France Passes Landmark Restitution Law for Looted Art

France has passed a landmark restitution law for looted art, marking a significant shift in the country's approach to addressing Nazi-era confiscations and colonial-era acquisitions. The legislation establishes a legal framework for returning artworks and cultural objects to their rightful owners or heirs, streamlining a process that previously required case-by-case parliamentary approval. This law is expected to accelerate the return of thousands of items held in French museums and public collections.

can slimmed down expo chicago still throw weight around

The 15th edition of Expo Chicago, scheduled for April 9–12, marks a significant transition as the fair's first outing under new director Kate Sierzputowski and its third since being acquired by Frieze. The upcoming edition features a streamlined roster of approximately 130 galleries, a 25 percent decrease from previous years. While blue-chip giants like Gagosian and Zwirner are absent, the fair maintains a strong lineup including Karma, Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, and local mainstays like Monique Meloche, complemented by satellite events and a high-profile benefit directed by Maurizio Cattelan.

$102 Million Verdict Over Robert Indiana Artwork May End Years-Long Legal Battle

A Manhattan federal jury awarded $102 million in damages to the Morgan Art Foundation in its lawsuit against art publisher Michael McKenzie, finding him guilty of making and selling unauthorized Robert Indiana artworks. The verdict, delivered on April 23, follows a complex legal battle that began just before Indiana's death in 2018, involving accusations of exploitation, fraud, and copyright infringement. McKenzie and caretaker Jamie Thomas were also accused of taking advantage of the elderly artist. The case has cast doubt on the authenticity of some late Indiana works and affected his market, with his auction record remaining at just over $4 million since 2011.

A Work Gifted to David Drake’s Descendants Is the Star of Theaster Gates’s Powerful Gagosian Show

Artist Theaster Gates has gifted a 19th-century vessel by enslaved potter David Drake to Drake's descendants and made this act of restitution the centerpiece of his solo exhibition at Gagosian in New York. The show, titled "Dave: All My Relations," features Gates's own artworks responding to Drake's legacy and the recently transferred pot, highlighting Gates's decades-long engagement with Drake as a foundational figure for his own practice.

la frieze parties barry mcgee

The Los Angeles art scene faced a moment of introspection during Frieze Week as logistical hurdles and rumors of New York gallery departures sparked debates about the city's long-term viability. Despite whispers of downsizing from major transplants and the 'quiet quitting' of spaces like Tanya Bonakdar and Sean Kelly, the week was defined by high-energy alternative events. Highlights included a massive group show curated by Barry McGee and Jeffrey Deitch in a defunct 99 Cent Only Store and the 'Away From Desk' micro-fair, which showcased the city's resilient underground and Chinatown-adjacent gallery circuit.

digital artist hot water ai generated works george condo

Digital artist Kevin Esherick's solo debut at New York’s Heft Gallery has sparked a legal confrontation with painter George Condo. The exhibition features AI-generated works trained to mimic the styles of prominent contemporary artists, including Beeple, Cindy Sherman, and Salman Toor. While most artists were receptive to the project, Condo’s legal team issued a cease-and-desist letter regarding three specific paintings, leading the gallery to shroud the disputed works in black velvet and display the redacted legal notice in their place.

art galleries join anti ice national strike

A significant number of New York art galleries, including major players like Pace Gallery, David Zwirner, and Marian Goodman, will close on January 30 to join a nationwide general strike protesting expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. The strike is a response to allegations of federal overreach, including the use of deadly force against protestors and the detention of Native Americans, which have fueled widespread outrage.

paint drippings art industry news dec 15

This week's art industry roundup covers major auction results, gallery representation changes, museum leadership shifts, and a high-profile art theft. François-Xavier Lalanne's *Hippopotame Bar* sold for $31.4 million at Sotheby's Breuer headquarters, setting a record for both the artist and design works. A Tiffany Magnolia floor lamp also set a new auction record at Sotheby's, fetching $4.4 million. Meanwhile, a New Jersey auction house quietly sold over $100,000 of Jeffrey Epstein's belongings, including artworks, without disclosing his ownership. In the gallery world, several artists changed representation, and former Clearing director John Utterson joined Thaddaeus Ropac. Museum news includes the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art repatriating three Khmer-era sculptures to Cambodia, Maria Balshaw stepping down as Tate director, MoMA PS1 offering free admission starting January 1, and the Rijksmuseum planning a new branch in Eindhoven. Additionally, eight rare Matisse prints and five works by Candido Portinari were stolen from São Paulo's Mário de Andrade Library.

rashid johnson painting howard lutnick tequila video

United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick posted a video on social media showing off a new tequila bottle, but the backdrop featured a painting from Rashid Johnson's "Anxious Red" series. The artwork, confirmed by Hauser & Wirth as an authentic Johnson piece purchased on the secondary market, sparked criticism online due to the irony of Lutnick—a Trump appointee whose administration has cut public health funding—owning a work born from pandemic-era anxiety. The series originally supported the WHO's Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund through a 2020 charity auction, the same organization Trump withdrew the U.S. from on his first day in office.

andrew cuomo zohran mamdani mayoral campaign donations

Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo relaunched his New York mayoral campaign as a third-party candidate on July 14, after losing the Democratic primary to Zohran Mamdani by 12 points on June 24. A recent ARTnews data analysis reveals that prominent art world figures have donated to both campaigns, with Cuomo receiving contributions from Christie's executives, Phillips and Sotheby's staff, Gagosian directors, art dealers, and museum leaders, while Mamdani drew support from foundation directors, museum curators, gallery directors, and numerous artists. The pro-Cuomo super PAC Fix the City received $5 million from billionaire Michael Bloomberg and $250,000 from Top 200 collector Daniel Loeb, while the pro-Mamdani super PAC raised about $1.4 million.

paint drippings art industry news jul 7

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.

gerbil art museum london

Filippo Lorenzin, an independent curator at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, and artist Marianna Benetti built a miniature art museum for their pet gerbils, Pandoro and Tiramisu, during lockdown. The couple spent four hours constructing the tiny gallery from cardboard, paper, and wood, featuring rodent-themed parodies of famous artworks including Gustav Klimt's *The Kiss*, Johannes Vermeer's *The Girl With the Pearl Earring*, Leonardo da Vinci's *Mona Lisa*, and Edvard Munch's *The Scream*. They filmed the gerbils exploring the space and shared the footage on Reddit, where it quickly went viral.

photo london photography market sales

The tenth edition of Photo London opened at Somerset House, marking a decade of growth for the UK's largest photography fair. The fair, running through May 18, has become a key event for the photography market, which has shown resilience despite broader art market declines. While global auction sales for photography dropped 5.6% in 2024 to $59 million, this was far less severe than the 27% overall art market decline, and sales volumes remained near record highs. New director Sophie Parker and cofounder Michael Benson highlighted growing interest from young collectors, though challenges remain as established galleries face an aging collector base and market uncertainty.

‘This is mine, I own it’: how Tracey Emin and Frida Kahlo inspired me to make meaning out of pain

The article is a personal essay by a writer who, after undergoing a colectomy in 2023, found inspiration in Tracey Emin's unflinching self-portraiture following her 2020 cancer diagnosis. The author describes taking her own post-surgery photographs, echoing Emin's mantra "This is mine, I own it," and reflects on Emin's current work, including the Tate Modern exhibition and paintings like "I watched Myself die and come alive" (2023) and "Barbed Wire Stitches" (2024). The essay also connects Emin's approach to that of Frida Kahlo, whose retrospective is upcoming at Tate.

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.

el greco paint drippings art industry news jun 20

This week's art industry roundup covers a range of developments: a new wave of younger, deliberate collectors is reshaping the art market, as reported from Art Basel; the Independent art fair will relocate to Pier 36 in New York in 2026; Riga Contemporary, a new fair, launches in Latvia; and the inaugural Arrival art fair took place in North Adams, Massachusetts. In auctions, seven never-before-seen Picasso ceramic plates sold in Geneva for nearly double their estimate, while a Giacometti sculpture made the top 10 sales list. Galleries news includes Nara Roesler now representing Asuka Anastasia Ogawa, a new gallery called Open Studio opening in New York, and Andrew Edlin Gallery relocating. In museums, a government watchdog found the Trump Administration broke the law by withholding funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and UC Irvine and the Orange County Museum of Art plan to merge. A legal battle over an El Greco painting withdrawn from Christie's auction is advancing, with the owner revealed as Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev.

Appropriation Culture: Richard Prince and Arthur Jafa

An upcoming exhibition at ArtReview pairs artists Richard Prince and Arthur Jafa to explore the ethics and aesthetics of image appropriation. Jafa's work, such as the video "Love is the Message, The Message is Death" (2016), uses found footage of police violence and Black cultural icons, while Prince's "Girlfriends" series rephotographs amateur snapshots from biker magazines. Jafa has cited Prince as a key influence on his own practice of transposing images across contexts.

Senators Whitehouse and Schumer Call for ‘Proactive Measures’ to Protect Philip Guston and Ben Shahn Murals

Senators Whitehouse and Schumer Call for ‘Proactive Measures’ to Protect Philip Guston and Ben Shahn Murals

Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Chuck Schumer have publicly called on the General Services Administration (GSA) to take immediate steps to protect significant New Deal-era murals by artists Philip Guston and Ben Shahn. Their letter expresses urgent concern over the potential sale or demolition of the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building in Washington, D.C., which houses these artworks, and questions the GSA's ability to safeguard the pieces once the building transfers to private ownership.

battle over 1800 paintings attributed to russian modernist masters intensifies after litigation funder raises authenticity concerns

A legal battle over a collection of 1,800 paintings attributed to Russian modernist masters has escalated after the litigation funder backing the claimants, LitFin, raised concerns it may have been misled about the works' authenticity. The funder is now in a dispute with the claimants, the family of the late Palestinian collector Uthman Khatib, over halted payments and control of the lawsuits, which seek the return of the paintings or $323 million from Israeli-Russian businessman Mozes Frisch, who is accused of stealing them.

armory show 2025 exhibitor list

The Armory Show has announced its 2025 exhibitor list, featuring over 230 galleries set to participate in the fair from September 5–7 at the Javits Center in New York, with a VIP preview on September 4. This edition marks the first under new director Kyla McMillan, who has introduced a revised floor plan, a new section called Function organized by dealer Ebony L. Haynes, and a reconfiguration of the large-scale works Platform section led by Souls Grown Deep. More than 20 exhibitors are returning after a hiatus, including White Cube and Andrew Kreps, while 55 galleries are participating for the first time, such as Skarstedt and Megan Mulrooney.

Under new ownership, Art Monte Carlo voices 'global ambitions'

The 10th edition of Art Monte Carlo took place from April 29 to May 1 in the Grimaldi Forum, featuring 26 exhibitors ranging from Old Master paintings to contemporary works by Picasso, Warhol, and Richter. The fair was acquired last year by Informa Prestige, a luxury offshoot of Informa, which also owns Miami's Untitled fair. Executive chair John Paton aims to grow the fair, nearly double its size within two years, and expand to another location, leveraging complementary audiences from yachting and supercars.

Inside ‘Prince of Prints’ Jordan Schnitzer’s Sprawling Collection

Jordan Schnitzer, the Portland-based philanthropist often called the 'Prince of Prints,' recently provided a rare tour of his massive 50,000-square-foot art warehouse. The facility utilizes a sophisticated 'floating bin' logistics system, similar to those used by major retailers, to manage over 22,000 works, including extensive holdings by Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys, and Richard Prince. Schnitzer’s foundation operates as a lending library, frequently shipping works to museums and hosting educational tours for students from districts where arts funding has been eliminated.

gen z art collecting continuum 2025

The Art Basel & UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2025 reveals that Gen Z collectors are reshaping the art market by treating art, sneakers, digital assets, and luxury goods as a single continuum of collectibles. Gen Z allocates 26% of their total wealth to art and collectibles—the highest of any generation—and spends 56% of that on non-traditional items like limited-edition sneakers, handbags, and digital artworks. Digital art ownership has rebounded sharply, with 23% of collectors planning to buy digital works, up from 19% in 2024, and Gen Z shows the strongest appetite for sculpture.

mschfs king solomons baby at pioneer

MSCHF, the Brooklyn-based art collective known for viral stunts like the Big Red Boot and a Damien Hirst dot-selling ATM, has unveiled a new participatory sculpture titled *King Solomon's Baby* (2025). The work is a large-scale polystyrene foam and paint sculpture that will be progressively dismembered and sold in thin slices as more buyers join. Priced at $100,000 for a single buyer, the cost drops as more participants purchase shares, down to $100 each if 1,000 people buy in. Sales open July 10 at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, with the fully deconstructed work on view July 13.

Mexico’s art community calls for greater transparency in management of treasured collection

Over 350 Mexican cultural professionals have signed an open letter demanding greater transparency from the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL) regarding the management and export of the Gelman Collection. The collection, recently acquired by the Zambrano family and rebranded as the Gelman Santander Collection, includes 18 works by Frida Kahlo and other major 20th-century Mexican artists, with 30 pieces designated as national artistic monuments requiring state oversight.

moma ice cream art

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has launched a new exclusive ice cream flavor called "Van Dough" in its second-floor cafe and sculpture garden food stand. Created in collaboration between Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) and Caffè Panna, the flavor features vanilla ice cream mixed with MoMA chocolate chip cookie dough chunks and chocolate chips. The article traces MoMA's long history with ice cream, including its ownership of Claes Oldenburg's *Pastry Case, I* (1961–62) and *Floor Cone* (1962), a 1935 Zeroll ice cream scoop by Sherman L. Kelly in its design collection, and a 2013 ice cream social with Milk Not Jails as part of artist Caroline Woolard's project.

Edgar Calel Honored with $75,000 Sam Gilliam Award

The Dia Art Foundation and the Sam Gilliam Foundation have announced Edgar Calel as the winner of the 2026 Sam Gilliam Award. The Guatemala-based artist and poet, born in 1987 in Chi Xot (San Juan Comalapa), will receive $75,000 and participate in a public program at a Dia location this fall. Calel, of Maya Kaqchikel heritage, works across painting, drawing, sculpture, and performance, and is known for monumental installations reflecting Mayan cosmovision and themes of ownership and stewardship. He was selected by a panel including Dia curators Jordan Carter and Matilde Guidelli-Guidi, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Annie Gawlak, Shanay Jhaveri, and Clara Kim.

art harrison kinnane smith emmelines

Harrison Kinnane Smith's exhibition "Tracings and Arrangements" is on view at Emmelines, a small gallery tucked inside a former newsstand in the Fifth Avenue & 53rd Street MTA station in New York, directly beneath the Museum of Modern Art and the building formerly known as 666 Fifth Avenue. The show features two works by Louise Lawler on consignment from Sprüth Magers—"Bulbs (traced), 2005/06/19" and "(Bunny) Sculpture and Painting (traced), 1999/2019"—which are black-and-white traced decals of her earlier photographs, displayed in the gritty, fluorescent-lit subway mezzanine. Kinnane Smith, at 28, frames Lawler's works as his opening gesture in a conceptually recursive chain that extends her critique of art's circulation through commerce, collecting, and institutional contexts.

expo chicago 2025 report

Expo Chicago 2025 wrapped on Sunday with upbeat energy and larger crowds than usual, thanks to a scheduling change that allowed VIPs earlier access. The fair, now in its second edition under Frieze ownership, featured 170 exhibitors, a new magazine with artist profiles of Caroline Kent and Nick Cave, and a partnership with KIAF and the Galleries Association of Korea that brought 20 Korean galleries. Dealers reported healthy sales, including a sold-out presentation by Jaylon Hicks at Maximilian Williams gallery, with works priced from $3,000 to $20,000. Frieze leaders attended major events, signaling continued commitment to Chicago nearly two years after acquiring the fair.

rediscovered sofonisba anguissola portrait winter show

A rediscovered 16th-century portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola, titled *Portrait of a Canon Regular* (1552), is being shown at the Winter Show at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. The painting was found in a private collection in Durham, North Carolina, after being known only through an old black-and-white photo at the Frick Art Reference Library. Old Master dealer Robert Simon is acting as the owners' agent, and the work is priced at $450,000.