1997 in art

Events

• January 27 – It is revealed that French museums have nearly 2,000 pieces of art that had been stolen by Nazis.
• February 22 – Gustav Klimt's Portrait of a Lady is stolen from the Galleria d'arte moderna Ricci Oddi in Piacenza, Italy. It is recovered from a hiding place in the exterior of the building in December 2019.
• March 6 – Pablo Picasso's Tête de Femme is stolen from a London gallery. It is recovered a week later.
• April 27 – Andrew Cunanan murders Jeffrey Trail, beginning a murder spree that will last until July and end with the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace.
• September 8 – Marcus Harvey's controversial painting of Myra Hindley goes on display at the Royal Academy of Art in London and is vandalised twice, by two different artists, on the opening day.
• October 18 – Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, designed by Frank Gehry, is opened.

  Full date unknown

• Puppy by Jeff Koons is moved from Sydney Harbour to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
• Robert Colescott becomes the first African-American to represent the United States in a solo exhibition at the Venice Biennial.
• Patricia Martín conceives La Colección Jumex in Mexico City.

  Exhibitions

• Sensation opens at the Royal Academy of Art in London.
• Kate and Helen Storey's opens at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.
• Documenta X opens in Kassel.

  Awards

• Archibald Prize – Nigel Thomson, Barbara Blackman
• John Moores Painting Prize - Dan Hays for "Harmony in Green"
• Schock Prize in Visual Arts – Torsten Andersson
• Turner Prize – Gillian Wearing

• The Lion d'or for Lifetime Achievement: Emilio Vedova, Agnes Martin
• The Lion d'or for Best Pavilion: France exhibiting the work of Fabrice Hyber

  Artworks

• Louise Bourgeois – Eye Benches I, II and III
• Maurizio Cattelan – Turisti
• Thornton Dial - The Bridge dedicated to Congressman John Lewis at John Lewis Plaza in

• Lucian Freud – Eight Months Gone
• Antony Gormley – Another Place
• Philip Jackson – Gurkha Memorial, London
• Larry Kirkland – Garden Wreath
• Sarah Lucas – Bunny Gets Snookered
• Ron Mueck – Dead Dad, Angel, Big Baby II and III, Man in a Sheet and Mask
• Odd Nerdrum
• *The Savior of Painting
• *Self-Portrait in Golden Cape
• Cornelia Parker
• *Mass
• *The Negative of Whispers
• *Pornographic Drawings
• Martin Puryear – Bearing Witness
• Gillian Wearing – 10-16

  Deaths

January to June

• January 23 – Jeremy Maas, English art dealer and historian of Victorian painting.
• January 25 – Dan Barry, American cartoonist
• February 2 – Theodoros Stamos, Greek American abstract expressionist painter.
• March 7 – Martin Kippenberger, German artist.
• March 11 – Sam Golden, paint maker.
• March 15 – Victor Vasarely, Hungarian-French artist.
• March 19 – Willem de Kooning, Dutch born American abstract expressionist painter.
• April 16 – Roland Topor, French illustrator, painter, writer and filmmaker.
• April 20 – Jean Louis, French costume designer.
• April 22 – Reg Gammon, English painter and illustrator
• May 23 – James Lee Byars, American artist.

  July to December

• July 15 – Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer, murdered.
• July 16 – Dora Maar, French photographer, poet and painter, lover of Pablo Picasso.
• August 4 – Tom Eckersley, English poster artist
• September 6 – Jean-Pierre Sudre, French photographer
• September 29 – Roy Lichtenstein, American pop artist.
• October 22 – Leonid Amalrik, Russian animator and animation director.
• October 23 – Claire Falkenstein, American sculptor and painter.
• December 16 – Lillian Disney, American artist and wife of Walt Disney.

  Full date unknown

• Jean Pierre Capron, French painter.