Necropolis discovered in Egypt

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Multiple mummies discovered in Egyptian necropolis | Egyptian archaeologists excavating a site near the city of Minya have discovered a necropolis containing at least 17 mummies. According to Egyptian antiquities minister Khaled al-Anani, the find is the first human necropolis discovered in the area, although another site containing thousands of mummified birds and animals is located nearby. The careful preservation techniques applied to the human mummies suggest that they were once officials and priests. The news comes in the wake of the discovery of an ancient Egyptian princess’s tomb in Dahshur, near Cairo.

Mies van der Rohe Award goes to ‘heroic yet ordinary’ housing block redevelopment | Architecture practices NL Architects and XVW architectuur have won this year’s Mies van der Rohe Award for their overhaul of an Amsterdam apartment block. The biennial prize is Europe’s highest accolade for architecture, and grants the winner €60,000. The renovation of the block, which was threatened with demolition, was praised by the jury for ‘imagin[ing] a new kind of architectural project, which responds to changing household patterns and lifestyles in the 21st Century.’

Lost Camden Town Group painting discovered | An oil painting by the Camden Town Group artist Harry Rutherford has been discovered in a London home, reports the Camden New Journal. Rutherford was a protégé of Walter Sickert, and some experts have suggested that the painting, a street scene from 1932, might include a depiction of the latter artist. Much of Rutherford’s pre-war oeuvre was lost when his studio was destroyed in the Blitz.

Shortlist announced for John Ruskin Prize | The Big Draw has announced the 26-strong shortlist for this year’s John Ruskin Prize. The award’s fourth edition takes the theme of ‘artist as polymath’. The winner, to be announced on 20 June, will receive £3,000, with £1,000 going to two runners-up. For details of the shortlisted artists, see here.