1999 in art

Events

• 28 May – After 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper is placed back on display in Milan, Italy.
• July – After 158 years of an empty plinth, Mark Wallinger's Ecce Homo becomes the first work displayed on the Fourth plinth, Trafalgar Square, London.
• 11 December – After 19 years of work, restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes is completed in the Vatican City.
• The Stuckism movement is founded by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson.
• Discovery of Venus of Tan-Tan in Morocco, the earliest known artefact to show evidence of human artistic input.

  Exhibitions

• 11 March – Jackson Pollock retrospective opens at the Tate London.

  Works

• Louise Bourgeois – Maman
• Maurizio Cattelan – La Nona Ora
• Mike Chapman – Christ Child
• Tracey Emin – My Bed
• Antony Gormley – Quantum Cloud
• Andreas Gursky – color photographs
• *99 Cent II Diptychon
• *Rhein II
• Friedensreich Hundertwasser - The Hundertwasser Toilets
• Anish Kapoor – Taratantara
• Cornelia Parker – Hanging Fire
• Beverly Pepper – Persephone Unbound
• Neo Rauch – Tal

  Awards

• Archibald Prize – Euan MacLeod, Self portrait/head like a hole
• John Moores Painting Prize - Michael Raedecker for "Mirage"
• Schock Prize in Visual Arts – Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron
• Turner Prize – Steve McQueen

• The Lion d'or for Lifetime Achievement: Louise Bourgeois, Bruce Nauman
• The Lion d'or for Best Pavilion: Monica Bonvicini, Bruna Esposito, Luisa Lambri, Paola Pivi, Grazia Toderi

  Deaths

January to June

• 28 January – Markey Robinson, Irish painter
• 5 February – Nicholas Krushenick, American pop art painter
• 9 February – Richard Allen, American Minimalist, Abstract, Systems, Fundamental and Geometric painter
• 18 February – Andreas Feininger, French-born American photographer
• 10 March – Oswaldo Guayasamín, Ecuadorian painter and sculptor
• 15 March – Harry Callahan, American photographer
• 20 March – Patrick Heron, English painter, writer and designer
• 29 March – Lucien Aigner, Hungarian photographer
• 24 April – Arthur Boyd, Australian painter and sculptor
• 2 May – Tibor Kalman, Hungarian-American graphic designer
• 12 May – Saul Steinberg, Romanian-born American cartoonist and illustrator
• 15 June – John Glashan, Scottish cartoonist, illustrator and playwright
• 19 June – Oton Gliha, Croatian painter
• 30 June – Edouard Boubat, French photographer

  July to December

• 5 July – Thea Tewi, German-born American sculptor and lingerie designer
• 14 July – Władysław Hasior, Polish sculptor, painter and set designer
• 15 August – Hugh Casson, British architect, interior designer, artist, writer and broadcaster
• 21 August – Leo Castelli, Italian-American art dealer and gallerist
• 22 August – Yann Goulet, French sculptor, Breton nationalist and war-time collaborationist with Nazi Germany
• 30 August – Raymond Poïvet, French cartoonist
• 13 September – Miriam Davenport, American painter and sculptor
• 4 October – Bernard Buffet, French painter
• 23 October - Albert Tucker, Australian Expressionist painter
• 27 October – Charlotte Perriand, French architect and designer
• 4 November – Richard Clements, Australian painter
• 18 November
• *Stephen Greene American painter
• *Horst P. Horst, German American photographer
• 12 December – Paul Cadmus, American painter
• 28 December – Louis Féraud, French fashion designer and artist