Post-war public art listed in the UK

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Postwar Public Art Listed | 41 sculptures created for Britain’s civic spaces in the aftermath of the Second World War have been given Grade I & II listed status, while a major exhibition at London’s Somerset House will draw attention to the astonishing number of 20th-century public artworks that have disappeared or been damaged since their installation. The list of works getting Historic England’s seal of approval throws up few surprises: artists include Henry Moore, Eduardo Paolozzi, Antony Gormley, Barbara Hepworth, and Elisabeth Frink. Nevertheless, the move is a major step towards safeguarding Britain’s long neglected legacy of municipal Modernism.

David Koch Steps Down from Board of New York Science Museum | Oil-industry billionaire David Koch is taking a bow from the board of the New York Science Museum, on which he has sat for over 23 years. In recent years, climate-change activists have called for Koch’s resignation, in order to force the institution to cut its ties with fossil-fuel companies. However, as museum spokespeople have stressed, Koch’s resignation was ‘a normal course of business’, and had nothing to do with outside pressures.

Glenn Adamson to Leave Museum of Arts & Design | After nearly three years as director of New York’s Museum of Arts & Design, Glenn Adamson has announced that he is stepping down to work on other projects. Since taking over at MAD, Adamson has presided over some major acquisitions, including works by the likes of Nicole Cherubini and Karen Kames. After his departure in March, managing director Robert Cundall will fill his shoes until a permanent replacement is named.

Major Grant for South London Gallery | The South London Gallery has been awarded £600,000 from Mayor Boris Johnson’s London Regeneration Fund. Though not one of the UK capital’s major tourist attractions, (it is located in a former fire station on a traffic artery in the southeast of the city) the SLG is undoubtedly one of its most intriguing. The cash will go towards the funding of architectural practice 6a’s restoration of the building, which will hopefully bring much deserved attention to this out-of-the-way gem of an institution.

Katharina Fritsch’s Hahn/Cock Destined for Minneapolis | Remember the blue cock of Trafalgar Square? You might not want to, but someone in Minneapolis evidently does. The Walker Art Center is adding 16 major works to the city’s Sculpture Garden, of which Katharina Fritsch’s Hahn/Cock is an obvious standout. Additionally, the Walker has commissioned six works specially for the project, including a performance platform by Theaster Gates and an abstraction by Nairy Baghramian. Cluck cluck.