Latest
Brooklyn Museum workers protest mass layoffs and alleged union-contract breaches
At least 100 people, including local politicians, gathered on Tuesday night to put pressure on museum leadership
Chanel becomes sponsor of Norton Museum of Art’s artist residency programme
Florida’s largest art museum joins forces with the luxury fashion brand to host three artists this year
Australia faces ‘international shame’ over removal of Khaled Sabsabi from Venice Biennale, senators told
The CEO of Creative Australia yesterday admitted to an estimates committee that the country's pavilion could be empty in 2026
Metropolitan Museum repatriates ancient bronze griffin head that was stolen from Greek institution
Per the terms of the Met’s agreement with the Greek government, the cast-bronze antiquity will return to New York next year for a special exhibition
Facing accusations of hiding Nazi loot, Bavaria pledges more research and greater transparency
The state’s culture minister has responded to an outcry after a newspaper reported that the Bavarian State Painting Collections keeps an unpublished internal list of 200 Nazi-looted works in its possession
Art market
Art Fair Philippines opens ‘proudly local’ 12th edition in new venue
This year 48 galleries take part in Manila's premier art fair
Dealers feel justified in forging ahead with Los Angeles art week
It is still too soon to tell how the city’s art scene will be affected by the blazes in the long term
Sharing is caring: the New York dealers who are joining forces
Collaborating on projects and sharing spaces allows smaller galleries to keep costs down—and to learn from each other
Camille Claudel bronze discovered in Paris apartment sells for €3.1m
The price is the second-highest ever paid for a work by the French sculptor
Comment | Plunging sales see shine come off luxury goods at auction
'The so-called “gateway drug” effect of luxury has been overstated'
Museums & Heritage
Lawsuit to halt demolition of Manhattan's Elizabeth Street Garden claims it is a protected ‘physical and social sculpture’
Activists say the Visual Artist Rights Act covers the garden, which the city wants to destroy to make way for affordable mixed-use housing
Archaeologist behind discovery of pharaoh's tomb says he may have found another
Piers Litherland, who led the team which discovered Thutmose II's tomb, believes this latest chamber could contain the ancient king's mummy
Why was the National Gallery shy of sharing its ‘Wilton Diptych’ report?
The museum’s dendrochronological research had confirmed scholarly consensus on dating one of the UK’s great masterpieces to the later 1390s
Culture and heritage ignite the regeneration fire in Sheffield
The Steel City is excavating its buried medieval castle and building new cultural spaces
Three in five small UK museums and galleries fear closure amid declining revenue, new research suggests
The survey of independent cultural attractions found that three quarters of respondents were concerned for the future of the wider sector
Exhibitions
Lubaina Himid will represent Great Britain at the 2026 Venice Biennale
The Zanzibar-born cultural activist has been a supporter of Black artists since the 1980s
Comment | Leigh Bowery’s radical art is being rightly celebrated—but let’s not forget those who helped him on his way
The artist’s close network of creative mavericks were integral to the indelible mark he left on London's cultural life
More Australian art world figures condemn decision to cancel Khaled Sabsabi’s Venice Biennale project
Last year’s Golden Lion winner Archie Moore and the National Association for the Visual Arts are among those to speak out in support of Sabsabi after he was dropped by Creative Australia
Cecilia Alemani details her character-driven curatorial approach for next Site Santa Fe International
The 12th edition of the International will be structured around roughly 25 figures, both real and fictional, from a 19th-century saloon owner to the Indigenous author N. Scott Momaday
Exhibitions reveal hidden stories of interned Japanese American artists
Shows at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Denver Art Museum explore personal and professional struggle of those who were incarcerated during the Second World War
Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial
In partnership with Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi
Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial launches second phase with nine new installations throughout the emirate
The first edition of the exhibition brings work by over 70 artists to the streets of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain
Books
New book celebrates William Butterfield, a master of High Victorian Gothic architecture
Nicholas Olsberg’s publication offers a learned analysis of the architect’s work, which includes Oxford’s Keble College and central London’s All Saints church
A new volume explores the intimate art of drawing, as seen through a wider lens
This “alternative” history navigates the medium through artists on the margins, as well as established practitioners
Beetlejuice and beyond: the origins of Tim Burton’s world of gothic romance and its enduring influence
Catalogue accompanying exhibition at London’s Design Museum explores the US film-maker’s unique aesthetic
Intense repartee: a collection of letters that the critic John Berger exchanged with his artist son
The correspondence between John and Yves Berger is both moving and enlightening
Two books explore Piet Mondrian's journey into abstraction—and his posthumous influence on 1960s fashion
How, two decades after his death, did Mondrian become a brand icon, and make a lasting contribution to the “youthquake”?
Diary
Fancy an ‘ultra-exclusive’ visit to Norway's Kistefos Museum? That'll be $26,000, please
The museum, based outside Oslo, is offering a bespoke—and pricey—programme for art lovers
Arte Povera giant Michelangelo Pistoletto is apparently up for the Nobel Peace Prize
According to his galleries, the Italian artist's nomination has been accepted by prize committee
British Museum attacked by eldritch horrors... in new video game
The challenges of managing the British Museum reach new highs in ‘Tides of Annihilation’
‘Who eats art?’: Cattelan banana makes guest appearance in Superbowl ad alongside Chris Hemsworth
Kris Jenner and Chris Pratt also featured in the Ray-Ban glasses promo
Parkinson’s charity sale presents cubed art by Rana Begum and George Shaw
Works by 118 artists, on show at Bonhams, will be sold in aid of the Cure3 initiative
A brush with... podcast
A podcast that asks artists the questions you've always wanted to
A brush with… Renée Green — podcast
Renée, known for her installations, video pieces and texts, reflects on the nature of ideas, on subjectivity and perception, and on memory—personal and collective
The Week in Art
A podcast bringing you the latest news from the art world, every week
Gee’s Bend quiltmakers, ‘degenerate’ art in Paris, and Mel Bochner remembered—podcast
Exploring the history and potency of the small quiltmaking group from Alabama, plus a new show looks at how the Nazis attacked Modern art and artists in Germany, and we discuss a 1969 work by one of the pioneers of Conceptualism
Book Club
Don McCullin on swapping war zones for museums and why his ‘printing days are over’
The revered photojournalist has turned his focus to ancient statues for a new photography book
An expert’s guide to Anselm Kiefer: five must-read books on the German artist
All you ever wanted to know about Kiefer, from a deep dive into his studios to the poetry that inspires him—selected by the curators Emilie Gordenker, Edwin Becker and Leontine Coelewij
February Book Bag: from a history of Māori art to T.J. Clark’s essays on politics and art
Our round-up of the latest art publications
‘I thought I would be trampled to death’: travelling with Gilbert & George to put on a show in 1990s Beijing
An exclusive extract from a new book by James Birch who helped organise exhibitions for the artist duo in Communist Russia and China
Obituaries
Serge Lasvignes, former president of Centre Pompidou, has died aged 70
The Centre Pompidou extended its international reach during Lasvignes's tenure
Mel Bochner, conceptual artist known for text paintings and wry humour, has died, aged 84
Bochner was a pioneer of conceptual art, creating works rooted in information systems and decontextualised language
Remembering John Mawurndjul AM (Balang Nakurulk), the Australian Indigenous artist whose meticulous bark paintings captured a hidden power
The painter was also a keen supporter of women artists
Walter Robinson, sharp-eyed painter and critic, has died, aged 74
Robinson, one of the Pictures Generation artists, made brightly irreverent paintings; as a writer, he chronicled the New York scene for decades and coined the term “Zombie Formalism”
Remembering Leonid Bazhanov, larger-than-life curator who pushed Russian contemporary art in new directions
The death of Bazhanov, who founded institutions including the groundbreaking National Centre for Contemporary Art, follows that of two other leading figures of the Conceptualist movement
Opinion
Comment | For non-profits the bottom line is about impact rather than income—but that doesn't mean we are ‘for loss’
Adam M. Levine, the director of the Toledo Museum of Art, argues that non-profits must embrace sound financial practices as a strategy to sustain and amplify their missions
Comment | Sotheby’s fees fiasco displays terrible timing and a miscalculation of market dynamics
The auction house's swift reversal of its recently overhauled premium structure is an admission of how wrongly it read the runes, writes Melanie Gerlis
Comment | Why seeing art by train should be the next big thing
Flying to an exhibition is increasingly unjustifiable. But by choosing the train, visitors can enjoy endless, inspiring encounters with art and life
Comment | What happens behind the scenes at the museum is what really matters
From delicate cleaning to forklifts, the unseen, but crucial, investment often goes unnoticed
Comment | Why the road to the sale of Frieze is a winding one
The potential sale raises questions around how to value the prestigious and unique art brand
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.
Could this Van Gogh have come from Nazi Germany?
As Birmingham’s peasant woman painting goes on loan to Charleston, we explore the question of its provenance
Technology
News, background and analysis on the latest tech developments—artificial intelligence tools; Web3, the blockchain, NFTs; virtual and augmented reality; social media platforms—and how they affect the art market, museums, artists and curators.
Strangers' things: why Moka Lee is a social media scavenger
The Korean artist creates haunting art using anonymous selfies
Artists can copyright works made using AI as an ‘assistive tool’, US Copyright Office concludes
The Copyright Office’s new report also concluded that “the incorporation of AI-generated content into a larger copyrightable work” is acceptable
Comment | How technology can help the art world take a big step towards sustainability
A new report published by the virtual reality platform Vortic makes clear the environmental benefits of going digital—and a hybrid approach could a way forward in the short term
Immersive inspirations: three key developments from 2024
It was a big year for immersive art, with major institutions getting involved, new virtual reality kit, and a groundbreaking event in Venice
Does Trump’s return spell boom or bust for the NFT art market?
Experts are sceptical that the NFT market will ever rebound to its 2021 levels, but the crypto asset sector may still manage to take over the art world one way or the other