100 Masterpieces to See at the Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago has released a curated guide to 100 essential masterpieces within its massive one-million-square-foot campus. The selection spans global art history, ranging from ancient Egyptian mummies and Greek statues to iconic American sculptures like Edward Kemeys’s bronze lions and Narcissa Niblack Thorne’s intricate miniature rooms. The list is designed to help visitors navigate the museum's vast collection by grouping works by their physical location within the galleries.

8 standout art books to gift and keep this season

The article highlights eight standout art books recommended for gifting this season, covering a range of topics from architectural deep dives and contemporary art to fashion histories and experimental catalogs. Featured titles include "All of Us Stars: Bobby Busnach," a photo book capturing the gritty glamour of 1970s Upper West Side nightlife, and "Christopher Wool: See Stop Run," an exhibition catalog documenting Wool's unconventional 2024 show in a Manhattan office tower. Other books span monographs, boundary-pushing catalogs, and fashion histories, each offering unique perspectives on visual culture.

One of Van Gogh’s greatest watercolours could achieve a record price

Sotheby's New York will auction Vincent van Gogh's watercolor *The Harvest in Provence* (June 1888) on May 19, with an estimate of $25–35 million. The work, larger and more elaborate than a related watercolor at Harvard, was created just days before van Gogh's celebrated oil painting of the same scene. It is signed and titled, suggesting the artist considered it a finished piece rather than a mere study, and he sent it to his brother Theo before completing the oil version.

15 Van Gogh Masterpieces that Set Auction Records

ARTnews published a listicle on May 19, 2026, detailing 15 Van Gogh masterpieces that set auction records, from *Landscape with Rising Sun* (1985) to *Portrait of Dr. Gachet* (1990). The article recounts landmark sales including *Sunflowers* ($39.9 million in 1987), *Irises* ($53.9 million in 1987), and *Portrait of Dr. Gachet* ($82.5 million in 1990), highlighting the buyers, provenance, and institutional homes such as the Sompo Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum.

At a Powerful Carnegie International, Solidarity Is a Means of Survival

The 2026 Carnegie International, titled “If the word we,” opened at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, featuring 61 artists from around the world. Curated by Ryan Inouye, Liz Park, and Danielle A. Jackson, the exhibition emphasizes collective survival and interdependence, with works including Khalil Rabah’s video about Palestinian resilience, Shala Miller’s abstraction inspired by Toni Morrison, and a performance by Brooke O’Harra and collaborators celebrating teamwork through a historic basketball dunk by Julius Erving. The show extends to three other venues, including the Mattress Factory, where married artists Claudia Martinez Garay and Artur Kameya present a sprawling installation.

black dandyism art history met gala 2025

The article previews the 2025 Met Gala, which coincides with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style." The gala's dress code will celebrate Black dandyism, inspired by Monica L. Miller's 2009 book *Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity*. Co-chairs include actor Colman Domingo, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, rapper A$AP Rocky, and musician Pharrell Williams. The exhibition, guest-curated by Miller, will feature historical and contemporary clothing, artworks, and photographs organized into 12 sections such as "Respectability," "Disguise," and "Cool." The article also highlights five art historical examples of Black dandyism, including a 1772 portrait of Julius Soubise.

5 Highlights of Art Düsseldorf

5 Highlights der Art Düsseldorf

The Art Düsseldorf contemporary art fair has opened its latest edition, showcasing a diverse range of works that balance humor with urgent political and global themes. Highlights from the fair include Christian Jankowski’s monumental sculptures based on children's clay models at Galerie Crone, Julian Charrière’s environmentally conscious installations at Dittrich & Schlechtriem, and Jody Korbach’s satirical paintings that reference German art history and pub culture at Petra Martinez.

pope francis contemporary art obituary

Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, has died at age 88. A Jesuit priest from Argentina, he was the first pope from the Americas and the first from outside Europe since the 8th century. During his papacy, he took progressive stances on social justice, migrants, the environment, and the LGBTQ community, and also engaged deeply with contemporary art. He oversaw the Vatican Museums, ordered the return of Parthenon marble fragments to Greece, restored Raphael frescoes, and became the first pope to visit the Venice Biennale, where the Vatican had its first-ever pavilion in 2013.

steve wilson art collector 21c museum hotels

Steve Wilson, founder of 21c Museum Hotels, and his wife Laura Lee Brown share their eclectic art collection in a CULTURED interview. Wilson recounts his early start in collecting with a Picasso poster bought as a college freshman after a discouraging art teacher, and how he and Brown now live with over 100 works in their Kentucky home, including provocative pieces like Kendell Geers’s champagne glasses cast from the artist’s erect penis. The couple’s collection also spans works by Kehinde Wiley, David Hockney, Andy Warhol, and many others, displayed salon-style across their residence.

art hamptons exhibition guide summer

The article is a summer exhibition guide for the Hamptons, highlighting seven shows running from August through October 2025. Featured artists include Mary Heilmann at Guild Hall, Frank O’Hara and Larry Rivers at Pollock-Krasner House, Alix Pearlstein at Arts Center at Duck Creek, Sarah Sze at Landcraft Garden Foundation, Joseph Hart at Halsey McKay, and Francesco Clemente at Tripoli Gallery in collaboration with Vito Schnabel Gallery. Each entry provides dates, a brief description, and insider tips for visitors.

art yuji agematsu judd foundation review

The article reviews Yuji Agematsu's exhibition at the Judd Foundation in New York, where 366 of his "zips"—small assemblages of found objects collected during daily walks and arranged in cigarette cellophane sleeves—were displayed on open aluminum shelves in grids representing each day of 2024. The show ran through August 30, 2025, and marked a departure from previous presentations of Agematsu's work, which had been enclosed in acrylic cases; here, the zips were left exposed, with a fan causing plant matter to sway, making the work feel more alive and immediate.

art glenn ligon aspen

Glenn Ligon, the New York–based artist known for probing identity and language through neons, canvases, and essays, is featured on the cover of Cultured's 2025 Aspen issue. He will receive the 2025 Lewis Family Art Award at the Aspen Art Museum's ArtCrush gala this August, and a solo exhibition of his work focusing on self-portraiture and text will open at the Aspen Art Museum this winter. In an interview, Ligon discusses the current American psyche, his artist-driven institutional roots, and his creative process with curator Daniel Merritt.

The story of London's Great Exhibition, as seen through the eyes of artists

Julius Bryant’s new book, the fourth volume in his history of the Victoria and Albert Museum, re-examines the 1851 Great Exhibition through its visual legacy. By analyzing paintings, prints, and ephemera—including the vast archive of Charles Wentworth Dilke—Bryant reconstructs the 'Crystal Palace' experience, highlighting the youth of its organizers and the staggering speed of its construction. The narrative shifts focus away from traditional social theory toward the actual visual evidence of the event, from David Roberts’s massive panoramic paintings to the 235 sculptures that defined the era's artistic output.

Jewish Heirs File Suit in French Court Over Ownership of Pissarro Painting

jewish heirs file suite french court met ownership pissarro painting

Seven heirs of the late department store magnate and art collector Max Julius Braunthal have filed a lawsuit in a French court, seeking to nullify the 1941 sale of Camille Pissarro's painting 'Haystacks, Morning, Eragny' (1899). They argue the sale was made under duress during the Nazi occupation of France. The painting is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which maintains Braunthal received fair market value.

10 art restorations in 2025

In 2025, a series of major art restorations unveiled transformative discoveries in masterpieces by Caravaggio, Raphael, and Artemisia Gentileschi, among others. Caravaggio's final work, *The Martyrdom of St. Ursula* (1610), owned by Intesa Sanpaolo, was cleaned ahead of Rome's "Caravaggio 2025" exhibition, revealing hidden faces and a soldier's helmet previously only visible by x-ray. At the Vatican Museums, a decade-long restoration of the Raphael Rooms concluded with the revelation that two allegorical figures in the Hall of Constantine were painted by Raphael himself, not just his assistants, rewriting art history. Meanwhile, Artemisia Gentileschi's *Hercules and Omphale* (ca. 1635–37), damaged in the Beirut explosion, underwent emergency conservation by the Getty.

architecture houses lost los angeles fires

A week after wildfires erupted across Los Angeles, the city remains under critical threat as the Pacific Palisades, Eaton, Hollywood Hills, and San Fernando Valley fires have forced the evacuation of roughly 200,000 residents, destroyed about 12,000 buildings, and claimed at least 24 lives. Among the losses are culturally and architecturally significant structures, including the Bunny Museum in Altadena, the historic Will Rogers ranch, the Altadena Community Church (designed by Harry L. Pierce), the Andrew McNally House (a Queen Anne-style mansion by Frederick Roehrig), Richard Neutra's Benedict and Nancy Freedman House, and Gregory Ain's Park Planned Homes in Altadena. Adrian Scott Fine of the Los Angeles Conservancy described the destruction as "a mass erasure of heritage."

ebony l haynes zwirner global head of curatorial projects

Ebony L. Haynes, a director at David Zwirner since 2020 and founder of the gallery's affiliated space 52 Walker in 2021, has been promoted to the newly created position of global head of curatorial projects. In this role, she will oversee special exhibitions, projects, and collaborations with Zwirner's artists globally, while continuing to direct 52 Walker in New York's Tribeca neighborhood. The space has hosted 16 shows since opening in October 2021, featuring artists such as Kandis Williams, Nikita Gale, Nora Turato, and Raymond Pettibon, whose wrestling-themed drawings and live matches open tonight.

turner rediscovered masterpiece auction

A rediscovered oil painting by J.M.W. Turner, titled *The Rising Squall, Hot Wells, from St Vincent’s Rock, Bristol*, sold for £1.9 million ($2.6 million) at Sotheby’s Old Masters and 19th Century Paintings evening auction in London—more than six times its high estimate. The work, painted in 1792 when Turner was 17, had been misattributed and sold for just $506 at a Dreweatts auction the previous year. After cleaning revealed Turner’s signature, scholars confirmed its authenticity, and it was identified as Turner’s first publicly exhibited oil painting, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1793. The winning bidder was a private collector in the U.K., outbidding Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, which had raised over £100,000 from donors in a failed attempt to acquire the work.

michelangelo 550 birthday headlines

Artnet News rounds up recent headlines involving Renaissance master Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni as institutions prepare to celebrate his 550th birthday in 2025. The article highlights three stories: a scene in HBO's *The White Lotus* season three finale that echoes Michelangelo's *Pietà*; the ongoing scholarly debate over whether Michelangelo himself forged the ancient sculpture *Laocoön and His Sons*; and the restoration of Michelangelo's family tomb at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence ahead of his birthday.

superfine met museum costume institute black dandy

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute will open "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" on May 10, an exhibition tracing over 300 years of Black dandyism. The show features around a dozen paintings, fashions, works on paper, photography, sculpture, and decorative objects, including a 1758 portrait of Roch Aza, a ten-year-old enslaved boy from Martinique, depicted in elegant livery alongside his enslaver. The exhibition examines how well-dressed Black figures appeared in European art as symbols of their owners' wealth and status during the transatlantic slave trade, and how subsequent generations have reappropriated and subverted that imagery.

Segregation stories: Gordon Parks in the US south – in pictures

Jackson Fine Art in Atlanta is hosting "Gordon Parks: The South in Colour," a major exhibition curated by photographer Dawoud Bey. The show features over 30 works from Parks’ seminal 1956 "Segregation Story" series, including several previously unshown images of the Thornton, Causey, and Tanner families in Alabama. The exhibition coincides with the 70th anniversary of the series' original publication in Life magazine and the 20th anniversary of The Gordon Parks Foundation.

Venice off the beaten track

The article highlights collateral exhibitions at the 2024 Venice Biennale that take place beyond the main venues of the Giardini and Arsenale, offering visitors unexpected discoveries in historic Venetian palazzos and warehouses. Featured shows include Hernan Bas's 'The Visitors' at Ca' Pesaro, exploring tourism's contradictions; 'Turandot: To the Daughters of the East' at Palazzo Franchetti, a group exhibition of women artists from Central Asia; and Amoako Boafo's first solo show in Italy at Palazzo Grimani, presented by Gagosian.

Art Basel Paris 2025 Public Program transforms the city – watch the video

Art Basel Paris 2025 will present a free public program across multiple iconic Parisian venues from October 21-26. Highlights include a multidisciplinary installation by Turner Prize-winning British artist Helen Marten at the Palais d'Iéna, presented by Miu Miu; exhibitions by Fabienne Verdier and a group show curated by Matthieu Poirier at the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine; seven monumental sculptures on Avenue Winston Churchill featuring works by Leiko Ikemura, Thomas Houseago, and Arlene Shechet; and quirky sculptures by Julius von Bismarck at the Petit Palais.

Switzerland’s flagship fair brings the art world to town

The article recounts a journalist's trip to Switzerland for Art Basel 2025 and the surrounding satellite events, including Zurich Art Weekend and visits to galleries and museums in Zurich and Bern. It highlights the participation of Canadian galleries like Catriona Jeffries and Eli Kerr, as well as encounters with artists such as Jeffrey Gibson, Monster Chetwynd, and Pipilotti Rist. The tour covers institutional highlights like the Kunsthalle Zürich, Kunsthaus Zürich, Zentrum Paul Klee, and the Kunstmuseum Bern, with exhibitions featuring Carol Rama, Kurt Schwitters, and Tai Shani.

Your Australian art guide for May 2026 is here

May 2026 brings a packed calendar of art exhibitions across Australia, with highlights including Rone's 'Another TIME' at COMA Gallery in Sydney, the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes at the Art Gallery of NSW, and solo shows by Eleanor Louise Butt, Jordan Gogos, Natalya Hughes, Patricia Piccinini, and Michaela Gleave. Regional venues like Bundanon and Ngununggula also feature major exhibitions, including a posthumous show of Rosalie Gascoigne alongside new commissions by First Nations women artists.

Master of Madonnas and the Market

Meister der Madonnen und des Marktes

A major exhibition titled "Raphael: Sublime Poetry" has opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, exploring how the Renaissance master Raphael's work was deeply intertwined with money, prestige, and patronage. The show traces his career from early mentorship under his father and influences from Leonardo da Vinci to his rivalry with Michelangelo, highlighting commissions from wealthy supporters like the aristocrat Elena Duglioli and Pope Leo X, who commissioned Raphael's extravagant tapestries for the Sistine Chapel.

Were the Popes Art History’s Ultimate Collectors?

A new exhibition, "Bernini i Barberini," at Rome's Palazzo Barberini explores the profound artistic partnership between Pope Urban VIII and the young sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. This relationship, beginning in 1623, led to decades of Baroque masterpieces that transformed Rome's architecture and urban design, showcasing the papacy's use of art as a tool of power and propaganda.

stahl house los angeles for sale

The Stahl House, the iconic midcentury modern home in the Hollywood Hills also known as Case Study House No. 22, has been listed for sale for the first time in its 65-year history. The property, designed by architect Pierre Koenig and immortalized in a famous photograph by Julius Shulman, is priced at $25 million. Siblings Shari and Bruce Stahl, who grew up in the house, are selling it due to the challenges of maintaining it as they age. The home was originally built for $37,651 as part of Arts and Architecture magazine's Case Study program and remains the only one in the program still under original family ownership.

art bites michelangelo military fortifications

Michelangelo, best known for masterpieces like the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the Pietà, also served as the governor and procurator general of fortifications for Florence in 1529, tasked with designing military defenses against the Medici family. After the Medici were expelled in 1527, Michelangelo joined the "Nine of the Militia" committee, but his overly complex drawings were so impractical that almost none were built. The Medici, backed by Pope Clement VII, successfully besieged Florence in 1529–30, forcing Michelangelo into hiding in a secret chamber beneath the Medici Chapel, where he drew figurative works rediscovered in 1975. He was eventually pardoned and went on to create major commissions like the tomb of Pope Julius II and The Last Judgement, but left Florence for Rome in 1534.

raphael rooms restoration discovery

The Vatican Museums have completed the decade-long restoration of the Hall of Constantine, one of the Raphael Rooms, revealing that Renaissance master Raphael himself painted two figures—Justice and Friendship—in the hall, contrary to the long-held belief that the entire room was executed solely by his assistants after his death. Conservators identified Raphael's hand by his distinctive oil-on-resin technique, which differed from the traditional fresco methods used by his assistants Giulio Romano, Gianfrancesco Penni, and Raffaellino del Colle. The discovery was made during a meticulous restoration that began in March 2015 and finished in December 2024.