the art world in 2025

Artnet News staff reflects on the most impactful stories of 2025, covering a wide range of topics from institutional shifts and devastating wildfires to market sensations and conceptual art. Key pieces include Ben Davis's analysis of the art world's 'post-woke' turn, Sarah Cascone's report on Los Angeles artists losing homes in the Eaton Fire, Katya Kazakina's tale of a David Hockney painting yielding a 7,000 percent return at Christie's, Andrew Russeth's coverage of Richard Prince's seven-hour deposition video, Kate Brown's profile of Friedrich Kunath, and Annie Armstrong's introduction of the 'red-chip' art market driven by hype and crypto.

Why did Van Gogh sign his paintings as ‘Vincent’?

Art historian Julia Engelmayer has published a study titled 'Simply ‘Vincent’: An Overview of Van Gogh’s Signed Paintings' on the Van Gogh Museum's website, analyzing why and how Vincent van Gogh signed his works. The research reveals that only 133 of his 840 surviving paintings bear a signature (16%), an unusually low proportion for a 19th-century artist. Van Gogh signed with only his first name due to strained family relations and the difficulty non-Dutch speakers had pronouncing his surname. The study also highlights his predominant use of red signatures (on 75 works), angled signatures on over half of his signed pieces, and a distinctive horseshoe-shaped 'V' used during his Arles period.

The Artists Who Ruled the Biennial Circuit Over the Last Four Years

Artnet News critic Ben Davis analyzed 130 recurring global art events—including biennials and triennials—that opened between the 2022 and 2026 Venice Biennales, tallying over 15,000 participating artists. He identified the most frequently featured artists, with Nolan Oswald Dennis topping the list at 14 biennial appearances. Dennis, a South Africa-based artist born in Lusaka, is known for works like "Black Liberation Zodiac" (2017-ongoing) and was included in the 2026 Venice Biennale curated by the late Koyo Kouoh.

Revealed: the amazing frame once created for Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

A long-lost, custom-designed Art Deco frame for Vincent van Gogh's painting "Three Sunflowers" has been identified through archival research. The frame, which featured a dark lacquer finish, randomly placed gold circles, and angled outer edges, was commissioned by the Parisian couturier and collector Jacques Doucet shortly after he acquired the painting in 1912. Its existence was pieced together from a 1930s interior photograph, a 1967 family snapshot, and a frame sold at Sotheby's in 1989, allowing for a digital reconstruction of the complete artwork.

The story behind Iran’s only Van Gogh: ‘At Eternity’s Gate'

A rare, inscribed lithograph by Vincent van Gogh, 'At Eternity's Gate,' resides in the collection of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. The work, one of only seven surviving examples, was acquired in 1975 by Farah Pahlavi, the wife of the Shah of Iran, for the museum. It passed through notable hands, including those of US Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, before arriving in Tehran just before the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

met museum lego monet set

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has partnered with Lego to release a $249.99 building set recreating Claude Monet's 1899 painting 'Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies.' The kit, containing 3,179 pieces, is the most expensive in Lego's Art series and launches March 4. The museum is also releasing a podcast hosted by curator Alison Hokanson to accompany the set.

museum artist ranking june 2025

Artnet News published its quarterly museum artist ranking for June 2025, analyzing temporary exhibitions at over 250 U.S. museums to identify which living artists received the most institutional attention. The list includes over 4,500 names, with Indigenous contemporary artists dominating the top ranks: Cara Romero and Sky Hopinka remain highly visible, joined by Jeffrey Gibson and Andrea Carlson. Cindy Sherman appears in at least 10 group shows nationwide, while Alex Katz continues as a rare painter favored by museums at age 97. The ranking prioritizes career retrospectives, dedicated exhibitions, and special commissions over group show appearances.

The art of technology jostles for position in venues both new and historic

Canyon, a new 40,000-square-foot institution dedicated to moving image, sound, and performance art, is set to open this autumn on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Founded by entrepreneur Robert Rosenkranz and led by former Mass MoCA director Joe Thompson, the space aims to bypass the slow curatorial cycles of traditional museums by hosting international media-rich exhibitions with a faster 18-to-24-month turnaround. Unlike traditional collecting institutions, Canyon will focus on public accessibility and domestic-style hospitality rather than building its own permanent archive.

paint drippings art industry news apr 28

This week's art industry roundup covers major developments across art fairs, auction houses, galleries, and museums. At Expo Chicago, emerging artist Auudi Dorsey sold her painting *Rumble* (2025) for $14,000 on opening day at Palo Gallery, while the fair featured 170 exhibitors including 20 from South Korea amid tariff concerns. Vienna Contemporary appointed Abaseh Mirvali as artistic advisor for 2025-2026. Sotheby's was selected by Barbara Gladstone's estate trustees to sell her collection, starting with a May 15 single-owner sale of 12 works estimated at over $12 million. Nine artworks from the Anne and Sid Bass collection head to Christie's New York, and Sotheby's secured a $70 million Alberto Giacometti sculpture for its May 13 evening sale. Philipp Kaiser departed Marian Goodman Gallery after six years. Customs backlogs from President Trump's import policy changes are causing shipping headaches, with DHL halting business-to-consumer shipments over $800 to the U.S. Air de Paris withdrew from Art Basel. Mexico City gallery OMR hired Agustina Ferreyra as director. Angelica Jopling is expanding her London gallery Incubator to New York. Alexander Gray Associates now represents Donald Moffett. In museums, the National Endowment for the Humanities, following DOGE staff cuts, is offering grants up to $600,000 for statues for Trump's National Garden of American Heroes. CCS Bard appointed Lauren Cornell as artistic director and Mariano Lopez Seoane as graduate program director. The New York Academy of Art named Paul R. Provost president. The Artists' Legacy Foundation appointed Daisy Murray Holman executive director. The Speed Art Museum named Diallo Simon-Ponte assistant curator. The Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow appointed Daria Kotova director. The Nasher Sculpture Center named Carlos Basualdo director. The Cultural Infrastructure Index reported a 17% drop in completed cultural projects in 2024.

black friday deals on artists tools and studio supplies

ARTnews has published a guide to Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals on artists' tools and studio supplies, tracking discounts from US retailers on items ranging from tech gear like Samsung's The Frame TV and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to software subscriptions like Topaz Studio. The article advises readers to move fast as products may sell out, and explains the selection process involves research on art supply usage, customer reviews, expert advice, and the authors' own expertise as artists and teachers.

The Palaces of Memory

The Palaces of Memory

The article reports that Israeli and US airstrikes on Isfahan, Iran, damaged several centuries-old palaces and cultural buildings. It draws a parallel to the destruction of cultural heritage in Gaza, suggesting this may be a targeted strategy to erase cultural identity and history, which are seen as threats to occupying forces.

6 asian artists to watch history migration and politics

Artnet News's Talentspotter feature profiles six emerging Asian artists shaping contemporary art. The artists, including Chen Ronghui, Steph Huang, and Cole Lu, explore themes of urbanization, migration, identity, and consumer culture through photography, sculpture, and installation.

popular artists march 2025

Artnet News published its quarterly analysis of the most exhibited living artists at over 250 U.S. museums in March 2025, identifying more than 3,700 artists. The top artist is photographer Cara Romero, who appears in multiple museum shows including a major retrospective at the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College. Three of the six most featured artists have Native American backgrounds, reflecting a surge in exhibitions celebrating Indigenous art. The list excludes the late Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, a Native painter and curator who died in January 2025 at age 85 and would have ranked highly.

The Met Teams Up with Band-Aid on Art-Themed Adhesive Bandages

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Band-Aid have reunited for a second collaboration, releasing a new set of art-themed adhesive bandages in 2026. The bandages feature details from three flower paintings in the Met's collection: Claude Monet's *Water Lilies* (1919), Vincent van Gogh's *Irises* (1890), and Odilon Redon's *Bouquet of Flowers* (ca. 1900–1905). The 50-count assortment includes small, medium, and large fabric bandages packed in a collectible tin, available exclusively at Target for $7.29. The 2025 Hokusai collection, which sold out quickly, is also back on sale at major retailers.

Filippo Lippi painting—once the centrepiece of Florence's Palazzo Medici Chapel—to undergo two-year restoration

The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin has announced a two-year restoration of Filippo Lippi’s 1459 painting *The Adoration in the Forest*, funded by the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung and the Schoof’schen Stiftung. The tempera-on-panel work, a centerpiece of the Palazzo Medici chapel in Florence, is now in the Gemäldegalerie’s collection. Conservators discovered that a 19th-century varnish layer is degrading the paint, causing it to lift off the panel, particularly affecting the Virgin’s blue cloak, skin, and gold leaf areas. The treatment aims to remove the varnish while stabilizing the paint layer, and may also reveal Lippi’s use of oil paint alongside egg tempera.

google judy chicago artwork canceled

Google commissioned Judy Chicago to create a major public artwork for the renovation of Chicago's historic Thompson Center, involving a terrazzo floor and a 17-story glass elevator shaft. The artist and her husband, Donald Woodman, began design work in anticipation of a 2027 completion date.

kids damage art

A child under the age of five recently scratched a Mark Rothko painting at a museum in the Netherlands, forcing its removal for restoration. The article compiles several notorious incidents of children accidentally damaging artworks, including a 12-year-old boy punching a hole through a $1.5 million Baroque painting by Paolo Porpora in Taipei, a 4-year-old shattering a 3,500-year-old vase at the Hecht Museum in Israel, a girl climbing a Donald Judd sculpture at Tate Modern, and kids breaking a glass artwork by Shelley Xue at the Shanghai Museum of Glass. In most cases, the damage was accidental, driven by curiosity or misinterpretation, and often involved lapses in adult supervision.

valparaiso university sold brauer museum artworks

Valparaiso University in Indiana has finalized the sale of two valuable paintings from the Brauer Museum of Art—Childe Hassam's *The Silver Veil and the Golden Gate* (1914) and Georgia O'Keeffe's *Rust Red Hills* (1930)—and is in the process of selling a third, Frederic Edwin Church's *Mountain Landscape* (c. 1849). The sales, collectively valued at up to $20 million, are intended to fund renovations of freshman dormitories amid budget shortfalls. The decision has sparked vocal protests, a lawsuit, and a vote of no confidence from the faculty senate against university president José Padilla, who announced his retirement. Moody's Ratings downgraded the school's credit rating to junk status, partly due to the controversy.

Did Van Gogh’s Yellow House turn blue after his death?

New historical evidence suggests that Vincent van Gogh’s iconic 'Yellow House' in Arles underwent a dramatic color change before its destruction. While Van Gogh famously painted and cherished the building for its yellow facade in 1888, two recently highlighted paintings from the late 1930s by artists Willy Guggenheim (Varlin) and George Tomaziu depict the structure with a blue exterior. This discovery, brought to light by Ukrainian artist Yuri Pikul, indicates the building had been repainted while serving as a café-bar called the Civette Arlésienne.

A manure mystery: why did Van Gogh depict heaps of sand in a painting of his beloved Yellow House?

A new study by Van Gogh Museum senior researcher Teio Meedendorp proposes that the mysterious piles of sand in Vincent van Gogh's 1888 painting "The Yellow House" are not, as previously thought, related to gas pipe installation, but rather cleansing sand used to absorb horse manure and urine on the streets of Arles. Meedendorp supports his theory with historical postcards from 1902 showing similar sand piles and street-cleaning practices, as well as municipal records indicating the city had outsourced dung removal in August 1888.

Van Gogh was not fantasising when he painted mountain landscapes with ‘The Two Holes’

Martin Bailey, a leading Van Gogh specialist, reveals that the distinctive rock formation known as Le Rocher des Deux Trous (The Rock of the Two Holes), which appears in two of Vincent van Gogh's paintings—The Olive Trees (June 1889) and Mountains at Saint-Rémy (July 1889)—is a real geological feature near the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, not a figment of the artist's imagination. The two paintings, held by the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, were recently displayed together at London's National Gallery exhibition Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers (14 September 2024–19 January 2025), offering a rare chance to compare them. Bailey traces the history of the formation, noting that an anonymous 17th-century artist also depicted it, and describes a walking route from the former asylum to the site.

When—and why—did Van Gogh paint a pair of crabs?

An article explores the story behind Vincent van Gogh's still life "Two Crabs," revealing that the two crabs are likely the same individual—a female Cancer pagurus missing its first pair of walking legs. Paul Clark, a crustacean specialist at London's Natural History Museum, confirmed the sex based on the broad abdomen visible in the painting. The work is on long-term loan to London's National Gallery, where it was recently redisplayed as part of the gallery's major rehang ahead of the Sainsbury Wing reopening on May 10. The article also traces the painting's provenance: it was the first Van Gogh bought by a British collector, William Cherry Robinson, in 1893 for 200 guilders, later sold at auction in 1906 for half that amount, and eventually resold at Sotheby's in 2004 for £5.2 million to an anonymous collector who lent it to the National Gallery.

Whistler's Audain Art Museum Raises a Record-Breaking $1.5 Million at Annual Gala Marking its 10-Year Anniversary

The Audain Art Museum in Whistler, British Columbia, raised a record-breaking $1.5 million at its 2026 annual gala, marking the institution's 10-year anniversary. The sold-out event, attended by over 500 guests, featured a live art auction of works by artists in the museum's permanent collection, with Stan Douglas's 1974 piece 'Coat Check' achieving a $200,000 hammer price—the highest ever for the gala.

5 Artists on Our Radar This April

Artsy has highlighted five emerging and established artists to watch this April, selected based on recent gallery representation, exhibition success, and market data. The list features Peruvian painter Sylvia Fernández, known for her meticulous and majestic depictions of the natural world, alongside four other artists who have made significant impacts through recent art fairs and new bodies of work.

andy warhol foundation arts writers grants 2025

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has announced its 2025 Arts Writers Grant recipients, awarding a total of $1.04 million to 31 writers. The grants, ranging from $15,000 to $50,000, are distributed across four categories: Articles, Books, Short-Form Writing, and a newly introduced Translation category with a $30,000 purse for translating books on contemporary visual art into English. Recipients include past and current contributors to ARTnews and Art in America, such as Glenn Adamson, Jeremy Lybarger, Zoé Samudzi, and Catherine G. Wagley.

new advisory artist money matters

A new financial consultancy called Artist Money Matters has launched in London, specifically designed to serve artists. Founded by artist and former finance executive Victoria Helena, the firm offers services including pricing advice, contract review, tax preparation, cash-flow planning, and guidance on grants and studio sustainability. It aims to provide artists with the business tools often missing from their education.

Major News from International Museums: London's National Gallery Expands and Pompidou Opens in Seoul

Le grandi novità dei musei internazionali: cresce la National Gallery di Londra e il Pompidou apre a Seoul

The National Gallery in London has selected a design team led by Kengo Kuma and Associates, alongside BDP and MICA, to lead its massive £750 million expansion project titled 'Project Domani.' Chosen from 65 international entries, the winning proposal will transform the St Vincent House site into a new museum wing featuring a stepped Portland stone facade, public roof gardens, and light-filled galleries. The project coincides with the institution's bicentenary and has already secured half of its required funding through private and anonymous donations.

The Newest Docent at This Historic Italian Palace Is a Robot

Palazzo Madama in Turin, Italy, has introduced a four-foot-tall robot named R1 as a docent for its Baroque collection. The robot, developed by the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) under Project Convince with €4 million in EU funding, guides visitors through the former royal apartments, narrating the history of the House of Savoy and detailing paintings, tapestries, and furniture. R1 can interact with visitors via LED eyes, answer questions, and autonomously navigate the museum's first floor, though it cannot climb stairs. It has been learning on the job since 2025, completing 30 tours in December 2025, and uses corrective software to relocalize itself if lost.

palace of westminster dig 6000 years history

Archaeological excavations at the Palace of Westminster in London have uncovered Neolithic flint tools and flakes dating back over 6,000 years, predating the earliest mounds at Stonehenge. The digs, led by the Museum of London Archaeology and overseen by the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority (R&R), also revealed the remains of Lesser Hall, a 12th-century royal dining space, along with Roman altar fragments, medieval tiles, and 19th-century artifacts. The excavations, running through 2026, are part of a £13 billion restoration project addressing the Palace's deteriorating condition.

Obama Presidential Center Announces Final Cohort of Commissions Ahead of June Opening, Including María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Jeffrey Gibson, Lorna Simpson

The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago has unveiled its final cohort of artist commissions ahead of its scheduled opening in June. This group includes high-profile contemporary artists such as Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Jeffrey Gibson, and Lorna Simpson, who will contribute site-specific works ranging from a multi-layered portrait of the Obamas to a 34-foot stainless steel sculpture by Martin Puryear honoring the late John Lewis. These eight artists join a previously announced roster, bringing the total number of new commissions for the 19.3-acre South Side campus to 30.