1) Never-Before-Seen Basquiats to Debut in Miami

X-Contemporary, a smaller art fair that runs in conjunction with Art Basel Miami, has announced that it will be displaying a few never-before-seen Basquiat works, made during the early years of the artist’s short career. Curated by Al Diaz, who himself collaborated with Basquiat at one point, has curated the collection. The works will appear in Miami’s Nobu Hotel from November 30th to December 4th. Comprised of paintings, drawings and collages, the collection of works was previously sold from the apartment of Basquiat’s friend Lonny Lichtenberg and never formally displayed.

2) Possible Pollock at The Center of Lawsuit

A yet-to-be-authenticated Jackson Pollock painting is at the center of a lawsuit brought about by a high-profile Los Angeles lawyer. Pierce O’Donnell, known for his work defending clients in highly-publicized cases, is the co-owner of a painting titled “Pink Spring,” which he acquired as a joint purchase with former client and business partner Maitreya Kadre, who works as an art advisor. According to O’Donnell, he and Kadre bought the painting with the intention of selling it for a profit, but since then Kadre has obstructed his efforts to have the work sold or even authenticated. The provenance of the work is yet unknown, though a piece of writing on the back of the canvas has been attributed to Pollock’s wife and fellow artist Lee Krasner.

3) Why Do Museums Ban Photographs?

Ever wonder why so many museums and galleries discourage or ban photographs? This article in Observer offers a number of reasons, for the curious. These reasons are frequently financial – banning photography allows the museum gift shop to continue selling postcards and prints with art images on them, and protects the copyright of artworks, particularly those in special exhibitions or contemporary galleries. Interestingly, flash photography is also believed to be detrimental to the artworks themselves, causing potential damage to aged paint and wood. However, more recent research has found that these claims don’t hold much water. A museum visit, however, is often improved for everyone by eliminating bottlenecks of people crowding to get a photo, and those annoying camera flashes.

4) Centaur Typeface Celebrates 100 Years

Communication designers rejoice: it’s the 100-year anniversary of the Centaur typeface. An exhibition at New York’s Grolier Club is celebrating one hundred years of the font, starting with its birth as a custom typeface set by Bruce Rogers in 1915. Centaur was originally used as the typeface for an edition of Maurice de Guérin’s novel "The Centaur," hence the name. The font was later purchased for exclusive use by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and was used as the type for the museum’s press for decades. The exhibition at the Grolier Club will include a number of examples of the text used in print, including digital and cast-type versions. Much of the material is on loan from book designer Jerry Kelly.