Art News. Vasari Codex

trending_up market schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 22 link 16 artists, 2 galleries

Christie’s $1.1 Billion Night Signals a Stunning Rebound for the Art Market

Christie’s achieved $1.1 billion in sales during a single evening auction on Monday, marking a dramatic rebound from the previous year when the three major New York auction houses combined sold that amount over the entire May season. The sale featured trophy works from the collections of S.I. Newhouse and Agnes Gund, with Jackson Pollock’s *Number 7A (1948)* selling for $181.2 million and Mark Rothko’s *No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe)* fetching $98.4 million. Despite the strong overall results, seven of the 16 works in the Newhouse sale hammered below their low estimates, and Constantin Brancusi’s *Danaïde* failed to reach its $100 million estimate, indicating price resistance even for top-tier art.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 31 link 32 artists, 3 galleries

Christie's nets $1.1bn from back-to-back S.I. Newhouse and 20th century evening sales in New York

Christie's held back-to-back evening auctions in New York, featuring the esteemed S.I. Newhouse collection and a 20th-century evening sale, achieving a combined total of $950 million (or $1.1 billion with fees). The Newhouse sale was a white-glove affair, 100% sold, though entirely backed by third-party guarantees. Highlights included Constantin Brancusi's bronze 'Danaïde' (1913) selling for $107.5 million with fees, a record for the artist, and Pablo Picasso's 'Tête de femme (Fernande)' fetching $48.3 million. Other top lots included works by Piet Mondrian, Joan Miró, Henri Matisse, Francis Bacon, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and Jackson Pollock, with many going to anonymous telephone bidders.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 25 link 20 artists, 2 galleries

Christie’s Double-Header Totals $1.1 B., With Several Trophy Works Notching New Records

Christie’s held two evening sales on Monday—the S.I. Newhouse collection and a 20th-century art sale—that together generated $1.1 billion across 64 lots. The Newhouse tranche alone made $630.8 million, bringing the cumulative total of the collection to over $1 billion, making it likely the most expensive collection ever sold at auction after Paul Allen’s $1.7 billion blockbuster. Top lots included Jackson Pollock’s *Number 7A, 1948* at $181.2 million (the fourth most expensive painting ever sold at auction), Constantin Brâncuși’s *Danaïde* at $107.6 million, and a Mark Rothko work at $98.4 million.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule May 1, 2026 visibility 58 link 17 artists, 1 gallery

The Marcel Duchamps That Got Away: On Collecting His Work and the Sprawling MoMA Show

The article recounts the author's personal experience as a collector who passed up the opportunity to buy a complete set of Marcel Duchamp's readymades at a 2002 Phillips de Pury and Luxembourg auction. The set, editioned by dealer Arturo Schwartz in 1964, included iconic works like *Fountain* and *Bicycle Wheel*, but the sale was a financial failure, with many pieces bought-in or selling for far below expectations. The author later acquired some of the unsold works privately. The piece is framed around the concurrent Duchamp exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art and Gagosian.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule May 1, 2026 visibility 53 link 22 artists, 1 gallery

Artist Foundations’ Net Worth Has Nearly Tripled to $9 B., Led by Cy Twombly Foundation’s $1.5 B. in Art and Assets

New research from the Aspen Institute’s Artist-Endowed Foundation Initiative (AEFI) reveals that artist-endowed foundations in the U.S. now control roughly $9 billion in assets, nearly triple the $3.5 billion reported in 2011 and up 17% from $7.7 billion in 2018. The Cy Twombly Foundation leads with $1.5 billion in art and assets, followed by foundations for Alexander Calder, Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, and Robert Rauschenberg, each holding over $500 million. The data, drawn from public tax forms, shows that just five of roughly 500 foundations account for more than half the total, with most established by postwar American artists born before 1931.

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trending_up market schedule May 1, 2026 visibility 56 link 35 artists, 1 gallery

The 20 Most Expensive Artworks Hitting the Auction Block This Season

The May 2026 New York auctions at Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips will feature 20 high-value lots priced at $30 million or more, including works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Cy Twombly, Gerhard Richter, and others. The sales are staggered around the Venice Biennale and Frieze New York, with Sotheby’s holding its contemporary evening auction on May 14 and Christie’s its 20th-century sale on May 18. Notable consignments come from the estates of S.I. Newhouse, former MoMA board president Agnes Gund, and dealer Marian Goodman.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 30, 2026 visibility 53 link 15 artists, 1 gallery

Picasso Painting That Cost S. I. Newhouse a MoMA Board Position Heads to Christie’s for $55 M.

Christie’s New York will auction 16 masterpieces from the collection of late Condé Nast magnate S. I. Newhouse on May 18, with an estimated total of $450 million. The highlight is Pablo Picasso’s Cubist painting *Homme à la guitare* (1913), estimated at $35–55 million, which Newhouse acquired in 2000 for $10 million after MoMA sold it from its collection. Newhouse, then a MoMA board member, violated museum policy by buying the work and subsequently resigned from the board.

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trending_up market schedule May 18, 2026 visibility 34 link 9 artists, 3 galleries

Mark Rothko Painting Agnes Gund Hung in Her Living Room Sells for $98 M., Setting a Record

A Mark Rothko painting, *No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe)* (1964), formerly owned by prominent art patron and Museum of Modern Art president emerita Agnes Gund, sold at Christie’s on Monday night for $98.4 million (including fees). The work, which Gund purchased directly from Rothko in 1967 and kept in her living room until her death last September, received about a dozen bids before hammering at $85 million to a buyer represented by Christie’s specialist Rachael White Young. The sale broke Rothko’s previous auction record of $86.9 million set in 2012 for *Orange, Red, Yellow* (1961), also at Christie’s New York.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 11, 2026 source 6 sources visibility 33 link 28 artists, 17 galleries

The 17 Gallery Shows to See During Frieze Week in New York

Frieze New York has drawn collectors, curators, and art enthusiasts to the city, but this article highlights 17 gallery shows across Manhattan that are worth seeing during the fair week. Featured exhibitions include Katharina Fritsch's return to Matthew Marks with monumental sculptures, Kim Dacres' tire-based busts at Charles Moffett, Sasha Brodsky's debut solo show at Margot Samel, Jasper Johns' "Copy/Trace" at David Zwirner, and Lucia Hierro's packing-box sculptures at Marc Straus, among others.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 8, 2026 visibility 44 link 6 artists, 1 gallery

Frank Stella’s Personal Collection of Navajo Textiles Goes on View for the First Time

A selection of Navajo textiles from the personal collection of minimalist artist Frank Stella is being exhibited and sold for the first time. The 55 textiles, dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, will be on view at Arader Galleries in New York from May 15 to June 10, then travel to Peter Pap Rugs in New Hampshire in June. Priced between $6,500 and $25,000, the collection includes a large 19th-century blanket that Stella lent to a seminal 1972 exhibition at LACMA. Stella began collecting these works in the mid-1960s after being introduced to Navajo art by Donald Judd and Tony Berlant.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 11, 2026 visibility 36 link 7 artists, 1 gallery

Frank Stella’s eye-dazzling collection of Navajo weavings to go on view

An exhibition of Navajo (Diné) weavings from the collection of the late artist Frank Stella opens on 15 May at Peter Pap Rugs at Arader Galleries in New York City, running until 10 June. The show features 40 weavings from the 19th and early 20th centuries, acquired by Stella over four decades for their optical effects and resonance with his own work. Organized by dealer Peter Pap in collaboration with Stella’s widow Harriet McGurk, the exhibition also includes geometric drawings by Stella from the 1960s, on loan from the Frank Stella Estate.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Apr 27, 2026 visibility 57 link 25 artists, 1 gallery

“Primary Structures,” Turns 60

On April 28, 1966, The New York Times published a review by conservative critic Hilton Kramer of the Jewish Museum's exhibition “Primary Structures,” organized by curator Kynaston McShine. Kramer, disdainful of contemporary art, described the 42 American and British artists as rejecting personal expression and subjective inflection, yet he acknowledged the show as the first comprehensive glimpse of a style that would define the 1960s. The exhibition featured then-little-known artists including Carl Andre, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Walter De Maria, Robert Morris, Anne Truitt, John McCracken, Larry Bell, Robert Smithson, Judy Chicago, Philip King, Michael Bolus, and David Annesley, and is now recognized as the ur-survey of Minimalism—a term McShine deliberately avoided.

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trending_up market schedule May 20, 2026 visibility 11 link 10 artists

Behind Christie’s $1 B. Blockbuster Result, the Market Still Looks Uneven

Christie’s New York achieved over $1 billion in sales during a two-part evening auction, led by Jackson Pollock’s *Number 7A, 1948* which sold for $181.2 million. The sale, the first billion-dollar night since the Paul G. Allen collection in 2022, also saw records for other works and active bidding from a small group of buyers, including dealer Jeffrey Deitch. However, the blockbuster results mask a more cautious middle market, where works priced between $100,000 and $1 million remain slow to sell.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 4, 2026 visibility 33 link 12 artists

Next stop – infinity! My transcendental experience on Japan’s ‘art island’ guided by its master Lee Ufan

The article profiles Korean-born artist Lee Ufan, who turns 90 next month, and his transcendental art on Japan's Naoshima island. It describes his upcoming major shows: a retrospective in Venice coinciding with the Biennale, and an exhibition at Dia Beacon in New York. Lee, a key figure in the Mono-ha movement, creates works like the steel arch "Porte Vers l'Infini" on Naoshima that engage with nature and perception. The piece traces his career from early violent, resistant sculptures involving cracked glass and boulders to later meditative paintings and installations.

newspaper The Guardian open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule May 15, 2026 visibility 18 link 58 artists, 22 galleries

New York Is About to Sell $3 Billion in Art. Who’s Buying?

Vanity Fair's Nate Freeman reports on New York's spring art season, where auction houses are poised to sell at least $2.6 billion in art alongside major museum exhibitions (Raphael at the Met, Duchamp at MoMA, Matisse at Acquavella) and the opening of Frieze New York at The Shed. The article follows the social and commercial frenzy, highlighting a David Shrigley gong installation at Anton Kern Gallery's booth and the enduring dominance of New York, where nearly 90% of U.S. art sales occur.

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trending_up market schedule May 12, 2026 visibility 28 link 67 artists, 3 galleries

The Top Collections Leading the May Marquee Auctions

The article reports that the May 2025 marquee auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's are being driven by a resurgence of major single-owner collections, reversing a period of trophy scarcity in the secondary market. Key collections include the $130 million Robert E. Mnuchin collection at Sotheby's, the personal collection of gallerist Marian Goodman at Christie's, and the S.I. Newhouse collection expected to generate around $450 million, featuring Jackson Pollock's 'Number 7A (1948)' and Constantin Brancusi's 'Danaïde (1913)'. The article notes that the ultra-high tier above $10 million rose 30% year-on-year, and single-owner collections in New York auctions totaled $730.9 million, an 89.9% increase from Q1 2025.

newspaper observer.com open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule May 2, 2026 visibility 28 link 12 artists, 1 gallery

At MAXXI L'Aquila, exhibition dedicated to Ai Weiwei recounts catastrophes and memory

From April 29 to September 6, 2026, MAXXI L'Aquila presents "AI WEIWEI: Aftershock," an exhibition curated by Tim Marlow featuring approximately seventy works by Chinese artist, architect, and activist Ai Weiwei. The show spans his entire career, focusing on themes of earthquakes, wars, political repression, and memory. The centerpiece is the installation "Straight" (2009–2012), made from 150 tons of steel rods recovered from schools that collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, displayed across three rooms. The exhibition is held at Palazzo Ardinghelli, a Baroque building that houses MAXXI L'Aquila and was itself restored after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, creating a dialogue between the works and the building's history of recovery.

newspaper Finestre sull'Arte open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule May 1, 2026 visibility 41 link 16 artists, 1 gallery

Expanded Vocabulary: Revisiting Deborah Kass’ Studio

The article recounts the author's visit to Deborah Kass's Brooklyn studio, which she shares with her wife, artist Patricia Cronin. The visit was prompted by logistical issues related to the author's exhibition "Social Minimalism" (2025). During the visit, the author and Kass revisited themes central to Kass's work over three decades: the exclusion of women from art history, Jewish identity, queer voice, lesbian subjectivity, and postwar American art. The conversation also touched on Kass's series including the Warhol Project, Feel Good Paintings, No Kidding, and the large painting/sculpture installation "Everybody" (2019), which was recently featured in a conversation between Kass and Titus Kaphar in Interview magazine.

newspaper Glasstire open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule May 18, 2026 visibility 10 link 8 artists, 1 gallery

Christie’s S. I. Newhouse Sale Totals $630.8 M., Bringing Cumulative Total to $1 B.

Christie’s evening auction of 16 works from media magnate S.I. Newhouse’s collection totaled $630.8 million with fees, setting multiple records. The top lot was Jackson Pollock’s *Number 7A, 1948*, which sold for $181.2 million after a 10-minute bidding war, more than doubling Pollock’s previous auction record. Other highlights included Constantin Brâncuși’s *Danaïde* (ca. 1913), which set a new record for the artist at an undisclosed price above $82 million, and strong results for works by Joan Miró, Jasper Johns, and Pablo Picasso.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 15, 2026 visibility 21 link 22 artists, 10 galleries

Inside TEFAF New York’s Annual Wealth Pageant

The 12th annual TEFAF New York fair took place at the Park Avenue Armory from May 15 to 19, attracting wealthy collectors with a mix of blue-chip art, design objects, and jewelry. Highlights included Kathleen Ryan's bejeweled 'Bad Fruit' sculptures at Gagosian, Cai Guo-Qiang's gunpowder paintings at White Cube (which sold 11 of 12 works), Sheila Hicks's textiles at Demisch Danant, and a new David Hockney painting at Annely Juda Fine Art. The fair featured 88 galleries from 14 countries, with VIP previews drawing art advisors and high-net-worth clients.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 8 link 1 artist, 2 galleries

Julie Mehretu and John Jasperse Find Common Ground

Julie Mehretu, the celebrated abstract painter, and John Jasperse, a noted choreographer, are collaborating on a joint project at Marian Goodman Gallery in New York. The article explores how the two artists are working together to merge visual art and dance, asking how they can bring something productive to each other’s creative practices.

newspaper New York Times Art open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule May 23, 2026 visibility 4 link 27 artists, 2 galleries

Opinion: In galleries across Canada, too much art is being hidden away

Don LePan, a novelist, book publisher, and painter, argues that public art galleries across Canada are failing to display their permanent collections, using the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina as a prime example. During a visit in early March, LePan found that none of the gallery's extensive permanent collection—which includes works by Group of Seven artists, European masters like Picasso and Gauguin, and modernists such as Agnes Martin—was on view. Instead, the entire exhibition space was devoted to three special shows: a photographic and conceptual art exhibition by Plains Cree artist Joi T. Arcand, a selection of works by 2025 Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts recipients, and an Indigenous art exhibition. LePan praises these exhibits but criticizes the gallery's decision to completely exclude its permanent collection.

newspaper The Globe and Mail open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule May 12, 2026 visibility 31 link 19 artists, 4 galleries

Archie Rand On the Irreducibility of Painting in a Post-Digital Age

Archie Rand, now in his late 70s, recently held his first extensive solo show in years at Jarvis Art in New York, featuring his new body of work titled "Heads." The exhibition reclaims painting's primordial function, emphasizing the connection between brain and hands, imagination and reality. Rand, who emerged from the downtown New York scene in the late 1970s and early '80s, has witnessed the full postwar evolution of American art. His career includes a pivotal synagogue mural commission that led to backlash from the Orthodox community and a break with critic Clement Greenberg, pushing him toward representational forms. He found allies in figures like Philip Guston and John Ashbery, and after his wife's death ten years ago, began reflecting on mortality and childhood influences.

newspaper observer.com open_in_new Read original

article local schedule May 21, 2026 visibility 7 link 13 artists, 1 gallery

Fairfield University Art Museum invites readers to private tour

Fairfield University Art Museum is offering an exclusive private tour to readers, as reported by the Westport Journal. The event provides a behind-the-scenes look at the museum's collections and exhibitions, allowing attendees to engage directly with curators and artworks in an intimate setting.

newspaper Westport Journal open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule May 4, 2026 visibility 32 link 20 artists, 1 gallery

SFMOMA reimagines our connection to 250 works of art across four floors.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has unveiled "Reimagined: The Fisher Collection at 10," a major reinstallation of approximately 250 works from 35 artists across four floors. The project was led by project assistant curator Ted Mann and chief education and public engagement officer Gamynne Guillotte, who collaborated to transform how the collection is presented. Changes include rotating galleries, such as the Agnes Martin room, to improve sightlines, and incorporating artists' voices, archival video, and interpretive tools to make abstract works more accessible. The reinstallation marks the tenth anniversary of the Fisher Collection's long-term loan to SFMOMA, originally arranged in 2009 and later extended to 100 years.

newspaper 7x7 Bay Area open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Apr 28, 2026 visibility 26 link 6 artists

“Drifting Until Caught” at Brooklyn Navy Yard: Three Artists and the Objectivity of Method

Three artists—Veronika Georgieva, Stephen j Shanabrook, and Shura Skaya—have transformed an industrial venue at the Brooklyn Navy Yard into a pop-up exhibition titled “Drifting Until Caught.” The show, accessible only by appointment, features works that range from pressed plastic sculptures and chocolate casts to wax crayon drawings and acrylic paintings, all exploring the boundary between figuration and abstraction. Each artist employs mechanical or chance-based methods, such as Shanabrook’s hydraulic press or Georgieva’s video projections, to create images that embrace distortion and materiality.

newspaper Fine Art Globe open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule May 9, 2026 visibility 13 link 17 artists, 3 galleries

Hunterdon Art Museum presents three new exhibitions: Claybash, Emily Strong, and Bascha Mon

The Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, New Jersey, will open three new exhibitions on May 17, 2026: 'Claybash,' a triennial juried ceramics exhibition; a solo show of figurative paintings by Emily Strong; and 'Mindscapes,' a solo exhibition of works by 93-year-old artist Bascha Mon. Emily Strong's show features large-scale realist oil paintings that explore themes of cultural identity, gender, and human relationships, with QR codes linking to interviews with her models. 'Claybash' includes 40 artists selected by curator Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, with cash prizes awarded. Bascha Mon's exhibition highlights her six-decade career of imaginative, color-driven work.

newspaper NewJerseyStage.com open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule May 7, 2026 visibility 16 link 39 artists, 3 galleries

Your guide to Christie's 20/21 auction week in New York

Christie's is holding its 20/21 auction week in New York from May 9–22, 2026, featuring seven live auctions and two online sales at its Rockefeller Center galleries. Highlights include the dedicated sale "MASTERPIECES: The Private Collection of S.I. Newhouse" (led by Constantin Brancusi's *Danaïde* and Jackson Pollock's *Number 7A, 1948*), the Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale, and "Defined Space: The Collection of Henry S. McNeil, Jr.," which focuses on Minimalist works by Donald Judd and Dan Flavin. Other consignors include prominent collectors Agnes Gund, Marian Goodman, and Joanna Carson. The public can view works for free from May 9–21.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 6 link 10 artists

Nicole Kidman's Billion-Dollar Breakfast at Christie's

Christie's held a record-setting evening sale on May 18, 2025, that generated over $1 billion, featuring a promotional video starring Nicole Kidman. Jackson Pollock's drip painting "Number 7A, 1948" sold for $181.2 million, nearly tripling the artist's previous auction record, while Constantin Brancusi's bronze bust "Danaïde" (c. 1913) fetched $107.6 million, becoming the second most expensive sculpture ever sold. The works came from the collection of late magazine magnate S.I. Newhouse, and a Rothko from Agnes Gund's collection also set a new artist record at $98.4 million.

newspaper Hyperallergic open_in_new Read original

candle obituary schedule May 10, 2026 visibility 22 link 21 artists, 1 gallery

È morto Bruno Bischofberger, il gallerista e collezionista svizzero che fece lavorare assieme Warhol e Basquiat

Bruno Bischofberger, the influential Swiss gallerist and collector, has died at age 86. A pivotal figure in the contemporary art market, he opened his first gallery in Zurich in 1963 and was instrumental in introducing American Pop Art to Europe, exhibiting Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Rauschenberg. He later championed Minimalism, Land Art, and Neo-Expressionism, representing artists like Sol LeWitt, Donald Judd, and Francesco Clemente. Most famously, Bischofberger discovered Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1981 and orchestrated the legendary collaboration between Warhol, Basquiat, and Clemente. His close relationship with Warhol included a first-refusal agreement on future works and the suggestion of standardized portrait commissions that became Warhol's primary income source.

newspaper Artribune open_in_new Read original