Painter Louis Fratino has joined the mega-gallery David Zwirner, adding the powerhouse to his existing representation by Berlin's Galerie Neu and New York's Sikkema Malloy Jenkins. This multi-gallery arrangement is a departure from the typical practice of artists severing ties with smaller galleries when aligning with a global giant.
Artist Amy Sherald has been named one of TIME magazine’s 2026 Women of the Year, a distinction honoring her leadership and commitment to equity. The recognition follows Sherald's high-profile decision to withdraw her solo exhibition, "American Sublime," from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., after the institution attempted to censor or alter the presentation of her painting 'Trans Forming Liberty' (2024) due to political pressure. The Baltimore Museum of Art subsequently stepped in to host the show, where it has since shattered all-time attendance records for the institution.
Melvin Edwards, the pioneering sculptor known for his powerful steel assemblages and "Lynch Fragments" series, has died at the age of 88 in Baltimore. Edwards was a trailblazer who reframed Minimalism by infusing it with political and cultural weight, becoming the first Black sculptor to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum in 1970. His work utilized industrial materials like chains and barbed wire to address histories of enslavement, anti-Black violence, and global conflict while maintaining a sophisticated abstract language.
This week's art industry news includes Art Basel appointing Egyptian artist Wael Shawky as artistic director of its first Middle East fair, Art Basel Qatar, running February 5–7, 2026. A new fair called Loading… debuts in Hudson, N.Y., during Upstate Art Weekend, while Vienna Contemporary names Abaseh Mirvali as artistic director. Bonhams offers material from Roy Lichtenstein's Hamptons home, and a legendary Le Birkin handbag sells for €8.5 million at Sotheby's Paris. Galleries see Hollis Taggart adding two artists, Adam Lindemann closing Venus Over Manhattan, and Berlin's Meyer Riegger and Paris's Galerie Jocelyn Wolff opening a joint Seoul gallery. Museums include the Zayed National Museum opening in Abu Dhabi, Shamim M. Momin named director of the Bronx Museum, and the Baltimore Museum of Art acquiring 150 new works. The Art Bridges Foundation and Crystal Bridges acquire 90 Indigenous artworks, and the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt opens a temporary location. In legal news, DHS officials visited the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture in Chicago.
The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., is proceeding with plans to auction major works by Georgia O'Keeffe, Arthur Dove, and Georges Seurat at Sotheby's on November 20, despite sharp backlash from former curators, members of the Phillips family, and the museum's non-governing members body. The works—including O'Keeffe's *Large Dark Red Leaves on White* (estimate $6–8 million), Seurat's conté crayon drawing ($3–5 million), and Dove's *Rose and Locust Stump* ($1.2–1.8 million)—are considered central to founder Duncan Phillips's vision. Director and CEO Jonathan Binstock argues the proceeds will fund a permanently restricted endowment for commissioning new work by living artists, acquisitions, and collection care, aligning with Duncan Phillips's belief in supporting contemporary practitioners.
The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., is proceeding with plans to sell major works by Georgia O’Keeffe, Arthur Dove, and Georges Seurat at Sotheby’s next week, despite sharp backlash from former curators, members of the Phillips family, and a faction of the museum’s non-governing members body. The works—including O’Keeffe’s *Large Dark Red Leaves on White* (1925, est. $6–8 million), Seurat’s conté crayon drawing ($3–5 million), and Dove’s *Rose and Locust Stump* (1943, est. $1.2–1.8 million)—will be offered in Sotheby’s marquee evening sales on November 20 at its new Breuer building headquarters. Additional works by Anish Kapoor, Leland Bell, Howard Mehring, Henri Fantin-Latour, Picasso, and Milton Avery will also be sold in surrounding sales. Director and CEO Jonathan Binstock, who joined in March 2023, says proceeds will fund a permanently restricted endowment for commissioning new work by living artists, acquisitions, and collection care, aligning with founder Duncan Phillips’s support for contemporary practitioners.
A rare Rembrandt counterproof print, "The Goldweigher" (1639), was discovered in a Victorian chest in the Norfolk studio of the late theater designer Alan Barlow. His son, Edward Barlow, found the print while sorting through the studio and initially assumed it was a common reproduction. After examination by Cheffins auction house, it was identified as an original preparatory print, with reversed orientation, a Strasbourg lily watermark, and black chalk lines indicating Rembrandt's hand. It will be auctioned on December 3 with an estimate of £10,000–£20,000.
Sculptor Thaddeus Mosley dies at 99.
Sculptor Thaddeus Mosley, a self-taught artist renowned for his monumental abstract wood sculptures, has died at the age of 99. Working for decades in his Pittsburgh basement, Mosley used locally sourced felled trees and traditional hand tools to create dynamic, asymmetrical forms that channeled both modernist principles and African artistic traditions. His prolific career, which began in his 30s, gained significant institutional recognition only in his later decades, culminating in a major 2022 solo exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
The art world saw a wave of significant personnel shifts and representation updates this week, highlighted by Travesía Cuatro adding Zimbabwean artist Virginia Chihota to its roster and Esther Schipper announcing representation of Saâdane Afif. Institutional moves include the Baltimore Museum of Art appointing Rhea L. Combs and Ellen McBreen to curatorial fellowships, while Joe Hill was named the new Director and CEO of Yorkshire Sculpture Park ahead of its 50th anniversary.
Sarah Miriam Peale, a member of the prominent Peale art dynasty and arguably the first professional woman artist in the United States, is finally receiving long-overdue institutional recognition. Despite a prolific sixty-year career painting portraits of political figures and still lifes in Baltimore and St. Louis, her legacy was largely overshadowed by her uncle Charles Willson Peale and her male cousins. Her independence as an unmarried woman who supported herself entirely through her craft marked a radical departure from the gender norms of the 19th century.
A replica of a Christopher Columbus statue was installed on the White House grounds under the direction of the Trump administration. The sculpture is a reproduction of a monument that was toppled and thrown into Baltimore’s Inner Harbor by protesters during the 2020 racial justice movements. Created by artist Will Hemsley using scans of the original fragments, the project was previously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and has now been placed near the West Wing as part of preparations for the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Painter Amy Sherald has publicly explained her decision to withdraw from a solo exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, citing censorship concerns. In an interview with Anderson Cooper on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Sherald revealed that the museum considered removing her painting *Trans Forming Liberty*, which depicts a Black transgender Statue of Liberty, from the show “American Sublime.” Smithsonian secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III proposed replacing the painting with a video contextualizing trans issues, which Sherald feared would include anti-trans views. She stated that any such contextualization would deviate from her original artistic vision, leaving her “only choice” to cancel the show. The controversy unfolded amid reports that the White House had ordered a review of Smithsonian exhibitions for alleged “anti-American ideology.”
Painter Amy Sherald has revealed in a "60 Minutes" interview with Anderson Cooper that she pulled out of her solo exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery because the museum considered removing her painting of a Black transgender Statue of Liberty, titled "Trans Forming Liberty." Sherald stated that the Smithsonian secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch III, proposed replacing the painting with a video discussing trans issues that would include anti-trans views, which she deemed unacceptable censorship. The exhibition, "American Sublime," was originally organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and last shown at the Whitney Museum; it is now expected to open at the Baltimore Museum of Art on November 2.
Joshua Johnson, born into slavery in Maryland around 1763, emerged in the late 18th century as the first documented Black professional artist in the United States. After gaining his freedom in 1782, Johnson established himself in Baltimore as a self-taught portraitist, advertising his services in local newspapers and catering to the city's prominent families. His body of work, consisting of approximately 83 attributed paintings, is characterized by a distinct flatness and three-quarter profile compositions typical of early American folk art.
A rare cassette tape containing one of the earliest known recordings of rapper Tupac Shakur, made in 1988 at his friend Ge-ology's home, is being auctioned by the music collecting platform Wax Poetics with an estimate of $120,000–$150,000. The sale includes other personal artifacts like handwritten lyrics and photos from Tupac's pre-fame years in Baltimore, with bidding ending February 11.
Statues of contested historical figures are being reinstalled across the United States, signaling a reversal of the monument removals sparked by the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. A replica of a Christopher Columbus statue, originally toppled in Baltimore, was recently mounted on the White House grounds near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Other planned returns include a monument to Caesar Rodney, a slave-owning Founding Father, which is set to be displayed in Washington’s Freedom Plaza this summer.
Amy Sherald's traveling mid-career survey, 'American Sublime,' has set a new attendance record at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), drawing 63,000 visitors as of early February with an expected final total of 75,000. This makes it the museum's most-attended show since 2000. The exhibition features nearly 50 grisaille portraits of Black Americans and was previously shown at SFMOMA and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) has set a new attendance record with its current exhibition, 'Amy Sherald: American Sublime,' which has drawn 52,597 visitors since opening on November 2. The previous record was held by the 'Matisse/Diebenkorn' show in 2016-2017 with about 45,700 visitors. The exhibition, a mid-career survey of Sherald's work, runs through April 5 and is projected to reach 70,000 attendees. It originated at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and traveled to the Whitney Museum of American Art before arriving in Baltimore, after Sherald canceled its planned stop at the National Portrait Gallery due to censorship concerns.
Several artists with ties to Baltimore have released new art books just in time for the holiday season. The featured publications include a debut monograph on Derrick Adams from Phaidon's Monacelli imprint, a book by rising painter Jerrell Gibbs titled 'No Solace in the Shade' published by Rizzoli, the exhibition catalogue for Amy Sherald's retrospective 'American Sublime' at the Baltimore Museum of Art, and Jackie Milad's debut art book 'Shabtis Gather' produced in partnership with BmoreArt. The article also recommends gifting a subscription to BmoreArt magazine.
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) has received a $10 million gift from the Stoneridge Foundation, founded by philanthropists Amy and Marc Meadows, to support its art education department. This is the largest single donation in the museum's history. The funds will expand educational initiatives including transportation for school visits, free family activities, a two-year pass system for students, teaching apprenticeships for undergraduates from nearby universities like the Maryland Institute College of Art, and new educator positions. The gift also supports a series of events exploring museums as civic organizations and fostering diversity in the field.
Jerrell Gibbs, a former college football player and two-time college dropout, is now the subject of his first solo museum exhibition, "No Solace in the Shade," at the Brandywine Museum of Art. The article traces his unlikely journey from working double shifts in direct care to rediscovering his passion for drawing after seeing a photo of his wife and daughter, eventually earning a spot at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and building a career as a painter.
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) has achieved a historic milestone with its exhibition 'Amy Sherald: American Sublime,' which drew 84,000 visitors between October 2025 and March 2026. This figure more than doubled the museum's initial projections and set a new record for the highest attendance of any exhibition at the institution in the 21st century. The show featured 45 large-scale portraits by the Baltimore-born artist, focusing on themes of identity and representation.
The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore has debuted "Douriean Fletcher: Jewelry of the Afrofuture," a major exhibition dedicated to the self-taught metalsmith known for her costume designs in the film Black Panther. The showcase features large-scale gold and brass pieces alongside a recreation of Fletcher’s original workbench and personal ephemera, such as family photos and her mother’s Bible. The exhibition highlights her journey from working at a social justice nonprofit to becoming an international figure in narrative jewelry.
The Baltimore Museum of Art is set to host "Fratino and Matisse: To See This Light Again," a major exhibition pairing the works of Maryland-born artist Louis Fratino with those of Henri Matisse. The show features approximately 30 works by the French master alongside Fratino’s contemporary pieces, marking the MICA graduate's first significant institutional exhibition in the United States.
The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore has opened a new exhibition titled 'From Gérôme to Monet: Stories from the 19th Century Collection' at its Hackerman House location. The show, which runs from February 7 to May 31, features 20 paintings and one sculpture drawn from the museum's own holdings, placing academic Salon paintings alongside Impressionist works to illustrate contrasting artistic philosophies of the period.
The article is a transcript or description of a podcast episode featuring an interview with painter Louis Fratino. He discusses his artistic practice, which focuses on memory, daily life, and queer identity, and cites influences from Henri Matisse to Bhupen Khakhar. He also reveals details about his studio life and answers philosophical questions about art's purpose.
Willem de Kooning's 1966 work "Kneeling Woman" has ended its bidding process, with the listing appearing on a platform that aggregates auction results and available works. The piece, an oil on paper on board measuring 23.5 by 11.5 inches, is signed and has a known provenance including Harold Diamond, a private collection in Baltimore, Solomon & Co. Fine Art, Robert Peyser, and a Sotheby's sale in 2019. It was previously exhibited at the Nassau County Museum of Art in 1981 as part of "The Abstract Expressionists and Their Precursors" show.
The exhibition "Monuments" opens this week at the Museum of Contemporary Art (Moca) and the Brick in Los Angeles, featuring decommissioned Confederate statues alongside contemporary artworks. The show includes a double monument of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson on loan from Baltimore, which required road closures and careful logistics to install, as well as works by Kara Walker, Hank Willis Thomas, and Karon Davis that recontextualize these symbols of white supremacy. Curators Hamza Walker, Bennett Simpson, and Kara Walker collaborated on the exhibition, which runs from October 23 through May 3, 2026.
The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore has appointed Katherine Larson as its chief collections and curatorial affairs officer, a newly created senior role. Larson will also serve as senior curator of Ancient Art, overseeing curatorial operations, collections, conservation, research, the exhibition calendar, and fundraising, beginning March 30.
GoFundMe created approximately 1.6 million donation pages for US nonprofits, including dozens of major art museums, without informing or obtaining consent from the institutions. Museums such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art discovered these pages only when contacted by ARTnews. The pages were optimized for web searches and charged transaction fees, potentially diverting donations from the museums' own fundraising channels. After media coverage, GoFundMe apologized, switched to an opt-in model, and removed unclaimed pages.