paint drippings art industry news feb 16 2745624

This week's art industry news covers significant developments across fairs, auctions, galleries, and museums. Frieze New York announces its 15th edition with a strong Latin American gallery presence, while the India Art Fair reports robust sales, including works by Atul Dodiya and N.S. Harsha fetching up to $600,000. Sotheby's will offer a major Francis Bacon self-portrait from the collection of Joe Lewis, and Christie's is set to sell three masterpieces from Agnes Gund's collection, estimated at over $123 million. Gallery news includes Federica Beretta's return to Opera Gallery and David Zwirner's new representation of painter Louis Fratino.

sam gilliam foundation sued over disputed drape painting and more art industry news 2669000

The Sam Gilliam Foundation has been sued over a disputed Drape painting, while the Art Dealers Association of America announced it will not hold its annual New York fair, The Art Show, in 2025, citing a strategic pause. Christie's reported $2.1 billion in auction sales for the first half of 2025, matching last year's figure but down 22% from 2023, and a juvenile Ceratosaurus fossil sold for $30.5 million at Sotheby's. Galleries are seeing movement: Nicole Wittenberg joins Acquavella Galleries, Harper Levine plans a Bangkok space, and Felix Rödder will open Rodder on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Yale University Art Gallery withdrew federal grant applications over anti-DEI language, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum named Mary Savig curator-in-charge of the Renwick Gallery.

Hampshire College, Whose Alumni List Includes Many Well-Known Artists, to Close After 51 Years

Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, has announced it will officially close following the fall 2026 semester, ending 51 years of operation. The decision follows a period of significant financial instability, including a reported $20 million debt and a failure to meet enrollment targets. The college has established agreements with regional institutions, such as Smith College and Bennington College, to allow current students to complete their degrees elsewhere.

the phillips collection to sell major works vatican returns 62 artifacts to indigenous peoples six works that could predict the market morning links for november 17 2025 1234761996

The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., plans to auction major works by Georgia O'Keeffe, Arthur Dove, and Georges Seurat at Sotheby's New York on November 20, sparking controversy. Director Jonathan Binstock says proceeds will support commissions from living artists and new acquisitions, but the decision has drawn intense opposition from longtime supporters and museum members. A last-minute agreement allows the sale to proceed while imposing tighter limits on future deaccessioning. Separately, the Vatican has returned 62 artifacts from its Anima Mundi ethnographic collection to Indigenous peoples in Canada, including an Inuit kayak, as part of ongoing reconciliation efforts.

jenny saville lands first solo show in venice should selfies be banned in museums and more morning links for november 13 2025 1234761536

Jenny Saville will have her first solo exhibition in Venice at the International Gallery of Modern Art at Ca’ Pesaro, running from March 28 to November 22, 2026, coinciding with the 2026 Venice Biennale. The show, supported by Gagosian, will feature 30 paintings curated by Elisabetta Barisoni. Separately, former Sotheby’s CEO Tad Smith expressed optimism about blockchain art ahead of Robert Alice’s NFT sale at Sotheby’s New York, and Ed Ruscha created a limited-edition chocolate bar shaped like California’s Central Valley. Other news includes the upcoming auction of Kirk Hammett’s Frank Frazetta painting and the closure of San Francisco’s Rena Bransten Gallery.

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Kenny Schachter, an artist, collector, and art world commentator, writes for Artnet that Larry Gagosian has no succession plan for his mega-gallery, claiming that after Gagosian's death the business will not survive. This contradicts earlier reports that Gagosian had assembled a board of directors—including Evan Spiegel, Jenny Saville, J. Tomilson Hill, Glenn Fuhrman, and Delphine Arnault—to plan for the future. Separately, new research suggests Rembrandt's *The Night Watch* (1642) may include imagery borrowed from a lesser-known Dutch artist, with a barking dog in the painting closely resembling an illustration from a 17th-century manual on resisting sexual temptation. The UK art market is also facing increased anti-money laundering enforcement, with HMRC issuing significant fines, including a £158,679 penalty to London-based DYS44 Art Gallery Limited for procedural failures.

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The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London is in a last-minute push to raise £50 million ($60 million) to acquire Joshua Reynolds's 1776 portrait of Omai, a Polynesian visitor to Britain, before a temporary export ban expires on March 10. Despite raising roughly £25 million through a grassroots campaign involving public donations, a £2.5 million grant from the Art Fund, and £10 million from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the NPG remains short of its goal and is reportedly in secret talks with the Getty Museum to jointly purchase the painting.

trump accused lewd drawing jeffrey epstein morning links for july 21 2025 1234747888

The article reports on two major stories. First, the trial has begun in the legal battle between billionaire art collector Ronald Perelman and his insurance companies over five paintings by Cy Twombly, Ed Ruscha, and Andy Warhol, worth a combined $410 million. Perelman claims the works lost their 'oomph' after a 2018 fire at his East Hampton estate, while insurers dispute the damage and his claims about not trying to sell them. Second, President Donald Trump is accused of making a crude sketch of a naked woman for Jeffrey Epstein, as reported by the Wall Street Journal; Trump denied the drawing and sued the paper for libel. The article also covers Jennifer Saunders becoming the first woman director of the New York State Museum, layoffs at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, a dinosaur skeleton sale at Sotheby's, and a lawsuit over a Sam Gilliam painting.

andrew cuomo zohran mamdani mayoral campaign donations 1234747350

Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo relaunched his New York mayoral campaign as a third-party candidate on July 14, after losing the Democratic primary to Zohran Mamdani by 12 points on June 24. A recent ARTnews data analysis reveals that prominent art world figures have donated to both campaigns, with Cuomo receiving contributions from Christie's executives, Phillips and Sotheby's staff, Gagosian directors, art dealers, and museum leaders, while Mamdani drew support from foundation directors, museum curators, gallery directors, and numerous artists. The pro-Cuomo super PAC Fix the City received $5 million from billionaire Michael Bloomberg and $250,000 from Top 200 collector Daniel Loeb, while the pro-Mamdani super PAC raised about $1.4 million.

death of artist sarah cunningham ruled accidental 1234739121

An inquest has ruled that the death of London-based artist Sarah Cunningham, 31, was accidental. She went missing in the early hours of November 2 in Camden, and her body was later found on the tracks at Chalk Farm Underground Station. On April 9, London’s Poplar Coroner’s Court determined that Cunningham jumped down onto the northbound train track and walked into the tunnel, where a train hit her 18 minutes later, but the coroner found she did not intend to take her own life. Cunningham was a rising artist represented by Lisson Gallery.

who is alma allen venice biennale 2709876

Alma Allen, a self-taught Utah-born sculptor based in Mexico, has been confirmed as the U.S. representative for the 61st Venice Biennale, opening in May. His pavilion exhibition, titled “Alma Allen: Call Me the Breeze,” will be curated by Jeffrey Uslip and commissioned by Jenni Parido of the American Arts Conservancy. Allen’s selection is notably unconventional: he has no major museum solo exhibitions and was dropped by his galleries, Mendes Wood and Olney Gleason, after accepting the commission. The U.S. State Department’s brief release frames the presentation as highlighting “alchemical transformation of matter” and “elevation,” aligning with the Trump Administration’s focus on “American excellence.”

kenny schachter art basel report 2659923

Kenny Schachter recounts his fraught journey from Newark to London for his curated Paul Thek exhibition at Thomas Dane Gallery and the 56th edition of Art Basel in Switzerland, describing a near-crash landing and widespread anxiety among U.S. attendees about returning home amid FAA cutbacks and immigration fears. He highlights Mary Lovelace O’Neal’s presence at Jenkins Johnson as his Basel highlight, dismisses panic over a single unsold Giacometti as overblown, and critiques art journalists for lacking real market experience, while sharing conversations with collectors Mera Rubell and Dakis Joannou.

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The article reveals that Emily Sargent (1857–1936), sister of famed portraitist John Singer Sargent, was a dedicated and original watercolorist whose extensive body of work remained hidden for decades. In 1998, a family member discovered a trunk containing 440 of her watercolors, and after nearly 25 years, the Sargent family has begun donating these works to major museums in the U.S. and U.K., including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (45 works), the Tate, London (29), the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (24), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (22), and the Brooklyn Museum (20).

There Has Never Been an Apolitical Venice Biennale

"Es hat niemals eine unpolitische Venedig-Biennale gegeben"

The Venice Biennale is embroiled in political controversy, with the US Pavilion's selection process criticized for bypassing traditional curatorial expertise in favor of a politically connected outsider. Simultaneously, a collective of artists and academics is protesting Russia's return to the Biennale, arguing it uses art as a political instrument to normalize its actions amid the war in Ukraine. An analysis in ArtReview contends the Biennale has never been apolitical, serving as a stage for geopolitical power plays since its inception.

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Sotheby's London modern and contemporary evening sale brought in $85.7 million, down from $105 million last year, with highlights including a $10 million Tamara de Lempicka and a record $9.6 million auction result for Jenny Saville's drawing 'Mirror'. In other market news, a crowdfunding campaign raised over £100,000 to help Bristol Museum acquire a rediscovered J.M.W. Turner painting, and a Tiffany Studio window sold for $4.2 million at Christie's. Galleries announced new representation deals: James Cohan now represents Ranti Bam, Maruani Mercier represents Kate Gottgens, and Yancey Richardson represents Karen Gunderson; Ronchini gallery is moving to a new Mayfair location. Tate launched a £150 million endowment fund, the Louvre announced an international architectural competition to address overcrowding, the Uffizi imposed selfie restrictions after a tourist damaged a painting, the Cleveland Museum of Art acquired a rare Giambologna marble, and Italy's culture minister pledged support for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.

The US Pavilion Is Taking Online Donations

The American Arts Conservancy (AAC), the nonprofit tasked with executing Alma Allen's 2026 US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, is soliciting online donations from the public after receiving no corporate or foundation funding. Unlike previous pavilions backed by major foundations like Ford and Mellon, AAC's fundraising relies on private citizens, with a minimum $100 donation requested via its website. The State Department provided $375,000 but requires additional funding, and AAC's Executive Director Jenni Parido, a former pet food store owner, declined to name specific donors, though Instagram posts suggest wealthy Trump allies attended benefit events. Perrotin Gallery, which represents Allen, is providing operational support but not funding.

Art Movements: Dozens Laid Off at Artnet and Artsy

Digital art giants Artnet and Artsy have implemented significant layoffs following their recent merger under the investment firm Beowolff Capital. The cuts, which occurred on April 16, impacted dozens of employees across both organizations, including senior editorial staff such as Sarah Cascone and Eileen Kinsella. The restructuring follows a reported 12% revenue decline for Artnet in early 2025 and involves the shutdown of Artnet's German entity as the two companies consolidate into a single team led by CEO Jeffrey Yin.

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.

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A group of artists participating in the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program (ISP) have withdrawn their work from a capstone exhibition at Westbeth Gallery to protest the museum's cancellation of a pro-Palestine performance. The performance, titled "No Aesthetics Outside My Freedom: Mourning, Militancy, and Performance," by artists Fadl Fakhouri, Noel Maghathe, and Fargo Tbakhi, was scheduled for May 12 as part of the ISP curatorial exhibition "a grammar of attention." The Whitney canceled it after viewing a recording of an earlier presentation, citing the performers' demand that attendees who believe in Israel leave the audience and the valorization of specific acts of violence. ISP Associate Director Sara Nadal-Melsió stated that the cancellation was imposed by Whitney leadership, including director Scott Rothkopf, and that the independence of the ISP has been seriously compromised.

state department confirms alma allen 2026 us pavilion 1234763177

The US Department of State confirmed that Mexico-based artist Alma Allen will represent the United States at the 2026 Venice Biennale, opening next May. Jeffrey Uslip will serve as curator, and the commissioning institution is the American Arts Conservancy (AAC), with its executive director Jenni Parido as official commissioner. Allen, who has had only two museum solo shows in three decades, was approached directly by Uslip in October after the State Department had already approved him. The selection process broke from tradition: the National Endowment for the Arts was not involved due to time constraints and staffing transitions, and a prior proposal by artist Robert Lazzarini and curator John Ravenal fell through after negotiations with the University of South Florida’s Contemporary Art Museum collapsed. Allen’s pavilion, titled "Call Me the Breeze," will feature about 30 works exploring elevation and transformation, framed by the State Department as furthering the Trump Administration’s focus on American excellence.

At the ‘art world Olympics,’ Team USA is chaotic

The US Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, often called the 'art world Olympics,' is mired in controversy and delays under the Trump administration. Curator Jeffrey Uslip insists the process has been smooth and artistically autonomous, but the selection of sculptor Alma Allen and commissioner Jenni Parido—a former pet supply shop owner with a new nonprofit—has raised eyebrows. The usual vetting process by the National Endowment for the Arts was disrupted, new language banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts was added to applications, and a government shutdown left only six months to fundraise and plan the exhibition, which coincides with the US's 250th anniversary.

The Art World This Week, 19 September 2025

Ocula's weekly briefing reports strong sales at viennacontemporary with 15,000 visitors and six-figure results for Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill. Sotheby's announced $248 million in pre-tax losses for 2024 but achieved $100 million from the Karpidas collection sale and consigned the Pritzker and Lauder collections for November. Haegue Yang was appointed chair of the executive board at Kunst-Werke Berlin. Yemen's National Museum in Sanaa was damaged by Israeli airstrikes. Gallerist Sebastian Gladstone opened a new Los Angeles space, while L.A. Louver closed its Venice Beach gallery after 50 years. Taymour Grahne Projects opened in Dubai. Samia Halaby won the MUNCH Award, Jennifer Packer and Marie Watt received Heinz Family Foundation awards, and the Henry Moore Foundation distributed £100,000 to UK sculptors.

Documenta Taps an All-Women Artistic Team—and More Art Industry News

Documenta has selected an all-women artistic team for its upcoming edition, marking a historic shift for the prestigious quinquennial exhibition. In other art industry news, Sotheby's will open its new global headquarters in the Breuer Building on November 8, Christie's London will auction the collection of Danish businessman Ole Faarup in October, and Bob Ross's market has surged with record auction prices. Several galleries announced new artist representations and relocations, including François Ghebaly adding Brooklin A. Soumahoro and Latitude Gallery moving to Tribeca. The Whitney Museum made three curatorial appointments, the Harvard Art Museums acquired a Heinz Mack sculpture, and Claudia Gould was named executive director of the Shaker Museum. The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation added new board members, and Maëlle Ebelle was appointed inaugural director of the Liu Shiming Art Foundation.

An Inside Look at Realizing Koyo Kouoh’s Venice Biennale Exhibition and More: Morning Links for April 29, 2026

The article reports on the 2026 Venice Biennale proceeding without its curator Koyo Kouoh, who died last May from liver cancer. Her husband Philippe Mall and son Djibril Schmed agreed with Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco to continue the exhibition, which opens to the public on May 9. Elsewhere, a Chicago judge sentenced Robert Dunlap to 23 years for a cryptocurrency scam claiming to be backed by artworks by Picasso, Dalí, and van Gogh. A Renoir painting once owned by the Duchess of Alba is returning to Spain, and a robot docent named R1 debuted at Palazzo Madama in Turin.

The Pet Food Store Owner Behind the Venice Biennale’s US Pavilion, 400-Year-Old Pendant in English Painting Resurfaces, and More: Morning Links for April 20, 2026

The New York Times profiled Jenni Parido, the 37-year-old commissioner of the upcoming US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, who has no professional arts background and previously ran a luxury pet food store in Florida. She selected Jeffrey Uslip as curator, and artist Alma Allen will represent the US after other artists reportedly declined.

Catherine Pégard Named French Culture Minister; Frieze Los Angeles Clocks Enthusiastic Sales; Morning Links for February 27, 2026

catherine pegard named french culture minister frieze los angeles clocks enthusiastic sales morning links for february 27 2026 1234774900

French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Catherine Pégard, the former president of the Château de Versailles, as the new French Culture Minister. Pégard faces immediate challenges, including addressing the recent theft of the French crown jewels from the Louvre and managing Macron’s ambitious $1 billion overhaul of the museum. Meanwhile, the VIP opening of Frieze Los Angeles has reported robust sales, with dealers describing the atmosphere as a "frenzy" amidst a notable trend in textile-based art and photography.

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Newly uncovered documents from the Museum of Modern Art’s archives confirm that the Franco regime in Spain attempted to censor Robert Motherwell’s painting *Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 35* (1954–58) before its scheduled 1958 exhibition in Madrid. The painting was part of MoMA’s traveling show “The New American Painting,” which introduced Abstract Expressionism to Europe. Spanish authorities demanded Motherwell remove the phrase “Spanish Republic” from the title, but the artist refused, leading to the work’s exclusion from the exhibition. The documents, reviewed by *El País*, also reveal that Catalan artist Antoni Tàpies boycotted state-sanctioned shows, calling the regime’s cultural propaganda “scandalous.”

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Barack Obama discussed the Obama Presidential Center, set to open spring 2025 on Chicago's South Side, in a New York Times interview. The four-building complex will include a museum, library, auditorium, basketball court, gardens, and commissioned works by 25 artists, including Julie Mehretu, Maya Lin, Nick Cave, Jenny Holzer, Kiki Smith, and Richard Hunt. Designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects, the centerpiece is an eight-story granite museum nicknamed "the Obamalisk," featuring an 83-foot-tall abstract glass work by Mehretu. Obama emphasized the center's role as a public space to inspire community action, not a presidential mausoleum.

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A lost painting by 17th-century Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens has been discovered in France. The 1613 painting of Jesus on the cross was found in September 2024 by French auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat in a Paris mansion. Experts confirmed its authenticity via X-ray imaging and pigment analysis, with German art historian Nils Buttner delivering the news to Osenat. The painting will be offered for sale on November 30. Separately, the National Gallery in London has announced it will begin collecting art made after its long-held 1900 cut-off date, leading to concerns about renewed rivalry with the Tate, as the two institutions had previously maintained an agreement dividing which works went to which collection.

tefaf cameos in just like that museums respond to rising middle east conflict greek heritage damaged by earthquake morning links for june 18 2025 1234745553

The June 18, 2025 edition of ARTnews' Morning Links reports that Iran and Israel have taken protective measures for artworks and heritage sites amid escalating missile strikes. Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization moved artifacts to secure storage and closed museums, while Israeli museums transferred artworks to protected storage, with Suzanne Landau, director of the Israel Museum, noting the country's familiarity with such crises. Other headlines include a government watchdog finding that President Donald Trump illegally slashed funding to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an interview with Pussy Riot co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova about her performance at MOCA Los Angeles, earthquake damage to monasteries in northern Greece, and details about the Studio Museum in Harlem's inaugural exhibitions. The digest also covers TEFAF's cameo in the TV show 'And Just Like That', a Jenny Saville drawing heading to auction at Sotheby's, and a profile of previously unknown Surrealist painter Henry Orlik.