‘I told his family he was HIV positive’: Keith Haring’s best friend on life with the artist as unseen works go on show

A collection of unseen Keith Haring works, including a crib he painted for his best friend's unborn child, is going on display at Sotheby's New York before being auctioned in May 2025. The collection belongs to Kermit Oswald, Haring's childhood friend, and features 20 works, with a 1985 self-portrait estimated at $3m-$5m and the crib valued at $250,000-$350,000. Oswald shares intimate stories of their friendship, from childhood pranks in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, to their move to New York to study at the School of Visual Arts, and Haring's later collaboration with William Burroughs.

Rediscovered Old Master Painting Eclipses Estimate at Auction

A rediscovered portrait of Prince Rupert, long attributed to the studio of Anthony van Dyck and later to Jacob Huysmans, sold for CA$217,250 ($153,000) at Heffel Fine Art Auction House’s Spring Sale on May 21, more than double its low estimate. New research identified the work as by Peter Lely, court painter to King Charles II. The painting had belonged to the Hudson Bay Company for centuries and was part of a court-approved sale of the company’s collection following its 2024 bankruptcy. The 80-lot sale also saw a record for E.J. Hughes’s "Coastal Boats Near Sidney, BC" (1948), which sold for CA$5.7 million ($4.1 million), and strong results for Group of Seven artists Arthur Lismer, A.J. Casson, and Lawren Harris.

Wildenstein dispute over Monet work highlights art market opacity

A long-running dispute involving the Wildenstein art dynasty has resurfaced over a 2004 transaction for Claude Monet's *Adolphe Monet Reading in a Garden* (1867). The painting was acquired by Guy Wildenstein through a €4.5m deal that included works by Pierre Bonnard and Alfred Sisley, among them Monet's *Marine, Amsterdam* (1874). That work was later resold via Christie's, but a 2020 sale attempt revealed that the original canvas had been lost during a transfer process, significantly reducing its value. Court-appointed specialists concluded in 2024 that the alteration predated the transaction and that the gallery likely knew of the damage. The sellers have filed a claim alleging "vitiated consent" under French law, with a court date set for 7 May in Rouen. The disputed Monet now reportedly belongs to billionaire Larry Ellison.

An $18 million Banksy sold in an exclusive auction at Tiffany & Co. in New York

Un Banksy da 18 milioni di dollari venduto in un’asta esclusiva da Tiffany & Co. a New York

Fair Warning, an invitation-only online auction platform founded by former Christie's rainmaker Loïc Gouzer, sold Banksy's 2012 painting *Girl and Balloon on Found Landscape* for nearly $18 million at a live auction held in Tiffany & Co.'s Manhattan flagship store on May 20, 2026. The sale was conducted by Jussi Pylkkänen, another former Christie's star auctioneer, and the work—never before publicly shown—had a pre-sale estimate of $13–18 million, making it the third most expensive Banksy ever sold at auction.

Arthurian manuscript could make magic at Christie's London

A rare medieval manuscript containing early versions of the King Arthur, Merlin, and Holy Grail myths will be auctioned at Christie’s London on 8 July with an estimate of £1.5m–£2m. Known as the Clermont-Tonnerre Grail, the vellum manuscript (circa 1290–1310) features gold leaf illumination and 126 miniature illustrations by the Master of the Liège Apocalypse. It includes texts from the Old French Lancelot-Grail cycle and has a distinguished provenance, having belonged to figures such as Sir Thomas Phillipps and the comte de Clermont-Tonnerre.