Latest
‘Repressionist’ artist Pavel Krisevich forced to flee Russia
The performance artist, who has faced multiple arrests, now lives in Montenegro
French court cancels €2.8m sale of Chinese vase after eight-year wrangle over date
The Paris court of appeal has ordered Galerie Kraemer to repay Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani what he paid after experts “raised doubts” the work was from the 18th century
Peruvian artist Antonio Paucar wins UK’s Artes Mundi prize
Paucar’s works and those of five other shortlisted artists are on show at venues across Wales
In the age of AI, can art expertise be digitised?
Artificial intelligence attempts to offer objectivity in the inherently subjective field of authentication
Work by Edgar Degas among £59.7m haul of art donated to UK public collections in exchange for tax benefits
Works by Ben Nicholson, Vanessa Bell and Bill Brandt were also among works given to the nation in 2024-25 to settle £39.3m worth of tax
Art market
Iranian galleries close amid protests and communications blackout
Uncertainty has gripped life and art in Iran as unrest continues—Trump's threats of military intervention, meanwhile, have ramped up tensions
Lehmann Maupin takes permanent space in Mayfair’s No. 9 Cork Street
It is the first year-round tenant in the Frieze-run central London gallery hub
Luhring Augustine co-founder steps down to pursue philanthropy
Roland Augustine helped start the influential Chelsea gallery more than 40 years ago
More Bob Ross paintings head to auction to benefit US public television
The sale at Bonhams comes just two months after Ross’s auction record was shattered in another charity auction
‘Creative, provocative, controversial’: Truth Social ads for Nazi-owned art spark heated debate
The gallery behind the adverts has huge holdings of art associated with the Third Reich, and has loaned works to major museums
Museums & Heritage
‘It’s madness’: David Hockney blasts plans to loan Bayeux Tapestry to UK
The artist says he is concerned about the “physical and environmental risks” posed by sending the work to the British Museum
Trump eyes site near National Mall for ‘Garden of American Heroes’
The location, although not yet official, would legally require the project to undergo a rigorous review process and receive congressional approval
Rijksmuseum announces plans for €60m sculpture park
The site, which will feature work by artists such as Alberto Giacometti and Henry Moore, is expected to open in the autumn—though planning permission is yet to be confirmed
Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery removes wall text mentioning Trump’s impeachments
The museum said the change of labels and portraits is in preparation for an overhaul of its popular permanent gallery “America’s Presidents”
Manhattan’s New Museum sets early spring date for reopening after $82m expansion
The museum will offer free admission during its opening weekend festivities
Exhibitions
Kochi Biennale co-founder Bose Krishnamachari steps down as president
The artist and curator has resigned from his position at the Kochi Biennale Foundation citing “pressing family reasons”
South Africa’s Venice Biennale artist appeals to president after pavilion cancelled by minister
Gabrielle Goliath’s video-based project Elegy was pulled by Gayton McKenzie, seemingly over a planned Gaza-related segment
The road to ‘Fridamania’: how Frida Kahlo became a global phenomenon
A new show will explore the Mexican artist's complex personality and her rise to fame over the past 50 years
From 10,000 pennies to a Beatles record haul, the obsessive work of Rutherford Chang heads to Beijing
The “near frightening rigour” of the post-conceptualist artist is celebrated at UCCA Center for Contemporary Art
A taster of the British Museum's Hawaii show in three objects
The curator Alice Christophe delves into the catalogue and picks out some key objects ahead of the exhibition in London
The Week in Art
A podcast bringing you the latest news from the art world, every week
Hawai’i at the British Museum, a Venice palazzo for sale, Joseph Beuys’s ‘Bathtub’—podcast
Ben Luke hears about the British Museum’s fresh approach to the stewardship of its collection of Hawaiian objects, discusses the eerie history of Ca’ Dario and learns more about a late Beuys work
The Year Ahead
Our pick of the shows to see in the world's great art cities in 2026
The exhibitions to visit in London, New York, Tokyo, Paris and Madrid
Fair behemoths bet on Gulf plus new, bigger venues for Independent—a quick look at art fairs in 2026
Art Basel and Frieze are expanding in the Middle East while Art Cologne is reinstating its Mallorca edition
Venice, Sydney, Gwangju: the most interesting biennials to visit in 2026
Plus, full listings of the biennials, triennials and festivals taking place throughout the year
Art market 2026 predictions: underwhelming rebound and another Frieze fair
Our columnist gazes into her crystal ball to spot the major trends—from London regaining its lustre to AI fatigue—that are set to dominate the trade over the coming 12 months
Books
How an artist and a writer forged a frank friendship—and a book
The author Olivia Laing and the painter Chantal Joffe tell us about collaborating on a new book detailing their creative exchanges
New book tells the tale of David's ‘Death of Marat’ through the eyes of a lifelong admirer
Art historian’s dissection of famous work is as much about the painting as his decades-long obsession with it
January Book Bag: from a book about Constable and the weather to a controversial Russian artist’s manifesto
Our round-up of the latest art publications
Five new art books to look out for this spring, including key artist biographies and the tale of an artistic rivalry
Our books editor picks out some of the highlights of the months ahead
An expert’s guide to the Gothic: five must-read books on the topic
The best recent publications about the subject, from a book following the rebuilding of Notre-Dame cathedral to a Batman comic set in Barcelona—selected by the museum director and curator Annabelle Ténèze
Opinion
Comment | We are living in an age of bad painting—the medium must be challenged to stay interesting
Painting may not be dead, but it may have become too comfortable
Let’s celebrate the new arrivals in the public domain, for auld lang syne
Copyright changes bring New Year cheer for fans of Léger, de Staël and Hepworth
Comment | Dave the Potter finally becomes a complete artist
Spending most of his life in slavery, David Drake was denied the right to benefit from his own creativity and so to be an artist in every sense—until now
Comment | After a market shake up in 2025, it's time to create a right-sized art trade
From collaboration to consolidation, some dealers are adapting to a changing market that many agree should not return to its previous peak
Comment | The worlds of analogue and digital art may be splintering
At Art Basel Paris, “the art world seemed to be staging a rally for art created by flesh-and-blood people”
Obituaries
Kathleen Goncharov, influential curator who helped many artists ‘realise their dreams’, has died aged 73
Alongside her work at organisations such as New York’s Just Above Midtown gallery and the Boca Raton Museum of Art in Florida, Goncharov was also an artist
Remembering Erik Bulatov, the Soviet artist who reframed propaganda
The pioneering painter was known for his luminous skies and loaded slogans on power, space and freedom
Arnulf Rainer, a revolutionary figure in postwar Austrian art, has died aged 96
The Baden-born artist, known for addressing the trauma of the Holocaust, was a founding member of the influential Galerie nächst St Stephan
Ceal Floyer, an artist known for her minimalist, playful works, dies aged 57
The Pakistan-born, British artist rose to fame in the 1990s with her “concise humour and profoundly understated visual language”
Remembering Frank Gehry, legendary architect of Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
The Toronto-born architect, who reshaped global skylines with his sweeping, seemingly unfinished creations, has died, aged 96
A brush with... podcast
A podcast that asks artists the questions you've always wanted to
A brush with… Luc Tuymans—podcast
Luc Tuymans talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work
Adventures with Van Gogh
Adventures with Van Gogh is a weekly blog by Martin Bailey, our long-standing correspondent and expert on the artist. Published every Friday, his stories range from newsy items about this most intriguing artist to scholarly pieces based on his own meticulous investigations and discoveries.
Why this rarely seen Van Gogh self-portrait deserves more attention
Van Gogh’s “Self-portrait with bandaged Ear and Pipe” shows that the painter had lost none of his artistic skill—and it has an unexpected story
Diary
Want to win a €1m Picasso? Buy a €100 raffle ticket in painting prize draw
The draw is due to take place at Christie's Paris next April
Sweet Jesus—Trump auctions off a Christ painting made in ten minutes
Work was created live by Vanessa Horabuena at Mar-a-Lago New Year’s eve bash
We are all in the gutter but Banksy’s Christmas kids are looking at the stars
The same work has appeared in west London and under the Centre Point tower in the city centre
Spirited art—Sharon Stone looks to the afterlife for her latest paintings
For her new Rogues Gallery series, the film star says she channelled spirits from across the centuries
Look what she made them do: Taylor Swift fans descend on German museum
Swifties have been arriving in droves to catch a glimpse of Friedrich Heyser's Ophelia, which appears in a recent music video by the showgirl superstar