2006 in art
The year 2006 in art involved various significant events.
Events
- Rembrandt 400 – Series of activities to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the birth of Rembrandt.
- 1 January – Resale Rights Directive in the European Union, providing a Droit de suite for artists, is implemented.
- 1 July – Mudam museum of modern art in Luxembourg (city), designed by I. M. Pei, is opened by Grand Duke Jean.
- 31 August – Stolen Edvard Munch paintings The Scream and Madonna are recovered in a police raid in Oslo, Norway.
- 17 November – The Metropolitan Borough of Bury in the north of England sells its L. S. Lowry painting for £1.25 million at a Christie's auction to a private buyer to help fund a £10 million budget deficit.
Awards
- Archibald Prize – Marcus Wills, The Paul Juraszek Monolith
- Artes Mundi Prize – Eija-Liisa Ahtila
- Beck's Futures – Matt Stokes, Long After Tonight
- Hugo Boss Prize – Tacita Dean
- Caldecott Medal – Chris Raschka, The Hello, Goodbye Window
- John Moores Painting Prize – Martin Greenland for "Before Vermeer's Clouds"
- Turner Prize – Tomma Abts
- Wynne prize – John Beard, ''The Gap''
Films
Exhibitions
- The Masterpieces Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 2 Jan – 31 December 2006
- All the Rembrandts, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 26 Jan – 31 December 2006
- Frank Stella 1958, 4 February - 7 May at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts then traveled to the Wexner Center at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio from September 1 – December 31.
- Rembrandt – Caravaggio Van Gogh Museum in cooperation with the Rijksmuseum, 24 Feb – 18 June 2006
- A summer with Rembrandt Mauritshuis, The Hague, 26 Jun – 18 September 2006
- Rembrandt, the Etcher The Rembrandt House Museum, Amsterdam, 8 Jul – 3 September 2006
- Rodin
- Everyone Sang: a view of Siegfried Sassoon and his world by 25 contemporary painters
- Peter Prendergast retrospective, Oriel Ynys Môn, 14 Jan – 26 February 2006
- "Barely Legal" (Banksy)
Works
- Magdalena Abakanowicz – Agora, Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Gary Breeze – Bali Bombings Memorial, London
- Ed Carpenter – Tecotosh
- Brian Goldbloom – Festival Lanterns
- Dan Graham – For Gordon Bunshaft
- David Hockney
- *
- *
- Anish Kapoor – Cloud Gate aka "The Bean" at AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois
- Mel Katz – Daddy Long Legs
- Gopal Swami Khetanchi
- * Bani-Thani
- * Devashree
- Frank Meisler – Kindertransport – The Arrival \
- Jack Whitten - 9.11.01 'Asylum NYCLovejoy Columns
- Statue of James Meredith
Deaths
January to March
- 1 January – John Latham, Zambian conceptual artist
- 8 January – Mimmo Rotella, Italian artist and poet
- 14 January – Jim Gary, American sculptor
- 29 January – Nam June Paik, South Korean-born American video artist
- 15 February – Joash Woodrow, English artist
- 23 February – Mauri Favén, Finnish painter
- 4 March
- *David Rose, American animator
- *Edgar Valter, Estonian writer and illustrator of children's books
- 7 March - Mary Spencer Watson, English sculptor
- 9 March – Jean Leymarie, French art historian
- 25 March – Bob Carlos Clarke, Irish photographer
- 27 March – Ian Hamilton Finlay, Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener
- 28 March – Pro Hart, Australian painter
April to June
- 5 April – Allan Kaprow, American painter, assemblagist and art theorist
- 15 April – Davidee Itulu, Inuk artist
- 23 April – Isaac Witkin, South African sculptor
- 3 May – Karel Appel, Dutch painter, sculptor and poet
- 8 May – Iain Macmillan, Scottish photographer
- 9 May – Edouard Jaguer, French poet and art critic
- 27 May – Alex Toth, American comic book artist and cartoonist
July to December
- 8 July – Catherine Leroy, French photographer
- 15 July – Andrée Ruellan, American painter
- 28 July – Richard Mock, American painter, sculptor and cartoonist
- 1 August
- *Jason Rhoades, American installation artist
- *Bob Thaves, American illustrator
- 4 August – Julio Galán, Mexican artist
- 20 August – Joe Rosenthal, American Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer
- 26 August – Vladimir Tretchikoff, Russian artist
- 1 September – Sir Kyffin Williams, Welsh landscape painter
- 17 October – Marcia Tucker, American museum curator
- 25;October -- Emilio Vedova, Italian painter
- 6 December – Robert Rosenblum, American art historian
- 16 December – Larry Zox, American painter and printmaker
- 18 December – Ruth Bernhard, American photographer