Art news daily: 26 September

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Christopher Le Brun to step down from Royal Academy presidency | Christopher Le Brun will step down as president of the Royal Academy of Arts in London this December, when his replacement will be elected by Royal Academicians. Le Brun, who has served the institution since 2011, plans to focus on his studio practice ahead of exhibitions coming up in Shanghai and New York. Axel Rüger, the academy’s secretary and chief executive, said that Le Brun had ‘overseen a period of incredible change and development at the Royal Academy. We are deeply grateful for his inspiration and leadership.’

French luxury goods billionaires finalise €300m donation to Notre Dame | Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of LVMH, has finalised a donation of €200m to the Fondation Notre Dame, while art collector and Kering founder François Pinault, together with his son, François-Henri Pinault, are due to sign off on a donation of €100m next week. The businessmen will also sit on a committee to monitor the fire-damaged cathedral’s restoration progress.

Former BP chief one of four new sponsors of Turner prize | The UK businessman John Browne, or Lord Browne of Madingley, has stepped in as one of the new sponsors of this year’s Turner prize, which will be announced on 3 December. Stagecoach South East withdrew its support earlier in the year after a backlash over the bus company founder Brian Souter’s views on gay rights. The Turner prize exhibition opens this week at the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate, with Oscar Murillo, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, and Tai Shani the four shortlisted artist.

New lease signed for Lundy island, sanctuary for wildlife | A new 50-year lease has been signed between the National Trust and the Landmark Trust to secure the future of Lundy, an island off the Devon coast that once served as a haven for pirates, for another half century. ‘There’s something very exciting about being on a small island like this surrounded by nature,’ said Dean Jones, the Lundy warden for the Landmark Trust. ‘You’re in the elements all the time.’

Recommended reading | Artist Adrian Piper pens a response to Art News’ ‘Women’s Place in the Art World’ report, criticising its silence on the role of the press in marginalising female artists.