In Memoriam is published every Wednesday afternoon and honors those we recently lost in the art world.
Bruno Bischofberger (1940–2026)Swiss art historian, collector, and dealer
Beginning in the 1960s, he established art galleries in Zurich and St. Moritz in Switzerland. He brought American Pop Artists to Swiss audiences, including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, and more. In the 1970s and '80s, he promoted Neo-Expressionist artists such as Julian Schnabel and George Condo.
"Bischofberger was far more than just an art dealer; he was a brilliant artist in his own right, a visionary, a pioneer, a teacher and a patron of the arts," a statement released by his gallery read. "Without him, the art history of the second half of the 20th century would have been written differently."
Steven Durland (1951–2026)Artist, writer, editor, and cultural organizer
He was an editor of High Performance magazine, which featured thousands of artists, including Nancy Buchanan, Carolee Schneemann, and Paul McCarthy during its 20-year run. He also worked in ceramics, performance art, and mail art.
Ray Burgoyne (1945–2026)British painter, carpenter, and musician
The self-taught artist made abstract paintings that were romantic and unpredictable, childlike and dark. He was a founding member and drummer for the rhythm-and-blues band the Flowerpots, who opened for acts like the Who, and a master carpenter.
Christina Dochwat (1934–2026)Iconographer for Catholic Churches
Over half a century, she made hundreds, if not thousands, of icons, frescoes, mosaics, and screens for Ukrainian Greek and Byzantine Rite Catholic Churches. Her works can be found in churches around New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Ohio, and more.
She founded Unique Art Concepts, an art agency and gallery operating in Hamburg, Germany, promoting young artists around the city. She was also the daughter of art collector and former chairman of Hamburger Kunstverein Harald Falckenberg.
Manuela Hoelterhoff (1949–2026)Pulitzer-winning arts critic
She received a Pulitzer Prize in 1983 for her writing on art, television, books, opera, and architecture at the Wall Street Journal, where she worked for more than 20 years before serving as executive editor of Muse, an arts and culture section at Bloomberg News.
Ward Nichols (1930–2026)Realist painter of Appalachian landscapes
His paintings preserve old barns and other rural scenes in West Virginia that are disappearing, drawing inspiration from travels in Egypt, France, Italy, and more. His work has been shown throughout the country, including at the Asheville Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama. His work is held at institutions including the Springfield Museum of Art in Massachusetts and the Russell Museum in the United Kingdom.
Pamela A. Popeson (1954–2026)Artist, writer, and longtime Design department preparator at the Museum of Modern Art
"In my will I specify no obituary. But I’ll be dead when it finally gets read so it’s possible I won’t have the last word. Anyhow I’ve changed my mind; now I want one,” reflected Pamela Popeson, an artist, writer, and longtime preparator in the Design department of the Museum of Modern Art. She penned her own obituary, a moving, intimate expression of her commitment to art, life, and people, before she passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer.“I’d like to live on in some hearts - and I know some of the most beautiful hearts imaginable," she continued. "Not heavily, I hope, but light like a feather or a breath of warm gentle wind. Remembered some. Sometimes wistfully. Sometimes with joy."
Yevhen Syvokin (1937–2026)Ukrainian artist, animator, and director
He brought a fresh sensibility to Ukrainian animation during the Soviet era, leaning toward satire and graphic simplicity while working at the animation studio Kyivnaukfilm. He also started an animation directing workshop at Karpenko-Karyi University in Kyiv, the first dedicated to animation film directing.
Samsudin Wahab (1984–2026)Malaysian artist who defined a new generation
