed attempt to find success in Paris. At the time, surrealismwas considered radical, and few collectors were interested in such works. “The Spaak family was to Belgium what the Mountbattens were to the UK; like royalty and they pulled Magritte out of difficulty,” Bompard said. “It was bought to mark the birth of a child but it was a rebirth for Magritte who was struggling to get himself back on his feet.”
WHERE’S DAVID? In a new report for the New York Times, culture reporter Alex Marshall writes that three major museums designed by David Adjaye are set to open this fall. Yet those institutions—the Princeton University Art Museum, the Museum of West African Art in Benin City, Nigeria, and the Studio Museum in Harlem—appear to be downplaying the involvement of the star architect, who was accused of sexual misconduct in 2023. At the time, Adjaye denied the allegations. Only one institution, the Thabo Mbeki Presidential Cente r in South Africa, slated to open in 2028, agreed to speak on the record about Adjaye. More than a dozen people familiar with the architect either declined interview requests or did not respond. One person who had commissioned Adjaye told the Times that discussing him publicly could damage their reputation. We’ll have to wait and see whether Adjaye himself attends any of the grand openings later this year.
THE DIGEST
Pace Gallery will close its exhibition space in Hong Konglater this month, The gallery’s final exhibition there will be its current one for Alejandro Piñeiro Bello, which closes October 18. [ARTnews]
Colnaghi, one of the world’s oldest surviving art dealerships, is set to open a space in Riyadh, after striking a deal with the Saudi private equity firm Sarat Investment Holding, worth around $2.6 million. [The Art Newspaper]
Milton Esterow, an award-winning journalist who owned and edited ARTnews for 42 years, died on Friday at 97. His death was confirmed by his daughter Judith Esterow, who previously served as this magazine’s associate publisher. She did not state a cause. [ARTnews]
Lithuania’s cultural community is concerned about their government’s decision to “trade the ministry of culture as a pawn in their negotiations with the Nemuno Aušra political party – known for its populist, antisemitic, and pro-Russianrhetoric, paid little to no attention to culture in their political program.” [Kulturo Sasambleja]
Mohamed Hamidi, a pioneering figure of Moroccan modern art and a memeber of the Casablance School, died recently, the Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah announced Monday. [Instagram]
THE KICKER
COVERT MISSION. On October 4, Rome received a treasure trove in the dead of night, Finestre sull’Arte reports. Around 130 artifacts from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo arrived at the Scuderie del Quirinale, marking the beginning of the highly anticipated show “Treasures of the Pharaohs.” Many of the ancient Egyptian pieces on display have never before left Egypt. The transport of the artifacts involved a highly coordinated and complex logistical operation, done in close partnership between Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and technical staff from Ales – Scuderie del Quirinale. A specialized team of Egyptian conservators and officials traveled with the artifacts, overseeing each phase of the transfer from Cairo to Rome. Every artifact will be thoroughly examined before being installed in the exhibition layout, ahead of the public opening on October 24. Running through May 3, 2026, “Treasures of the Pharaohs” centers on two major archaeological sources: the royal tombs of Tanisand the “Golden City” of Amenhotep III, showcasing monumental statues, ornate sarcophagi, exquisite jewelry, funerary objects, and votive offerings.
