Europe’s volcano flight chaos plays havoc with show shipments

the eruption of iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano

Paintings and people stranded; Art Chicago may be down on dealers

Disruption to flights is likely to impact on art shipments up until late April and possibly into early May, affecting exhibitions and the trade. Flights in north-west Europe were banned from 15 April following the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Although air traffic had partially resumed as we went to press, this could be interrupted by further volcanic ash clouds. Even after the airports fully reopen, logistical problems and shortage of seats will take some days to resolve.

The Van Gogh exhibition at London’s Royal Academy was one of the first shows to be hit, in terms of returning pictures following its closure on 18 April. The blockbuster, which attracted just over 400,000 visitors, included works from 24 European lenders and 22 from North America. Although the impact in terms of short-term delays on artworks being returned was “considerable”, an Academy spokeswoman said that “the adaptation and flexibility of everyone has been extremely impressive”.

Museum of London reopens modern galleries

Museum of London

The Museum of London opens its modern galleries on 28 May, following a £20.5m refurbishment. These cover the period from the Great Fire of 1666 to the present. It is the largest development since the museum opened at the Barbican in 1976.

The modern galleries, which closed three years ago, are on the lower level of the museum. The collection covering the 1789-1914 period was redisplayed in 2000, but the remainder dated back to 1976.