Venerable art publications ARTnews and Art in America have a new owner: Penske Media Corporation (PMC) has snapped up Art Media Holdings, LLC, the country’s largest independent art publishing group, which also includes The Magazine ANTIQUES and MODERN Magazine. (PMC is the parent company of Robb Report.)
The acquisition continues PMC’s push into legacy media with a luxury bent, complementing its other trade and consumer media brands, which include Rolling Stone, Variety, WWD, and, of course, Robb Report.
“For more than a century ARTnews and Art in America have been leaders in breaking news and commentary on the art world. To welcome these fine publications, whose editorial heritage I have long admired, is not only a remarkable opportunity but also a great honor,” said PMC Chairman and CEO Jay Penske. “This purchase continues PMC’s strategy of investing in businesses with great vertical depth, and we plan to rapidly build upon their editorial foundation while extending their presence across the web, video, and international markets.”
In an internal company email, Penske noted that nearly all of PMC’s brands already “intersect with art and the business of art in some way,” making opportunities for cross-brand collaboration plentiful. He also noted he’s pursued Art Media Holdings for nearly eight years.
PMC acquired the publications, each more than a century old, from Peter Brant, a paper magnate and major contemporary art collector in his own right. “These publications are guideposts to our world’s art history, and our own American culture. I am very confident that Jay Penske and Penske Media are the right owners for their next many decades,” Brant said.
As the most highly circulated contemporary art magazine in the world, ARTnews, founded in 1902 and winner of over 40 major journalism awards, is the international art world’s publication of record, covering breaking news as well as publishing investigative pieces, exhibition reviews and profiles of artists and collectors.
At 105 years old, Art in America, continues to enjoy a reputation for authoritative, insightful criticism and commentary and is a must-read for artists, curators, and collectors in the US and around the world.
