National Trust receives £1.8m for Sutton Hoo transformation

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

£1.8m lottery grant for Sutton Hoo transformation | The National Trust has received a £1.8m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund that will allow it to make ambitious improvements to the visitor experience at the Anglo-Saxon burial site of Sutton Hoo. According to a statement, the project will allow visitors to get a better sense of the people who settled in the region in Anglo-Saxon times, with new features including a 17-metre observation tower for views over the burial ground and new programmes for events and learning activities.

Renoir painting stolen from auction house | A small painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir has been stolen from an auction house outside Paris, reports AFP. The Portrait of a Young Girl with Blond Hair was expected to fetch between €25,000–30,000. Police officials believe that the thief removed the work from the wall where it was on display ahead of the sale and escaped unnoticed.

Gurr Johns acquires Dreweatts and Bloomsbury | Art advisory and valuation firm Gurr Johns has acquired auctioneer Dreweatts and Bloomsbury from Stanley Gibbons for £1.25m, reports Antiques Trade Gazette. Gurr Johns, which made the acquisition as an investment, will not be involved in the day–to-day running of the business, with former Dreweatts and Bloomsbury chairman George Bailey overseeing operations. Mallett, previously part of the group, was not included in the sale.

Ford Foundation awards fellowships worth $1.5m to artists driving social change | The Ford Foundation has created 25 ‘Art of Change’ fellowships for artists and culture sector professionals using their practice to help advance social causes. Individual artists will be awarded stipends of $50,000, with collaborative groups receiving $75,000. Among the recipients are Sandra Cisneros, Gustavo Dudamel and the collective Postcommodity.