Remembering Yervant Gianikian, Valerie Brathwaite, and Jerry Moriarty

This week, we honor a giant of 20th-century cinema, a sculptor of the natural world, and a self-described “paintoonist.”

In Memoriam is published every Wednesday afternoon and honors those we recently lost in the art world.

Yervant Gianikian (1942–2026)Armenian-Italian filmmaker, artist, and architect

With his late partner, Angela Ricci Lucchi, he was a major force in cinema in the second half of the 20th century. Major works include From the Pole to the Equator (1986), Prisoners of War (1995), and Angela's Diaries – The Two of Us, Filmmakers (2018–26), which ranged in subject from European colonialism to personal tribute. His work is held in institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Modern, and he won the Golden Lion for the Armenian pavilion at the 2015 Venice Biennale.

Valerie Brathwaite (1938–2026)Abstract sculptor of the natural world

The Trinidadian-born, Caracas-based artist found inspiration in the geography, vegetation, and wildlife of her two home countries, creating undulating, organic sculptures and drawings. She was also a DJ, developing a rich sonic world that invoked jazz and freestyle.

Richard H. Glanton (1946–2026)Former president of the Barnes Foundation

In the 1990s, as the president of Philadelphia's Barnes Foundation, he attempted to elevate the museum's profile by selling certain works against the conditions set by its founder, to controversial effect.

Herbert Lust (1926–2026)Collector who befriended the giants of Postwar Euroamerican art

A colorful character in the postwar New York and Paris art worlds, he befriended artists like Alberto Giacometti, Alexander Calder, Robert Indiana, and more. He donated works from his significant collection to institutions like the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC.

Beth McKillop (1953–2026)Curator who championed Korean art

She transformed mainstream understanding of Korean art by helping to establish the field in Britain. She created the United Kingdom's first permanent Korean museum gallery at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and helped expand its collection by more than 100 objects.

Jerry Moriarty (1938–2026)Painter, cartoonist, and educator

The self-described "Paintoonist" created the iconic comic Jack Survives (1980), which debuted at cartoonist Art Spiegelman's insistence in his magazine Raw (1980–91). He was also a freelance illustrator who contributed drawings to Esquire, The New Yorker, Seventeen, and more, and he taught at the School of Visual Arts.

Sharon Dede Padi (1976–2026)Ghanaian artist and poet who held a Guinness World Record

One of Ghana's leading contemporary artists, she founded Padiki Art Gallery in Accra, displaying her own work and nurturing emerging artists. She also became the official Guinness World Records holder for Largest Leaf Print Painting, measuring more than 584 square feet (~54.3 sq m), last year.

Angela Rosengart (1932–2026)Swiss gallerist, collector, and founder of Sammlung Rosengart Museum

An art dealer active since 1948, she focused on Modernism and counted some of its luminaries as close friends, inccluding Picasso, who drew her portrait five times. She founded the Sammlung Rosengart Museum in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 2002.

Margaret Thomas (1941–2026)Photojournalist who captured milestones of the 20th century

The first female photojournalist at the Washington Post, she covered everything from the Watergate hearings to protests after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. She won many awards from the White House News Photographers Association, notably the photographer of the year prize in 1987.