Art news daily: 28 November

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Berkshire Museum completes controversial deaccessioning sale | The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts yesterday announced that it has finished selling works from its collection, having raised a total of $53.25m from the sale of 22 works. The museum’s decision to deaccession works to address a funding deficit, announced last year, has been met with much controversy – and multiple suits filed to prevent the sales. But in February of this year an agreement was reached with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, allowing the museum to sell no more than 40 works in order to raise up to $55m.

Daria Martin wins 2018 Film London Jarman Award 2018 | The American artist Daria Martin is the recipient of the 2018 Film London Jarman Award, it was announced at a ceremony at the Barbican Centre yesterday evening. The prize of £10,000, now in its 11th year, is awarded to an artist working with moving image; the other individuals on the shortlist this year were Larry Achiampong and David Blandy, Jasmina Cibic, Lawrence Lek, Hardeep Pandhal and Margaret Salmon.

Archaeologists authenticate Stone Age rock paintings in Finland | A series of rock paintings discovered in May this year on the shore of Lake Luonteri in Finland have been authenticated as examples of Stone Age art. The paintings, consisting of red lines and hand-markings, are spread across an area 9.5 metres wide. obscured beneath lichen, are ‘probably the first example of graphic design made in this country.’

Adam Lerner to step down as director of MCA Denver | Adam Lerner, director – and chief animator – of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Denver, has announced that he will step down next June, after a decade at the institution. Lerner has been credited with significantly boosting the museum’s audience as well as helping to restructure the $10m of its pre-existing debt.

Lead image: used under Creative Commons licence (CC BY-SA 3.0; original image cropped)