10 power players paris
The inaugural edition of Paris+ by Art Basel has opened in Paris, marking a significant shift in the city's art fair landscape. The article profiles ten key figures instrumental in shaping the French art market, including fair director Clément Delépine, dealer and committee president Marion Papillon, and institutional leaders like Suzanne Pagé of the Fondation Louis Vuitton and Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel of Lafayette Anticipations.
The private collection of Hollywood icons Kathryn and Bing Crosby sold at Sotheby's for $6.7 million on December 18. The white-glove auction, held at Sotheby's new Breuer Building location on Manhattan's Upper East Side, surpassed its pre-sale high estimate of $6.3 million, with two-thirds of the lots exceeding their high estimates. The nearly 200-lot sale featured fine art, furnishings, and collectibles, with the top lot being Alfred James Munnings' painting *On the Moors* (1914), which sold for $1.2 million. Other highlights included works by Charles Marion Russell, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Corot, as well as nearly 50 lots of Fabergé items that achieved $2 million in sales.
Art dealer Jeffrey Deitch shared his impressions of New York's $2.2 billion auction week, praising Sotheby's for its acquisition of the Breuer Building and the intimate atmosphere of its new salesroom. He highlighted the $527 million sale of Leonard A. Lauder's collection, the presence of major figures like Patrick Drahi, Larry Gagosian, and the Mugrabi clan, and lauded auctioneer Ollie Barker's skill. Deitch contrasted the experience with the old days of auction-going, noting the excitement and club-like feeling.
Acquavella Galleries in Manhattan has unveiled a major exhibition featuring over 50 works by Henri Matisse, many of which are rarely seen pieces drawn from private collections. This comprehensive survey includes paintings, drawings, and sculptures that span the artist's prolific career, offering a unique glimpse into works that typically remain behind closed doors.
The Museum Brandhorst in Munich has opened "Five Friends," a major exhibition exploring the interconnected creative and personal relationships among John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Cy Twombly. Spanning 180 works from the late 1940s through the 1970s, the show includes paintings, sculptures, costumes, musical scores, photographs, and letters, beginning with Cage's silent composition 4'33" and Rauschenberg's White Painting. It is the first exhibition to bring these five figures together, drawing on loans from Cologne's Museum Ludwig and U.S. institutions, and coincides with the centenary of Rauschenberg's birth.
Billionaire collector William I. Koch is set to auction his extensive collection of Western American art at Christie’s New York in January. Titled "Visions of the West," the sale features 76 lots with a combined low estimate of $50 million, potentially doubling the current auction record for the genre. Highlighting the event is Frederic Remington’s 'Coming to the Call', which carries an estimate of $6 million to $8 million and could set a new individual record for the artist.
Francis Irv, an unconventional art space in New York known for its unpredictable programming, is closing after over three years. Founded by Sam Marion Wilken and Shane Rossi, the gallery operated first in a Chinatown mall beneath the Manhattan Bridge and later in a nondescript third-floor room nearby. It showcased a multigenerational mix of artists from the US and Europe, including Megan Marrin, Win McCarthy, and Reinhard Mucha, and participated in alternative art fairs like Basel Social Club and Paris Internationale rather than the mainstream circuit.
The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has released a 50th-anniversary remake of its iconic 1976 television commercial, "You Gotta Have Art." The original spot, created by advertising agency W.B. Doner & Co., featured museum staff, volunteers, and local performers singing and dancing among masterpieces. The new version, directed by DIA's Director of Visual Media Adam Kosberg, recreates the original shot-for-shot, incorporating updated choreography, a Motown-influenced arrangement by Detroit musicians Marion Hayden and Alvin Waddles, and appearances by local artists including Carole Harris and Allie McGhee, who reprised their roles from the 1976 film. Over 200 museum employees and performers from Wayne State University participated in the production.
The estate of Elaine Wynn, the late casino magnate and top art collector who died in April 2024, has announced plans for her renowned collection. Francis Bacon's triptych *Three Studies of Lucian Freud* (1969)—which Wynn purchased for a record $142.2 million at Christie's in 2013—will be donated to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), where she served as board cochair. The painting, the first Bacon to enter LACMA's collection, will debut in the museum's new David Geffen Galleries when they open next year. Separately, Christie's will auction 20 works from Wynn's collection across three sales in New York this November, with estimates totaling at least $75 million. Highlights include Richard Diebenkorn's *Ocean Park #40* (1971), Lucian Freud's *The Painter Surprised by a Naked Admirer* (2004–05), Joan Mitchell's *Sunflower V* (1969), and J.M.W. Turner's *Ehrenbreitstein* (1835).
Sotheby's London contemporary evening sale on Tuesday brought in nearly £62.5 million ($84 million), within its pre-sale estimate of £55 million to £74 million. The 48-lot sale achieved an 83% sell-through rate, with five works selling for over £5 million each, led by Tamara de Lempicka's 'La Belle Rafaëla' (1927) at £7.4 million and Pablo Picasso's 'Nu assis dans un fauteuil' (1964–65). The auction saw strong bidding for a Basquiat work on paper, 'Untitled (Indian Head)', which sold for £5.4 million, and a standout result for Yu Nishimura's 'through the snow' (2023), which tripled its high estimate at £230,000.
On June 24, New Yorkers will vote in the Democratic primary for mayor, with candidates including embattled incumbent Eric Adams, former governor Andrew Cuomo, and Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, who is gaining support from artists and art dealers. The article outlines the arts-related positions of several candidates: City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams restored $53 million in cultural funding after proposed cuts; Eric Adams has an uneven record, having proposed cuts but later launching the 'NYC Create in Place' pilot program; and Andrew Cuomo's arts stance is mentioned but not detailed.
The trial between billionaire collector Ron Perelman and a group of insurers began Monday in New York Supreme Court, nearly seven years after a 2018 fire at his Hamptons estate, the Creeks. Perelman claims the fire damaged five paintings—two by Andy Warhol, two by Ed Ruscha, and one by Cy Twombly—insured for a collective $400 million, arguing the works lost their "oomph" due to smoke, humidity, and relocation during the fire. The insurers, including Lloyd's of London, Chubb, and AIG, contend the works sustained no detectable damage and that Perelman's claim is a "money grab" filed amid serious financial difficulties, including margin calls and the sale of 71 artworks for $963 million between 2020 and 2022.
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) will host the 2025 Museums of Tomorrow Roundtable (MTR) from May 11-17, bringing together 14 global museum leaders and technology firms including Adobe, Anthropic, Bloomberg, and Salesforce. Participants include directors such as Marion Ackermann (Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz), Stephanie Rosenthal (Guggenheim Abu Dhabi), Eike Schmidt (Museo di Capodimonte), Mami Kataoka (Mori Art Museum), and others, alongside Bay Area museum heads and AI artist Refik Anadol, who will speak in a free public program at the de Young Museum. The forum aims to bridge the museum and technology communities, exploring how advanced technologies can enrich operations and visitor experiences while supporting artists working with technology.
Beverly Buchanan’s Architecture of Care
A major retrospective and a focused exhibition of artist Beverly Buchanan's work are now on view in Athens, Georgia, where she lived for many years. "Shacks, Stories, and Spirit: Beverly Buchanan’s Art of Home" at the Georgia Museum of Art features her canonical "Medicine Woman" sculpture, while "Beverly’s Athens" at the University of Georgia’s Athenaeum presents a rich archive of her ephemera, sketches, and community-focused works, marking the city's first institutional solo exhibitions of her art posthumously.
Fashion houses like Chanel are increasingly investing in contemporary art, not merely as inspiration for prints or patterns but as a strategic tool for brand positioning and cultural credibility. Gallery owner Tristan Paprocki, who recently opened a Milan space with partner Guido Romero Pierini, notes that brands now seek out emerging artists to demonstrate foresight and support new talent. Chanel has collaborated with Berlin's Hamburger Bahnhof museum for large-scale installations by artists such as Klára Hosnedlová and Lina Lapelytė, and has announced ten artists for the third edition of its Next Prize 2026, including Bárbara Sánchez-Kane, Pan Daijing, and Álvaro Urbano. These artists work across fashion, sculpture, and performance, blurring the lines between clothing and contemporary art.
An exhibition titled 'Café Society: Art and Sociability in Belle Epoque Paris' is opening, featuring over 50 paintings that explore the role of cafés in late 19th-century Parisian social and artistic life. The show will travel from the Ordrupgaard museum in Copenhagen to two venues in the United States: the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis and the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha.
Museums across Washington, D.C., are currently presenting a robust slate of exhibitions focused on African American art, including major retrospectives, solo shows, and thematic group presentations. Notable shows include "Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist" at the National Gallery of Art, "We Gather at the Edge: Contemporary Quilts by Black Women Artists" at the Renwick Gallery, solo exhibitions for Vivian Browne and Essex Hemphill at The Phillips Collection, Chakaia Booker's "In the Tower" at the National Gallery, and Adam Pendleton's "Love, Queen" at the Hirshhorn Museum. Additionally, collectors Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson have pledged 175 works by Black artists to the National Gallery, with over 60 on view in "With Passion and Purpose."
British Pop artist Peter Phillips has died at age 86. Known for his collage-like, saturated compositions incorporating mechanical parts, comic books, and pin-up imagery, Phillips emerged from Birmingham's industrial landscape and studied at the Royal College of Art alongside peers like David Hockney and R.B. Kitaj. His work, such as *The Entertainment Machine* (1961) and the *Custom Painting* series, reflected his working-class upbringing and fascination with car manufacturing and commercial design.
This article from the St. Pete Catalyst rounds up several visual art events in the St. Petersburg, Florida area. Highlights include the debut of Nate Jessup's first gallery exhibition, "Peonies in Winter," at Soft Water Gallery; the upcoming exhibition "Faces of Inequality: Depression Era Photography" at the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement (MAACM), curated by museum owner Rudy Ciccarello; and a new photography show at the University of South Florida Contemporary Arts Museum featuring work by military veterans. It also notes a concert inspired by artist Ali Banisadr at the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg, a piano recital at the Dali Museum, and two photography exhibitions by Benjamin Dimmitt at Wild Space Gallery, including "An Unflinching Look: Elegy for a Landscape."
Francis Irv, a young New York gallery known for showcasing an eclectic mix of established and emerging artists from the US and Europe, has closed after just over three years in business. Founded by Shane Rossi and Sam Marion Wilken, who met as studio assistants, the gallery launched in 2022 under the name Kinder in a Chinatown mall beneath the Manhattan Bridge before relocating to a TriBeCa space. Its inaugural exhibition was a group show in Los Angeles co-curated by artist and writer Aria Dean, featuring artists such as Hannah Black, Jordan Wolfson, and Benjamin Echeverria. The gallery never formally announced a roster but showed artists including Sophie Gogl, Karla Kaplun, Megan Marrin, Win McCarthy, Ahgharad Williams, and German sculptor Reinhard Mucha. In December, it helped mount an experimental play by Georgica Pettus. The founders posted a farewell on their website, reflecting on their run.
The Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College (CCS Bard)’s Hessel Museum of Art will present "Betty Parsons: An Expanded World" from June 27 to October 18, 2026. It is the first major retrospective to examine Betty Parsons (1900-1982) as both a pioneering abstract artist and a trailblazing gallerist who launched the careers of Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, and Jackson Pollock. Organized by curator Kelly Taxter with artist Amy Sillman, the exhibition features approximately 80 works spanning painting, sculpture, and works on paper, alongside a new film by G. Anthony Svatek and Kaija Siirala about the Betty Parsons Gallery.
Performance artist Linda Mary Montano, now in her 80s, invited writer Taliesin Thomas into her home in Saugerties, New York, which functions as a living shrine filled with altars, experimental sculptures, and religious iconography. Montano, who calls herself “Chicken Linda” to connect with the Holy Spirit, discussed her six-decade career as an endurance performance artist, her Catholic faith, her studies with guru Shri Bhramananda Saraswati, and her influential early years in San Francisco during the First Wave feminist art movement. She also recounted personal tragedies, including the murder of her former husband Mitchell Payne, which led to her video work “Mitchell’s Death,” now in the collections of MoMA and the Museum of Conceptual Art, Los Angeles.
The article reports that the contemporary art gallery at the Cathedral of Angers has been well received. It highlights the cathedral's new exhibition space dedicated to contemporary works, marking a notable integration of modern art within a historic religious site.
Maximilien Durand has been appointed to a new role in the art world, as reported by Le Journal des Arts. The article announces his position, though specific details of the appointment are not provided in the given text.
Réouverture du Palais de la Découverte
The Palais de la Découverte in Paris has officially reopened its doors to the public following an extensive renovation period. The institution returns with a refreshed program that bridges the gap between scientific inquiry and artistic expression, featuring a series of new installations and collaborative projects.
Guernica restera à Madrid
The Spanish government has officially confirmed that Pablo Picasso’s anti-war masterpiece, Guernica, will remain at the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid. This decision puts an end to long-standing requests from the Basque Country to have the mural moved to Bilbao, specifically to the Guggenheim Museum, or to Guernica itself, the town whose 1937 bombing inspired the work.
Musée Postal
The Musée de la Poste in Paris is currently hosting a series of diverse exhibitions and cultural programs, ranging from a focused look at Henri Matisse's vibrant painterly style to an exploration of how design has integrated into national heritage. The institution is also featuring the chaotic architectural installations of Tadashi Kawamata and a deep dive into the historical and cultural construction of the 'witch' archetype.
N’allez plus au musée avec des enfants sans ces 10 astuces !
Beaux Arts Magazine offers ten practical tips for making museum visits with children more enjoyable and less stressful. The advice, provided by Marion Charneau of the Louvre-Lens, includes practical preparation like checking hours and packing snacks, as well as strategic approaches such as keeping visits short, choosing morning hours, and turning the experience into a game with visual challenges.
Schiaparelli's artistic director Daniel Roseberry debuted dramatic recreations of crown jewels stolen from the Louvre during the brand's Paris Haute Couture Week show. The pieces, worn by actor Teyana Taylor, were inspired by a pearl-and-diamond tiara and bow brooch once owned by Empress Eugénie, which were among an estimated $102 million in gems taken in a heist last October.
Fairfield University Art Museum will open a major loan exhibition titled "For Which It Stands…" on January 23, 2026, running through July 25, 2026, as part of the university's commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. The exhibition features over 70 works by diverse artists from the early 20th century to the present day, all centered on depictions of the American flag, including pieces by Jasper Johns, Faith Ringgold, Robert Rauschenberg, Shepard Fairey, Julie Mehretu, Childe Hassam, and a new textile sculpture by Maria de Los Angeles commissioned for the show. Works are lent by private collectors, artists, galleries, and institutions such as the Delaware Art Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, and the Gordon Parks Foundation.