Ukrainian Artist Killed, Dealer Arrested for Warhol Fakes, and More

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The Headlines

UKRAINIAN ARTIST MARGARITA POLOVINKO DIED in combat, while serving on the frontlines as a medic and soldier in the Ukrainian army, reports Monopol and the New Voice of Ukraine.  She was 31. Polovinko’s artworks spoke of post-Soviet life and war, sometimes using her own blood as pigment in paintings depicting scenes from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, beginning in 2022. She was killed on April 5, according to an announcement on Instagram by her sister. “Margarita died defending Ukraine,” it stated. In an interview, the artist said, “Almost all of my work is a reaction to news. If I can’t bear a piece of news, I paint it.” A solo exhibition of her work will open in August at the Thesteinstudio in Kyiv as planned. 

SECOND TIME’S A CHARM. Dealer Leslie Howard Roberts, 62, owner of Miami Fine Art Gallery in Coconut Grove, was arrested on charges of selling fake Andy Warhols, reports NBC News. This is not the first time Roberts has faced similar charges. He served time a decade ago for selling phony artworks by Peter Max . This time around, he and another man, Carlos Miguel Rodriguez Melendez, were both charged with wire fraud and money laundering allegations, and arrested last week, when FBI agents raided the gallery. According to the federal indictment, Roberts allegedly told buyers that the artworks came from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and he provided fake identification numbers and stamps from the institution. Payments totaling $599,850 from one “victim” were recorded in 2023, and another for $60,000 came from a second person in 2024, states the court file. Meanwhile, Melendez allegedly helped authenticate the artworks, by posing as a New York auction house employee. In Miami federal court, the defense attorney for Melendez, Nayib Hassan , said his client maintains his innocence. 

The Digest

In a break from the norm, the White House has hung a painting of President Donald Trump raising his fist to a crowd after an assassination attempt against him last year. The painting has replaced a portrait of Barack Obama, which reportedly has been moved to an opposite wall. [Associated Press]

A rare painting by Wuthering Heights author Emily Brontë was snagged at auction by the Brontë Parsonage Museum for $42,000, above its estimate of $26,000. The painting titled The North Wind was made in 1842, when Brontë was in her early 20s, and shows a woman in motion, her hair swept by the wind, made after an engraving. [Artnet News]

For its last Roof Garden commission until 2030, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is unveiling constantly changing Minimalist sculptures that are also sonic “wind” instruments, by Jennie C. Jones. On Tuesday, the exhibit titled “Ensemble” opens to the public, with its large, geometric forms made of concrete and aluminum in various reds, which are strung with chords that hum when the wind strikes them at the right angle. [ The New York Times]

A group led by Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel has won the auction for the Miami Open and Madrid Open tennis tournaments from Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. It is believed that the portfolio of assets also includes Frieze Art Fair, though that has yet to be confirmed, and the deal is not yet finalized. [Bloomberg]

Barcelona is working to attract “quality” tourists by promoting the city’s art scene. This follows backlash against over-tourism, and the city’s image as a place for parties and sun. [The Art Newspaper]

The Kicker

A SAFE BET. The appointment of Christophe Cherix as MoMA’s new director, succeeding Glenn Lowry, was underwhelming for some observers, including Maximiliano Duron who wrote about his view for ARTnews . Many others are now chiming in with similar, and even ‘bitter’ criticism of the MoMA choice, that was “so safe almost no one saw it coming,” writes Rachel Corbett for Vulture. Corbett also reports that Jessica Morgan, the director of the Dia Art Foundation “seems to have been in consideration” for the job, right up until the final decision. However, a source told Corbett that the headhunting firm hired by MoMA told Morgan five days before the directorship was announced, that the board had “decreased their tolerance for risk” since her last interview. It’s not clear what was considered risky in this case, but the source saw a connection between the Trump administration’s anti-DEI views, and the museum’s ultimate decision.