Trump administration puts renewed pressure on Smithsonian to turn over materials for review

The Trump administration has given the Smithsonian Institution a deadline of January 13 to turn over materials related to a review of programming at eight of its museums, as outlined in a December 18 letter from White House officials Vince Haley and Russell Vought. The review stems from a March 2025 executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," which accused the Smithsonian of promoting a "divisive, race-centered ideology." Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch noted that some requested materials are not readily available and will require significant effort to compile, while the American Alliance of Museums and the Association of Art Museum Directors have expressed confidence in the Smithsonian's commitment to professional standards.

Local Art Books to Gift This Holiday Season

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.

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz celebrate Black contemporary art in 'Giants' exhibition

The article reports on the exhibition 'Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys,' which recently opened at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond after previous stops in Brooklyn, Atlanta, and Minneapolis. The show features around 130 works from the couple's private collection of over 1,000 pieces, celebrating Black contemporary artists from 20th-century icons like Gordon Parks to emerging talents. In an interview, Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz discuss how their shared passion for art led them to build the Dean Collection, one of the most significant private collections of contemporary art in the world.

Portland exhibit shows off multifaceted artists’ personal narratives | Column - Portland Press Herald

Mauricio Muñoz and Andrew Roberts' installation "The Harvest" (2021) is featured in "otherwise," a thesis exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D in Portland, running through Dec. 13. The show also includes works by Ayana V. Jackson, whose project "From the Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya" was targeted by Donald Trump in his attacks on the Smithsonian Institution. The exhibition explores how artists use storytelling and worldbuilding to cope with difficult contemporary issues and imagine better futures, serving as a companion to the Ogunquit Museum of American Art's "Where the Real Lies."

Star drawing from world’s largest private Rembrandt collection could bring $15m at auction

Billionaire entrepreneur Thomas S. Kaplan and his wife Daphne Recanati Kaplan are selling Rembrandt's drawing *Young Lion Resting* (circa 1638-42) from their Leiden Collection, one of the world's largest private holdings of 17th-century Dutch art. Sotheby's announced on November 3 that the work will be auctioned during its Old Masters sales in New York on February 4, 2026, with a pre-sale estimate of $15 million to $20 million. Proceeds from the sale will benefit Panthera, a wild-cat conservation organization co-founded by Kaplan and philanthropist Jonathan Ayers, marking the 20th anniversary of the organization's founding.

An exhibition in New York City takes on censorship in the art world

Art at a Time Like This, a non-profit organization, has opened the exhibition 'Don’t Look Now' in New York City's Nolita neighborhood (October 10–25), featuring 24 contemporary artists whose work has been censored or blacklisted. Participants include Marilyn Minter, Shepard Fairey, Dread Scott, Danielle SeeWalker, and Yvonne Iten-Scott, whose pieces were removed from shows, rescinded from residencies, or targeted by officials due to political content. The exhibition responds to the Trump administration's crackdown on free speech in the culture sector, including mass layoffs at the NEA and NEH, proposed funding cuts, and canceled shows at institutions like the Smithsonian.

How Two New Art Exhibitions Are Spotlighting Black Queer History

Two new art exhibitions are spotlighting Black queer history amid escalating government censorship and threats to federal arts funding. "In the Life: Black Queerness—Looking Back, Moving Forward" at the Carr Center in Detroit traces 80 years of Black queer culture, opening with LeRoy Foster's 1945 self-portrait and featuring works by Zanele Muholi, April Bey, and Pamela Sneed. Co-curated by Patrick Burton and Wayne Northcross, the show is produced by Mighty Real/Queer Detroit and will be part of the Detroit Queer Biennial in June 2026. A second exhibition, "The Gay Harlem Renaissance," runs from October 10 through March at the New York Historical Museum in Manhattan, curated by Allison Robinson, highlighting queer contributions to the Harlem Renaissance through artifacts like rent party tickets and works by Malvin Gray Johnson.

Fra Angelico masterworks reunited for two-venue Florence exhibition

Florence is opening a comprehensive double-venue exhibition of over 140 works by Fra Angelico, the early Renaissance master. The show, titled simply "Fra Angelico," runs at the Museo di San Marco and the Palazzo Strozzi, reuniting dispersed altarpieces and panels for the first time in over two centuries. It traces his evolution from late Gothic to early Renaissance, featuring reconstructed altarpieces with panels gathered from major European and American museums, alongside works by his influences like Masaccio, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Lorenzo Monaco.

Baltimore Museum of Art Will Host Amy Sherald’s Canceled Smithsonian Show

The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) will host Amy Sherald's exhibition "American Sublime," which was originally scheduled to open at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery on September 19. Sherald canceled the Smithsonian showing in July after learning the institution planned to remove her 2024 painting "Trans Forming Liberty," which depicts a transgender Statue of Liberty, to avoid provoking President Donald Trump, replacing it with a video instead. The exhibition, featuring about fifty works, had previously traveled from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Smithsonian under fire from Trump, Frieze Seoul, Dara Birnbaum and Quantum—podcast

The Art Newspaper's podcast 'The Week in Art' returns with three major stories. Ben Luke hosts a discussion with Ben Sutton, the publication's editor-in-chief in the Americas, about the Trump administration's announced comprehensive internal review of eight Smithsonian museums and artist Amy Sherald's cancellation of a long-scheduled exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, citing censorship and institutional fear. The episode also covers Frieze Seoul 2024, the season's first major art fair, with correspondent Lisa Movius reporting from the South Korean capital amid political turmoil. The Work of the Week segment features Dara Birnbaum's landmark video artwork 'Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman (1978-79)', part of a new exhibition 'The Quantum Effect' at the San Marco Art Centre in Venice, curated by Daniel Birnbaum and Jacqui Davies with physicist Ulf Danielsson.

Smithsonian leader asserts ‘authority over our programming’ in letters to staff and Trump White House

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III sent letters to the White House and staff asserting the institution's independence after President Donald Trump ordered a comprehensive review of eight Smithsonian museums. The review, initiated by an August 12 White House letter, targets exhibitions, collections, and programming for alleged bias and divisive content. Bunch stated the Smithsonian is conducting its own internal review to ensure nonpartisan, factual programming, emphasizing that the institution retains authority over its content. The letters follow Trump's social media attack on the Smithsonian and an earlier executive order directing Vice President J.D. Vance to remove what the administration calls 'race-centred ideology.'

Amy Sherald, Having Canceled Her Smithsonian Show, Will Take Paintings to Baltimore

Amy Sherald has canceled her planned exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., and will instead bring her paintings to the Baltimore Museum of Art. The decision follows a period of reflection and logistical challenges, with the Baltimore venue offering a more intimate and locally resonant setting for her work.

Amy Sherald's canceled Smithsonian art show comes to Baltimore

Artist Amy Sherald has canceled her scheduled exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., due to censorship concerns over her painting "Trans Forming Liberty," which depicts the Statue of Liberty as a Black trans woman. The exhibition, titled "Amy Sherald: American Sublime," will instead travel to the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), where it will run from November 2, 2025, to April 5, 2026. Sherald will also receive one of the museum's "Artist Who Inspires" awards at its 2025 BMA Ball on November 22. The show is a mid-career survey of Sherald's work, previously shown at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Fall Arts Preview

The article previews the Fall 2025-26 arts and entertainment season in Richmond, Virginia, highlighting cultural venues and events across the city and surrounding counties. Key highlights include the new Foyer Gallery, which opens with a solo exhibition by Patrick Berran titled "Burn Blue," and the Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront, which closes its inaugural season with performances by James Taylor, Leon Bridges, Steve Martin and Martin Short, and Tedeschi Trucks Band. Other venues mentioned include The National, The Valentine, and Hanover Tavern, along with events like "InLight" at Abner Clay Park and a concert by Jason Mraz.

Sarasota Art Museum stages an Art Deco extravaganza

The Sarasota Art Museum (SAM) on the Ringling College of Art and Design campus has opened "Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration," an exhibition of 100 large posters from the Crouse family collection. Curated by Rangsook Yoon, the show celebrates the 100th anniversary of Art Deco, tracing its origins from the Belle Epoque through the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, and features works by artists such as Alphonse Mucha, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen. The Crouses, who previously lent works to The Guggenheim and the Victoria and Albert Museum, displayed part of their collection at New York's Poster House in 2023-2024.

Artists and scholars respond to White House’s list of Smithsonian grievances

Over the weekend, artists, scholars, and concerned citizens responded to the White House's list of objectionable Smithsonian Institution exhibits and texts, released under the heading 'President Trump Is Right About the Smithsonian.' The list includes bullet points targeting exhibits on white culture, LGBTQ+ history, Afrofuturism, and works by artists such as Ibram X. Kendi, Ayana V. Jackson, Hugo Crosthwaite, Rigoberto A. Gonzalez, and Amy Sherald. Those singled out defended their work, with some comparing the administration's actions to Jim Crow-era censorship or Nazi Germany's 'degenerate art' campaigns, while others expressed pride in being included and vowed to continue making political art.

White House Bashes Smithsonian Museums, Exhibitions, as “Woke”

On August 21, the Trump administration published an unsigned article on the White House website attacking several Smithsonian museums and their exhibitions for promoting what it described as "woke" content. The article specifically called out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of American History, the National Portrait Gallery, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and two planned institutions—the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women’s History Museum. It cited exhibitions and artworks addressing race, transgender identity, and immigration, including Amy Sherald’s painting *Trans Forming Liberty* (2024), which led the artist to cancel her solo show at the National Portrait Gallery after the museum sought to remove the work to avoid provoking Trump.

Trump accuses Smithsonian of being too focused on ‘how bad slavery was’

US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social accusing the Smithsonian Institution of focusing excessively on negative aspects of American history, specifically citing exhibits about slavery and the struggles of marginalized groups. He claimed the organization is "out of control" and instructed his attorneys to review its museums, mirroring recent actions against universities. The White House has initiated a four-month review of eight Smithsonian museums, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Portrait Gallery, with a directive to replace "divisive or ideologically driven language" with "unifying, historically accurate" descriptions.

Yale University Art Gallery withdraws federal funding applications over anti-diversity regulations

The Yale University Art Gallery has withdrawn two federal grant applications submitted to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for an upcoming exhibition on African art exploring the migration of Nguni peoples, scheduled for 2026. The gallery objected to new anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) restrictions imposed by the Trump administration, which require that funded projects do not promote certain ideologies based on race or gender. The gallery will instead use Yale University's $46 billion endowment to cover the $200,000 exhibition costs. This follows a previous instance where the gallery opted out of NEA funding, and a separate $30,000 NEA grant for the exhibition "Nusantara: Six Centuries of Indonesian Textile" was rescinded, though that show will proceed with support from the Robert Lehman Endowment Fund.

Artist Amy Sherald has canceled her upcoming show at the Smithsonian

Artist Amy Sherald has canceled her upcoming solo exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, scheduled to open September 19. The cancellation stems from a dispute over her painting *Trans Forming Liberty* (2024), which depicts a trans woman with pink hair and a blue gown holding a torch. Sherald stated that the museum expressed concerns about including the portrait, leading to discussions about removing it. She claims the Smithsonian planned to replace the painting with a video of people reacting to it, which she opposed as it would debate the value of trans visibility. The Smithsonian denies the painting was to be replaced, saying the video was meant to provide context. Sherald's exhibition, *Amy Sherald: American Sublime*, was organized by SFMOMA and is currently on view at the Whitney Museum.

UK mental health hospitals are about to get more art

More than 50 artists, including Lakwena Maciver, Veronica Ryan, Peter Liversidge, and Alberta Whittle, will create site-specific works for mental health hospitals across the UK as part of a new three-year initiative by the charity Hospital Rooms. The project, delivered in collaboration with NHS Trusts in Birmingham, Bristol, North East London, and South West Yorkshire, is backed by a £600,000 Arts Council England National Lottery grant and additional support from the Garfield Weston Foundation and the Hiscox Foundation. Hospital Rooms will also develop a National Framework for Equal Access to Arts in Mental Health Services, aiming to integrate trauma-informed, autism-friendly, and culturally competent arts programmes into mental healthcare settings.

Trump claims he has fired director of US National Portrait Gallery

US President Donald Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform that he has fired Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery (NPG), alleging she is a "highly partisan person" and a supporter of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Sajet, who became the first woman to lead the NPG in 2013, has not commented, and the Smithsonian declined to comment. It remains unclear whether Trump has the legal authority to fire Smithsonian employees, as the institution is governed by a board of regents and receives partial federal funding.

The Met to Reopen Its Arts of Africa Galleries on May 31, Following a Multiyear Renovation

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will reopen its Arts of Africa galleries on May 31, 2025, after a multiyear renovation that began in summer 2021. The redesigned Michael C. Rockefeller Wing features some 500 works spanning from the medieval period to the present, including a 12th-century fired clay figure from Mali and Abdoulaye Konaté's 'Bleu no. 1' (2014). A quarter of the works are recent acquisitions or gifts, displayed for the first time. The project was led by Kulapat Yantrasast of WHY Architecture with Beyer, Blinder, Belle Architects LLP and the Met's Design Department, and involved a network of international scholars and digital partnerships with the World Monuments Fund and filmmaker Sosena Solomon.

Artist Alison Saar wins High Museum’s 20th annual Driskell Prize

Alison Saar, a Los Angeles-based artist known for sculptures exploring Black American experience through historic and symbolic imagery, has won the 20th edition of the David C. Driskell Prize from the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. The annual prize, which alternates between honoring an artist and a curator, comes with $50,000 and was announced during a reception at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York on 9 May. Saar succeeds 2024 winner Naomi Beckwith, and past honorees include Ebony G. Patterson, Amy Sherald, Mark Bradford, and Rashid Johnson.

miami bakehouse art complex celebrates 40 years

The Bakehouse Art Complex in Miami’s Wynwood district is celebrating its 40th anniversary and the 100th anniversary of its Art Deco building, which originally opened as a bakery in 1926. Founded in 1985 by a group of artists who purchased the abandoned industrial bakery for $10, the nonprofit has provided studio space to over 1,500 local artists. The celebration kicked off with an exhibition titled “Bakehouse at Forty: Past, Present, Future,” attended by more than 1,000 guests, and included a gala fundraiser with affordable ticket prices. The organization is now planning to build 60 units of affordable artist housing as part of a revitalized campus.

Contemporary art returns to center stage in Ascoli Piceno for the fifth edition of the Premio Sparti

L’arte contemporanea torna protagonista ad Ascoli Piceno per la quinta edizione del Premio Sparti

The fifth edition of the Premio Sparti, titled "Dove finisce la città" (Where the City Ends), will open on May 23 at the Forte Malatesta in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, running through June 28. Curated by Alex Urso, the exhibition features over twenty international artists exploring artistic practice outside major urban centers, with works also installed at the Frida Museum. The show is divided into three sections—"Essere oltre," "Essere qui," and "Essere altro"—highlighting artists who have chosen peripheral, rural, or marginalized locations as bases for their research, including Francesco Arena, Davide Maria Coltro, Andrea Mastrovito, and emerging talents under 35.

toby milstein schulman art collection new york young collectors

Toby Milstein Schulman, a 32-year-old New York-based consultant and advisory board member of RxArt, discusses her art collection in an interview. She recounts her first purchase of Tracey Emin's 'Be Brave,' a rookie mistake bidding on a work attributed 'after Keith Haring' at a charity auction, and highlights pieces by Camille Henrot and Louise Bourgeois in her home. She names Mickalene Thomas, Hilary Pecis, and Shara Hughes as three artists she is excited about, all involved with RxArt projects.

Major Exhibition Surveys 60 Years of Chicano Art Across the United States

The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in Riverside, California, has opened a major exhibition titled "We the People: Chicano Art in the U.S.A.," surveying 60 years of Chicano art across the United States. Organized by artist and curator Benito Huerta, the show features 126 works by 61 artists drawn from the collection of Cheech Marin, the museum's permanent holdings, recent acquisitions, and artist loans. The exhibition spans painting, sculpture, installation, printmaking, and mixed media, including works by historic collectives like Los Four and Con Safo alongside contemporary artists, exploring themes of migration, labor, cultural memory, identity, and everyday life.

Selling exhibition to support art: Déjà Vu at Alserkal heralds joint initiative

A multi-gallery selling exhibition titled 'Déjà Vu' opens at Concrete in Alserkal Avenue on April 25, running for 14 days. The exhibition features over 50 artists from 20 leading UAE contemporary art galleries and is curated by Kevin Jones, Nada Raza, and Zaina Zaarour. It is designed as a commercial initiative to support galleries impacted by recent events.

miart’s Three-Tier Experiment Reflects a Changing Milan

The 30th edition of the miart art fair in Milan took place from April 17-19 at a new venue, the Allianz MiCo conference hall. The fair introduced a disruptive three-tiered layout across three floors, dividing its offerings into Emergent and Established sections, and featured a mix of early 20th-century modern masters and contemporary works, distinguishing it from Italy's other major fair, Artissima.