1997 in art

Events from the year 1997 in art.

Events

 * January 27 – It is revealed that French museums have nearly 2,000 pieces of art that had been stolen by Nazis.
 * February 22 – Gustav Klimt's Portrait of a Lady (overpainted 1917 on Portrait of a Young Lady) is stolen from the Galleria d'arte moderna Ricci Oddi in Piacenza, Italy. It is recovered from a hiding place in the exterior of the building in December 2019.
 * March 6 – Pablo Picasso's Tête de Femme is stolen from the Lefevre Gallery in London's Mayfair by an armed robber. It is recovered a week later.
 * April 27 – Andrew Cunanan murders Jeffrey Trail, beginning a murder spree that will last until July and end with the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace.
 * September 8 – Marcus Harvey's controversial painting of Myra Hindley goes on display at the Royal Academy of Art in London and is vandalised twice, by two different artists, on the opening day.
 * October 18 – Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, designed by Frank Gehry, is opened.

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.
 * Istanbul Contemporary Art Museum is established by conceptual artist Genco Gulan in Turkey as an art project.
 * Patricia Martín conceives La Colección Jumex in Mexico City.

Exhibitions

 * Sensation opens at the Royal Academy of Art in London.
 * Kate and Helen Storey's Primitive Streak opens at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.
 * Documenta X opens in Kassel.

Awards
-The Venice Biennial-
 * Archibald Prize – Nigel Thomson, Barbara Blackman
 * John Moores Painting Prize - Dan Hays for "Harmony in Green"
 * Schock Prize in Visual Arts – Torsten Andersson
 * Turner Prize – Gillian Wearing
 * The Lion d'or (Golden Lion) for Lifetime Achievement: Emilio Vedova (Italy), Agnes Martin (USA)
 * The Lion d'or for Best Pavilion: France exhibiting the work of Fabrice Hyber

Artworks
Freedom Park]] in Atlanta, Georgia
 * Matthew Barney - The Erich Weiss Suite
 * Louise Bourgeois – Eye Benches I, II and III (Seattle)
 * Maurizio Cattelan – Turisti (installation, first version)
 * Thornton Dial - The Bridge dedicated to Congressman John Lewis at John Lewis Plaza in [[Freedom Park (Atlanta)|
 * Lucian Freud – Eight Months Gone
 * Zenos Frudakis – Statue of Ellis Arnall (Atlanta)
 * Antony Gormley – Another Place (sculpture)
 * Rodney Graham – Vexation Island (film loop)
 * Philip Jackson
 * Gurkha Memorial, London
 * Raoul Wallenberg Monument, London
 * Larry Kirkland – Garden Wreath (installation, Portland, Oregon)
 * Gabriel Koren - El-Hajj Malik Shabazz, Malcolm X placed at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, New York City
 * Sarah Lucas – Bunny Gets Snookered (installation, including Pauline Bunny)
 * Ron Mueck – Dead Dad, Angel, Big Baby II and III, Man in a Sheet and Mask (Self Portrait) (sculptures)
 * Odd Nerdrum
 * The Savior of Painting
 * Self-Portrait in Golden Cape
 * Cornelia Parker
 * Mass (Colder Darker Matter) (installation)
 * The Negative of Whispers (sculpture of found material)
 * Pornographic Drawings
 * Martin Puryear – Bearing Witness (sculpture, Washington, D.C.)
 * Richard Serra - Snake (completed)
 * Gillian Wearing – 10–16 (video)

Films

 * The Dog of Flanders: The Movie

January to June

 * January 23 – Jeremy Maas, English art dealer and historian of Victorian painting (b. 1928).
 * January 25 – Dan Barry, American cartoonist (b. 1923)
 * February 2 – Theodoros Stamos, Greek American abstract expressionist painter (b.1922).
 * March 7 – Martin Kippenberger, German artist (b.1953).
 * March 11 – Sam Golden, paint maker (b.1915).
 * March 15 – Victor Vasarely, Hungarian-French artist (b.1906).
 * March 19 – Willem de Kooning, Dutch born American abstract expressionist painter (b.1904).
 * April 16 – Roland Topor, French illustrator, painter, writer and filmmaker (b.1938).
 * April 20 – Jean Louis, French costume designer (b.1907).
 * April 22 – Reg Gammon, English painter and illustrator (b.1894)
 * May 23 – James Lee Byars, American artist (b.1932).

July to December

 * July 15 – Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer, murdered (b.1946).
 * July 16 – Dora Maar, French photographer, poet and painter, lover of Pablo Picasso (b.1907).
 * August 4 – Tom Eckersley, English poster artist (b.1914)
 * September 6 – Jean-Pierre Sudre, French photographer (b.1921)
 * September 29 – Roy Lichtenstein, American pop artist (b.1923).
 * October 22 – Leonid Amalrik, Russian animator and animation director (b.1905).
 * October 23 – Claire Falkenstein, American sculptor and painter (b.1908).
 * November 26 - Philip Berman, art collector, philanthropist, and co-founder of the Philip and Muriel Berman Museum at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania (b. 1915
 * December 16 – Lillian Disney, American artist and wife of Walt Disney (b.1899).

Full date unknown

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