DENVER—The Denver Art Museum has named Christoph Heinrich its new director, the Denver Post reports. Heinrich joined the museum in a curatorial role in 2007, moving to Colorado from his native Germany, where he worked for 13 years at the Hamburg Kunsthalle museum. The museum noted that they had intended all along to hire from within, and had targeted Heinrich as early as January of this year, when he was promoted to deputy director. He will take over his new post as head of the museum in January.

Farewells

LONDON—British sculptor Maurice Agis died October 12 at the age of 77, reports the Associated Press. The artist was known for his pop art sensibilities and as the creator of Dreamspace, a massive interactive inflatable sculpture that came loose from it supports and accidentally killed two spectators in 2006. In response to a manslaughter trial connected to the incident earlier this year, Agis addressed the victims’ families saying that he had been "consumed by the tragedy" and promised to dismantle the work, which he had previously thought of as the pinnacle of his career.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia—Famed conceptual artist Gerald Ferguson has died at 72, CBC News reports. The Cincinatti-born artist is perhaps best remembered for 1,000,000 Pennies, a project in which he repetitively stenciled Canadian pennies that number of times. Ferguson also worked as a teacher for much of his career, instructing students at the California Institute of the Arts in the 1970s and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design later in life.

LONDON—Architect Sam Lloyd died July 29 at 78, the Guardian reports. Lloyd was the third generation of his family to take over the firm Green Lloyd and went on to design such notable British buildings as the regional headquarters for Barclays bank in Manchester, the British Oxygen Co. in West London, and Evelyn Fox Court in North Kensington. In the 1980s, both the Royal Society of Arts and the Courtauld Institute appointed Lloyd and his firm their architects.

NEW YORK—Curator and art historian Dietrich von Bothmer died Oct. 12 at 90, the New York Times reports. A curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for more than 60 years, von Bothmer was considered one of the world’s leading authorities on Greek and Roman art. At the Met he acquired many of the museum's most valuable works and curated the first solo show of an artist from the ancient world. In 1965, von Bothmer began teaching at the Institute of Fine Arts in Manhattan, and he wrote a number of books based on his studies of Greek art. German born, Bothmer served in the U.S. Army in the 1940s and was awarded both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

LOS ANGELES—Anne Friedberg, a professor who furthered the study of film by illustrating its relationship to other art mediums, succumbed to cancer on Oct. 9, the Los Angeles Times reports. She was 57 years old. Friedberg spent much of her career teaching at the University of California at Irvine and at the University of Southern California, where she was was a principal in the school’s Interactive Media Arts and Practice and Critical Studies programs. Friedberg is also the author of two books, Window Shopping: Cinema and the Postmodern, which was published in 1994, and The Virtual Window: From Alberti to Microsoft, published in 2006.

LONDON—Artist Richard Robbins died on July 28 at age 82, the Guardian reports. Robbins was best known as a painter, often producing colorful pieces reflective of his love of nature, but was also a skilled sculptor, teacher, and poet. His work was exhibited frequently in London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. Robbins taught at the Camberwell School of Art and Hornsey School of Art from 1984 until his retirement, during which time he worked on his complex sculpture, The Dance, and was active in sports, including serving as captain of the Hampstead Golf Club. In 2004, he was elected an honorary member of the Royal Society of British Artists.

NEW YORK—Curator and art historian Robert M. Murdock passed away on Oct. 8 at the age of 67, the New York Times reports. Murdock's career brought him to a number of prestigious American museums, organizing exhibits for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Walker Art Center. He also holds the distinction of being the first intern chosen to participate in the Walker’s museum curatorial training program in 1965. Murdock also remained loyal to his roots, often curating shows from his alma mater, Trinity College, from which he graduated in 1963.