Banksy, Cheltenham Mural , Spy Booth,Grade two listed

Banksy Cheltenham Mural Spy Booth Granted Grade Two Listed Status

Banksy’s Cheltenham mural “Spy Booth” which appeared last April on a house three miles from the top government listening post GCHQ, has been granted listed protection. The mural created international news coverage when it was splattered with white paint, sprayed with silver and defaced with red graffiti. At one point a thief attempted to cut the mural from the wall while the community fought the property owner over ownership of the artwork.

Smoke and mirrors: Florence Henri, the queen of surrealist photography – in pictures

From the 1920s to the 1940s, Florence Henri made her name as a major player in avant-garde photography. Born in New York in 1893, she settled in Paris in 1924, where she played with mirrors and light to create these beautiful mind-trick masterworks.

German Officials Hope to Save Portigon AG’s State-Owned Art Collection from Deaccession

Officials in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia are preparing a plan to save the 400-piece art collection of the state-owned bank Portigon AG, Rheinische Post reported. The rebranded successor of WestLB, which folded in 2012 during the financial crisis, has been criticized over plans to deaccession its collection to repay a bailout package (see “Portigon Says Auf Wiedersehen to Its Art Collection.”)

Magnum Photos and The Photography Show present: 30 under 30

Magnum Photos have partnered with The Photography Show for a second year to produce the ’30 Under 30′ award for young photographers. The winning photographers, featured here, will have their work included in an exhibition at The Photography Show (March 21 and 24, 2015 at The NEC in Birmingham) and at an official award ceremony hosted by Magnum Photos. Vote for your favourite three with the People’s Choice Awards.

Chairman of Phillips Sees Major Changes in Auctions

It was Phillips’s strongest contemporary sale in more than two years, with talked-about lots, including works by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and the Los Angeles-born Mark Bradford. On the heels of that success, in London last week, Phillips is preparing for its big spring auctions in New York. For May, Phillips says it already has a Cy Twombly lined up, “Untitled (Steps)” from 1960, estimated at $2 million to $3 million.

Hauser & Wirth to Construct New Building in Manhattan

Iwan Wirth, president and cofounder of Hauser & Wirth, announced yesterday that they will be constructing a new gallery building to serve as a permanent downtown location in Manhattan. The new multistory building will be designed by Annabelle Selldorf of Selldorf Architects, who has worked with the gallery since the 1990s on its spaces in Zurich, London, and New York City, and will be located at 542 West Twenty-second Street in Chelsea where it will occupy 7,400 square feet.