U.K. Museum Races to Acquire 18th-Century Portrait of Black Gardener

The Garden Museum in London has launched a campaign to raise £420,000 ($560,000) to acquire the earliest known portrait of a Black British gardener, John Ystumllyn. Painted by an unknown artist in 1754, the work depicts Ystumllyn as a young man in a blue suit and waistcoat. He was abducted from West Africa as a child, trained as a gardener on the Ystumllyn estate in Wales, and later became a renowned horticulturist. The painting has been on loan to the museum since 2023, and the institution aims to permanently display it alongside another portrait of a Black gardener from 1905.

Marguerite Gérard and Fragonard at the Getty Museum

Marguerite Gérard et Fragonard au Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has acquired a painting jointly created by Marguerite Gérard and Jean-Honoré Fragonard, titled "Je m’occupais de vous" (I was taking care of you). Long thought lost, the work was rediscovered by art historian Carole Blumenfeld during her research on the two artists and was publicly shown in Ajaccio in summer 2007 at the exhibition "Le cardinal Fesch et l’art de son temps." After returning to a private collection, it has now entered the Getty Museum's holdings.

Taiwanese Pop Star Is the Buyer of $20 M. Matisse Painting at Sotheby’s

Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou revealed himself as the buyer of Henri Matisse's 1924 painting *La Séance du Matin* at Sotheby's modern art evening sale, where it sold for $20 million before fees ($21.2 million with fees). Chou, who guaranteed the work, received an $800,000 rebate and shared his emotional connection to the piece on Instagram, recalling visits to Matisse's home in Nice. The sale was part of a larger auction that also featured another Matisse, *La Chaise lorraine* (ca. 1919), which sold for $48.4 million.

Yayoi Kusama | Untitled (exhibition poster) (2018) | For Sale

Artsy is offering for sale an exhibition poster titled *Untitled (exhibition poster)* (2018) by renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. The poster is listed as a standalone artwork for sale, likely tied to one of Kusama's past exhibitions.

Why Anita Zabludowicz is putting £20mn of art up for auction

Anita Zabludowicz is selling £20 million worth of art at Christie’s London summer auction. The collection includes works by prominent contemporary artists, and the sale is expected to be a major event in the art market calendar.