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A series of significant developments occurred across the global art industry this week. Expo Chicago announced a scaled-back edition under new director Kate Sierzputowski, while the Outsider Art Fair revealed its exhibitor list. A long-lost Renaissance portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola resurfaced at the Winter Show. Christie's will sell the collection of the late MoMA trustee Barbara Jakobson, featuring works by Jeff Koons and others. Bonhams made a key hire, and Sotheby's priced a major art-backed securitization. In gallery news, Alissa Friedman returned to Salon 94, Mary Cork joined Lehmann Maupin London, and several artists gained new representation, while New York's Francis Irv gallery announced its closure.

tilton gallery to close after over 40 years and more art industry news 2694129

Tilton Gallery, a fixture of New York’s Upper East Side for over 40 years, has announced it will close its physical space following an upcoming Ruth Vollmer exhibition to focus on private projects. The week also saw significant leadership shifts, including Lisa Phillips announcing her retirement as director of the New Museum after 26 years, and Ebony L. Haynes being promoted to the newly created role of global head of curatorial projects at David Zwirner. Meanwhile, legal tensions surfaced as a court dismissed Ronald Perelman’s $400 million insurance lawsuit regarding fire damage to his art collection.

paint drippings art industry news jul 7 2664592

This week's art industry news covers major auction results, gallery changes, and restitution developments. At Christie's Old Masters evening sale in London, Canaletto's "The Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day" set a new auction record for the artist at £31.9 million ($43.9 million), leading the sale to a total of £60.8 million. Sotheby's Old Masters evening sale brought in £14.5 million, with three new records including Diana de Rosa's "Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist" selling for £317,500. A rare early watercolor by Man Ray, "Nude Playing Musical Instrument" (1913), resurfaced after decades and will be auctioned at Dreweatts. In gallery news, Blum gallery laid off most of its staff and plans to cease brick-and-mortar operations, while Waddington Custot announced a new Paris space, and Company Gallery hired Subhas Kim Kandasamy as executive director. White Cube now represents Firenze Lai, and JD Malat Gallery launched a new initiative for UAE artists. In restitution, the Netherlands returned 119 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, transferred two Benin works to the Oba of Benin.

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Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of Napoleonic jewels from the Louvre on October 19, including pieces once owned by Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie. French authorities detained one man at Charles de Gaulle Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Algeria, and both suspects are in their 30s from the Seine-Saint-Denis area. A newly surfaced video allegedly shows the thieves escaping with $102 million worth of jewelry via a furniture lift; eight artifacts remain missing. Separately, Sotheby's Paris achieved record-breaking totals for Surrealist and modern art auctions during Art Basel Paris, with a Modigliani painting selling for €27 million, the most expensive work ever sold by Sotheby's in France.

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.

hidden portrait beneath vermeer girl with the red hat 1234752997

During the pandemic, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., used advanced imaging techniques to analyze four paintings attributed to Johannes Vermeer. Beneath the surface of *Girl with the Red Hat* (ca. 1669), conservators discovered an underpainting of a man in a wide-brimmed hat and tasseled collar, dated to 1650–55. Initially thought to be by an unidentified artist, further study suggests the underpainting may be Vermeer’s own work, making it his earliest known painting and his only known male portrait. However, specialists caution that the theory has not been proven or denied, and the hidden portrait could alternatively be by Carel Fabritius, with Vermeer painting over it.

national gallery of art artemisia gentileschi painting 1234772028

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has acquired its first painting by Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi, titled *Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy* (ca. 1625). The work, once thought lost, resurfaced in a French private collection in 2011 and was sold at Sotheby's in 2014 for $1.1 million, setting a then-auction record for the artist.

List of Failed Business Ideas Found Beneath Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch”

A recent conservation analysis of Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" at the Rijksmuseum has revealed a surprising discovery beneath the painting's surface. Using macro X-ray fluorescence, researchers uncovered a handwritten list of alternative business ideas considered by the young Rembrandt, including face-painting at children's parties, an umbrella repair shop, and making luxury combs from fishbones.

One of the Greatest Photographic Documents of the 20th Century

"Eines der größten fotografischen Dokumente des 20. Jahrhunderts"

A New York court has concluded an eleven-year legal battle by awarding Amedeo Modigliani’s 'Seated Man with a Cane' to the heirs of Jewish art dealer Oscar Stettiner. The ruling rejected the claims of the powerful Nahmad family, with the judge determining that Stettiner never voluntarily relinquished the work during the Nazi era. Additionally, a significant photographic archive belonging to darkroom technician Roland Haupt has surfaced, containing previously unseen World War II images by Lee Miller and Cecil Beaton.

Opening of Berlin Modern postponed to 2030

L’ouverture du Berlin Modern repoussée à 2030

The opening of the Berlin Modern museum has been delayed to 2030 due to construction setbacks and cost overruns. According to German media outlet Monopol, the project has been plagued by humidity issues, including mold, algae, and bacteria on new surfaces, caused by winter dampness, concrete sensitivity, and faulty ventilation. Originally launched in 2019 with a planned opening in mid-2020, the museum's completion has been repeatedly pushed back, with costs soaring from an initial €200 million to over €500 million, making it the most expensive museum ever built in Germany. The building, designed by Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron, is located at the Kulturforum and will house 20th-century art collections from the Nationalgalerie, the Marx Collection, the Pietzsch Collection, and holdings from the Kupferstichkabinett and the Kunstbibliothek.

AI Suggests El Greco Could Be the Sole Author of 'The Baptism of Christ'

Une IA suggère qu’El Greco pourrait être l’unique auteur du Baptême du Christ

A new scientific study published in the journal Science Advances challenges the long-held belief that El Greco's monumental painting 'The Baptism of Christ' was completed by his workshop. Using a deep-learning tool called PATCH to analyze the painting's surface topography, researchers from Case Western Reserve University found a technical consistency suggesting the work was executed by a single hand, likely El Greco himself, despite visible variations in execution.

staffers fired from kennedy center morning links september 12 2025 1234751701

Two key staffers have been fired from the Kennedy Center following President Trump's takeover: Kevin Struthers, senior director of music programming, and Malka Lasky, a social impact staffer and coordinator for the free Millennium Stage shows. Meanwhile, Canadian artist Armand Vaillancourt, 96, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to San Francisco officials to block the demolition of his 1971 Brutalist fountain in Embarcadero Plaza, which is fenced off due to structural hazards. Two Nazi-looted still life paintings by 17th-century Dutch artist Ambrosius Bosschaert have reportedly surfaced from an abandoned safety deposit box at an Ohio auction house, and if authenticated, will be returned to the descendants of a Jewish family. Additionally, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris has fired its director Simon Baker after an internal investigation for psychological harassment.

Lost for More Than a Century, the First ‘Sci-Fi’ Film Ever Made Resurfaces

Lost for More Than a Century, the First ‘Sci-Fi’ Film Ever Made Resurfaces

A lost 1897 silent film by pioneering French director Georges Méliès, "Gugusse et l'Automate," has been rediscovered and digitally restored. The 45-second slapstick short, featuring a magician battling a robot, was found in a collection of early film reels passed down through a family of traveling showmen and has now been preserved in 4K by the Library of Congress.

Artists and Art Professionals Denounce Mexico’s Handling of Resurfaced Art Collection: ‘An Institutional Blunder’

Over 200 Mexican artists and art professionals signed an open letter accusing the government and the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL) of an 'institutional blunder' for allowing the resurfaced Gelman collection—approximately 300 works including pieces by Frida Kahlo and other major Mexican artists—to be exported to Spain. The collection, now held by Banco Santander's foundation, is classified as Mexican artistic monuments, which typically restricts foreign export to one or two years.

Has A.I. Solved the Mystery of This El Greco Painting?

New research using artificial intelligence has challenged the long-held belief that El Greco's altarpiece *The Baptism of Christ* was largely painted by his son and workshop assistants. A machine-learning model called Patch, developed by researchers at Western Reserve University, analyzed the painting's microscopic surface texture and found underlying connections suggesting El Greco himself painted the majority of the work, with only a small region at the bottom attributed to other hands.

Long-Lost Photos of Chelsea Hotel Resurface, Revealing a Vanished New York

A collection of over 100 photographs by German photographer Albert Scopin, taken while he lived at New York's legendary Chelsea Hotel from 1969 to 1971, has been rediscovered and published in a new book. The images, long thought lost after being sent to a German magazine in the 1970s, were unexpectedly recovered by a gallerist in 2016 and capture the hotel's eclectic residents and vibrant countercultural scene.

Spot the difference: Bridget Riley work enjoys new green cleaning treatment

Tate Britain has completed the first-ever cleaning of Bridget Riley’s landmark 1964 Op art painting, 'Hesitate,' using a pioneering 'green' conservation method. Developed through the international Greenart research program, the treatment utilizes specialized hydrogels that lift dirt from the surface without the mechanical pressure of traditional swab rolling. This breakthrough allows conservators to safely clean the sensitive, unvarnished polyvinyl acetate house paints Riley favored, which were previously deemed too fragile for standard restoration techniques.

Is Vermeer’s ‘The Art of Painting’ in fact a lost work?

Paul Taylor, a curator at London’s Warburg Institute specializing in 17th-century Dutch art, argues that Vermeer’s celebrated painting *The Art of Painting* (1666-68), housed at Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, may not be the work referenced in a 1676 legal document by the artist’s widow, Catharina. Taylor tracked 25 period descriptions of “de schilderconst” (the art of painting) and found they all depict allegorical personifications of painting, not studio scenes like Vermeer’s composition. He believes the document refers to a now-lost Vermeer that could still resurface.

Rediscovered David Wojnarowicz mural could disappear from view again

A large mural by David Wojnarowicz (1954-92), rediscovered in a Louisville, Kentucky building in 2022, is at risk of being concealed again behind drywall as the building is redeveloped into high-end residences. The site-specific work was created in 1985 for the group exhibition *The Missing Children Show: Six Artists from the East Village on Main Street*, organized by dealer Potter Coe to benefit the Kentucky Child Victims’ Trust Fund. The building's current developers plan to turn the mural's floor into a waiting room for a boxing gym, covering it with sheetrock, though they have guaranteed no damage. The artist's foundation and gallery, PPOW, have proposed covering it with transparent plexiglass instead, but the mural's removal is unlikely due to its size and brick surface.

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Astronaut Scott Kelly is utilizing his record-breaking year-long mission aboard the International Space Station to capture high-altitude photography of Earth's surface. Dubbing his work #EarthArt, Kelly shares abstract, vividly colorful images of terrestrial landscapes—ranging from the Australian outback to the Himalayas—with his massive social media following. His approach favors formal abstraction over traditional documentation, highlighting the planet's diverse topography through a lens that blurs the line between science and fine art.

Conservation of Tintoretto painting in UK reveals ‘layer of history hiding under the surface’

A two-year conservation project by the National Trust has uncovered significant compositional changes in Jacopo Tintoretto's painting *The Wise and Foolish Virgins* (around 1546), which returns to public display at Upton House in Warwickshire, UK on 28 April. X-ray imaging revealed a hidden stone balcony beneath the final architectural setting, matching a balcony in a related version at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Infrared scanning and paint analysis also showed that Tintoretto removed criss-cross elements and a balcony section, replacing them with a servant laying a table, while previous restorers had misinterpreted these pentimenti as part of the intended composition.

Artemis II Captures Spectacular Images of ‘Earthset’ from Deep Space

NASA’s Artemis II mission has released a series of stunning high-definition images captured during its 10-day journey around the Moon, marking the first crewed lunar mission in over half a century. Among the most striking visuals is a photograph of an 'Earthset,' showing our home planet descending behind the lunar horizon. The mission is currently underway and is expected to conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10.

Taiwanese Indigenous artist stripped of national prize after sexual assault conviction

Taiwan has revoked the National Award for Arts from Indigenous artist Sakuliu Pavavaljung after his sexual assault conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court. The Ministry of Culture and the National Culture and Arts Foundation announced the withdrawal on 17 April 2025, and Pavavaljung must return the NT$1 million prize. The conviction stems from a February 2021 incident involving a woman under his artistic mentorship; he was sentenced to four years and six months in prison. Allegations first surfaced in December 2021 via social media, prompting further accusations. Pavavaljung had previously been dropped from representing Taiwan at the Venice Biennale and suspended from Documenta 15.

Mechanical engineer develops AI-generated digital masks to restore damaged paintings

Alex Kachkine, a mechanical engineer and PhD student at MIT, has developed AI-generated digital masks to restore damaged paintings. The system uses a removable, precision-printed polymer film with clear and painted areas, applied over the artwork like a custom graphic wrap. Kachkine tested the technique on a late-15th-century oil-on-panel painting attributed to the Master of the Prado Adoration of the Magi, using generative AI to reconstruct 5,612 areas of loss, including an obliterated infant Jesus. The masks are produced in hours and are physically separated from the paint surface by a conservation-grade varnish.

‘Southeast Exchange’: New La Jolla mural showcases findings at Texas discount store

Artist Lizzie Zelter has installed a new large-scale mural titled "Southeast Exchange" in La Jolla, California, as part of the Murals of La Jolla public art initiative. The composition is based on the artist's observations of a discount store in Brownsville, Texas, featuring a dense array of consumer goods and reflective surfaces that explore themes of domestic arrangement and cultural artifacts. The work is designed to be read from right to left, mimicking the flow of pedestrian traffic and challenging traditional visual perspectives.

Ancient Roman Cargo Lost for 2,000 Years Resurfaces in Swiss Lake

A team of Swiss archaeologists and the nonprofit Octopus Foundation have recovered a 2,000-year-old Roman cargo from Lake Neuchâtel. The haul consists of approximately 600 remarkably preserved artifacts, including stacks of brand-new ceramic plates, bowls, goblets, weapons, tools, chariot wheels, and a wicker basket, dating from between 50 B.C.E. and 50 C.E. The ship itself was not found.

Archaeologists Identify Lost Medieval Village in Polish Forest

Archaeologists from Poland's Relicta Foundation have located the lost medieval village of Stolzenberg in a dense forest near Sławoborze in northwestern Pomerania. The 15-acre site, identified through a combination of historical research, metal detecting, and advanced geophysical surveys, has yielded 1,500 surface anomalies and 400 artifacts, including coins and belt buckles from the 13th-14th centuries, confirming its medieval origins. Radiocarbon dating places the height of its activity in the 14th century.

3d tech reveals new gladiator graffiti in pompeii 2738381

Researchers using Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) and 3D photogrammetry have uncovered 79 previously invisible graffiti fragments on a 90-foot walled corridor in Pompeii's theater district. Among the discoveries are a dynamic sketch of two gladiators in combat and a love declaration beginning "Erato amat…" (Erato loves…). The work, detailed in Pompeii's e-journal, was conducted by teams from Sorbonne University and the University of Québec at Montréal, who developed a custom 3D-image platform to visualize and digitally annotate the ancient carvings.

Meditate to the Undulations of Baltic Sea Ice in Jan Erik Waider’s Hypnotic Videos

German photographer and visual artist Jan Erik Waider has released a new series of aerial drone videos capturing a rare natural phenomenon in the Baltic Sea. The footage shows a thin, fresh layer of ice forming intricate, polygon-like shapes on the rolling sea surface, creating a hypnotic, undulating pattern that moves rhythmically without breaking.

Extreme Macro Photos of Insect Wings by Chris Perani Layer Thousands of Images

Photographer Chris Perani creates hyper-detailed images of insect wings using an extreme macro photography technique. His series, Wings, captures the intricate, often invisible details of bee, wasp, damselfly, beetle, and butterfly wings by taking up to 2,000 photos of a single specimen and digitally stacking them for unprecedented clarity.