1997 in art

Events

*27 January – It is revealed that French museums had nearly 2,000 pieces of art that had been stolen by Nazis.
*6 March – Pablo Picasso's "Tête de Femme" is stolen from a London gallery (recovered a week later).
*27 April – Andrew Cunanan murders Jeffrey Trail, beginning a murder spree that will last until July and end with the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace.

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.

Exhibitions

*"Sensation" opens at the Royal Academy of Art in London.
*"Documenta X" opens in Kassel

Awards

*Archibald Prize - Nigel Thomson, "Barbara Blackman"
*Schock Prize in Visual Arts - Torsten Andersson
*Turner Prize - Gillian Wearing

Artworks

*"Another Place" by Antony Gormley

Deaths

January to June

*7 March - Martin Kippenberger, German artist (b.1953).
*11 March - Sam Golden, paint maker (b.1915).
*19 March - Willem de Kooning, Dutch abstract expressionist painter (b.1904).
*16 April - Roland Topor, French illustrator, painter, writer and filmmaker (b.1938).
*20 April - Jean Louis, French costume designer (b.1907).
*23 May - James Lee Byars, American artist (b.1932).

July to December

*15 July - Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer, murdered (b.1946).
*16 July - Dora Maar, French photographer, poet and painter, lover of Pablo Picasso (b.1907).
*29 September - Roy Lichtenstein, American pop artist (b.1923).
*22 October - Leonid Amalrik, Russian animator and animation director (b.1905).
*16 December - Lillian Disney, American artist and wife of Walt Disney (b.1899).

Full date unknown

*Jean Pierre Capron, French painter (b.1921).
*Jean-Pierre Sudre, French photographer (b.1921).