Art News. Vasari Codex

article news schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 17 link 6 artists

donald judd marfa national register of historic places

The National Park Service has added the Donald Judd Historic District in Marfa, Texas, to the National Register of Historic Places. The designation covers 15 buildings transformed by artist Donald Judd, including structures on the decommissioned Fort D.A. Russell army base, as well as his outdoor work *15 Untitled Works in Concrete* (1980–84). Judd began acquiring property in Marfa in 1971, creating an artist-centered environment that now draws around 50,000 visitors annually.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 19 link 16 artists

philadelphia museum boom 1940s art design

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has opened "Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s," a major survey featuring over 250 works including painting, photography, jewelry, ceramics, fashion, and furniture. The exhibition draws entirely from the museum's own collection, with around 40 percent of the works never exhibited before. It includes early pieces by celebrated figures like Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, as well as works by queer artists such as Paul Cadmus, Beauford Delaney, and Romaine Brooks, alongside self-taught artist Horace Pippin. Chief curator Jessica Smith emphasizes that the show aims to present a more complex, multivalent narrative of the decade beyond the dominant story of Abstract Expressionism.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 18 link 17 artists, 9 galleries

big questions art basel

Art Basel, the flagship art fair, returns to Basel, Switzerland from June 17 to 22 amid a period of market contraction and geopolitical instability. The article explores key questions surrounding the fair, including whether the proliferation of new Art Basel editions in Paris and Doha is diluting interest in the original Swiss event. Gallerists and collectors weigh in, noting that while Paris is rising in importance, Basel retains unmatched prestige and draws a genuinely engaged international audience. The piece also highlights the fair's new "Premiere" section, which spotlights mid-career and established artists, featuring London gallery Edel Assanti's debut presentation of American artist Lonnie Holley.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Jun 16, 2025 visibility 15 link 4 artists

kim kardashian gets authentic donald judd furniture lawsuit

The Judd Foundation has settled a lawsuit with Kim Kardashian and Clements Design over a 2022 promotional video in which Kardashian promoted knockoff versions of Donald Judd's minimalist furniture. The video, which garnered over 3.6 million views before being deleted, featured tables resembling Judd's La Mansana Table 22 and Chair 84. Under the settlement, Kardashian will acquire authentic Judd furniture from Donald Judd Furniture LLC, and both parties expressed satisfaction with the outcome.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Jun 16, 2025 visibility 20 link 20 artists

new york mayoral candidates arts 2025

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.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

candle obituary schedule Jun 16, 2025 visibility 21 link 6 artists

leonard lauder dead estee lauder art collecting

Leonard Lauder, the eldest son of Estée Lauder and a billionaire cosmetics executive, died at age 92. He served as chairman emeritus of Estée Lauder Companies, having previously been president and CEO, and grew the company's sales from $800,000 to over $16 billion. A major art philanthropist, in 2013 he donated 81 Cubist works worth over $1 billion to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including pieces by Picasso, Braque, Léger, and Juan Gris. He also served as chairman emeritus and trustee at the Whitney Museum.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 16, 2025 visibility 14 link 8 artists

leonard lauder mfa boston postcards

Leonard Lauder, the 85-year-old chairman emeritus of Estée Lauder Companies, has amassed a collection of approximately 130,000 postcards, many of which are a promised gift to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A selection of 350 propagandist postcards from the World War I and World War II eras is now featured in a new exhibition at the MFA titled “The Art of Influence: Propaganda Postcards from the Era of World Wars” (through January 21), accompanied by a publication. Lauder began collecting as a boarding school student in Miami Beach, drawn to the idealized images and vibrant colors of Art Deco hotel postcards, and later expanded to historical and propagandist cards that he describes as “living history.”

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

rate_review review schedule Jun 16, 2025 visibility 23 link 14 artists

cubism at the met modern art that looks tragically antique

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's current "Cubism" exhibition showcases masterpieces from the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, featuring works by Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris, and Fernand Léger. The show spans six galleries and presents some of the finest examples of Cubist art, including iconic pieces like Braque's *The Castle of La Roche-Guyon* (1909) and Picasso's *The Oil Mill* (1909). The exhibition is essentially a curated display of Lauder's promised gift to the Met, highlighting the "Four Horsemen" of Cubism while omitting the broader context of the movement's other pioneers, such as the Salon Cubists.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Jun 13, 2025 visibility 19 link 8 artists

canyon museum durational immersive art new york

New York City will gain a major new cultural venue in 2026 called Canyon, a 18,000-square-foot hub on the Lower East Side dedicated to durational, time-based art forms such as video, sound, and performance. Founded by philanthropist and collector Robert Rosenkranz, the space is designed by New Affiliates Architecture and will feature state-of-the-art galleries, a 300-seat performance hall, and a skylit piazza with food and beverage options. Joe Thompson, founding director of MASS MoCA, will serve as the venue's director. Canyon has already appointed conservator Cass Fino-Radin as director of art and technology and curator Sam Ozer as curator-at-large, with partners including Rhizome, Electronic Arts Intermix, and the Archive of Contemporary Music. Its inaugural exhibitions will include a major retrospective of Japanese new media artist Ryoji Ikeda and a show titled "Worldbuilding" curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 13, 2025 visibility 20 link 15 artists

matisse daughter

The Museum of Modern Art in Paris has opened "Matisse and Marguerite: Through Her Father's Eyes," an exhibition running through August 24 that explores the lifelong bond between Henri Matisse and his eldest daughter, Marguerite Duthuit-Matisse. Featuring over 100 works—including paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and ceramics—the show traces their relationship from her childhood through World War II, with many pieces rarely exhibited before. Loans come from institutions in the United States, Switzerland, and Japan, supplemented by photographs and archival materials.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 12, 2025 visibility 16 link 12 artists

metropolitan museum of art rockefeller wing reopening

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has unveiled the renovated Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, dedicated to the art of Africa, Oceania, and the ancient Americas. Designed by Kulapat Yantrasast of WHY Architecture with Beyer, Blinder, Belle Architects, the 40,000-square-foot wing opened to the public on May 31, showcasing 1,800 objects from 663 cultures across 90 countries. The collection originated from Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, who began acquiring non-Western art in 1930 and later founded the Museum of Primitive Art in 1957 after the Met initially declined his donation.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jun 11, 2025 visibility 12 link 5 artists

rare rodin sculpture fetches 1 million

A rare marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin, *Le Désespoir* (ca. 1892–93), was rediscovered atop a piano in a private home in France and sold at auction for €1.1 million ($1.2 million). The auction, held by Rouillac at the Château de Villandry, lasted over 20 minutes and attracted bidders from China, Switzerland, and the United States, with a young American banker winning the piece. The sculpture had last appeared at auction in Paris in 1906 and exceeded its high estimate of €700,000.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 16 link 6 artists

christo and jeanne claude arc de triomphe wrapped

Christo and Jeanne-Claude's posthumous project to wrap the Arc de Triomphe in Paris has been completed and inaugurated by French President Emmanuel Macron. The monument is covered in 25,000 square meters of silvery blue polypropylene fabric and 3,000 meters of red rope, with the installation open to the public from September 18 to October 3, 2021. The €14 million project was entirely funded by the sale of Christo's artworks and overseen by the couple's nephew, Vladimir Yavachev, along with the Center of Monuments Nationaux.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 15 link 1 artist

donald judd foundation marfa national historic sites

The Texas Historical Commission announced that buildings repurposed by minimalist artist Donald Judd in Marfa, Texas, have been added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Approved by the National Park Service in May 2025, the designation expands the existing Fort D.A. Russell Historic District to include 15 buildings and a large-scale installation, all altered or created by Judd between 1973 and his death in 1994. The properties are managed by the Chinati Foundation and the Judd Foundation, which operate as separate entities. This is the second Judd-linked historic district in Marfa, following the Central Marfa Historic District’s designation in 2022.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 12 link 4 artists

marlene dumas pushes the limits of portraiture at tate modern

Marlene Dumas's largest retrospective to date, "The Image as Burden," has opened at Tate Modern, showcasing her uncompromising approach to portraiture. The exhibition features over 200 works, including early ink drawings like "Rejects" (1994-ongoing), political pieces such as "Osama" (2010), and the "Magdalenas" series from the 1995 Venice Biennale. Dumas, a South African painter based in Amsterdam, explores themes of identity, politics, and the female body through her fluid, often dark palette and responses to mass media images.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 21 link 9 artists

white house art obamas

Barack and Michelle Obama have added several modern and contemporary artworks to the White House collection during their final year in residence. New acquisitions include works by Mark Rothko, Edward Hopper, Sam Francis, Josef Albers, Robert Rauschenberg, and Alma Thomas, replacing traditional portraits of former first ladies. The pieces were sourced partly through museum loans, such as two Hopper paintings from the Whitney Museum of American Art for the Oval Office.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 11 link 6 artists

female muses klimt schiele kokoschka

An exhibition titled “The Women of Klimt, Schiele and Kokoschka” has opened at the Belvedere Palace & Museum in Vienna, running from October 22, 2015 to February 28, 2016. The show examines how Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Oskar Kokoschka depicted women, highlighting the artists' obsessive focus on female subjects against the backdrop of Vienna's changing society and the early 20th-century revolution in gender politics and sexuality.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 18 link 8 artists

francis bacon pope painting auction

Sotheby's London will auction three Francis Bacon paintings at its July contemporary art evening sale, including 'Study for a Pope I' (1961), one of six pope paintings Bacon created for a Tate exhibition. The work, previously owned by Gunter Sachs, sold for a record £10 million in 2005, and is now estimated at £25–35 million ($38.3–53.7 million). The sale also features a 1975 Bacon self-portrait and three studies for a 1980 self-portrait, with total sale expectations of £204 million ($312.9 million), 35 percent from British artists.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 19 link 14 artists

see 100 years of presidential portraits leading up to barack obamas vibrant

The article presents a curated selection of presidential portraits from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery's permanent exhibition "America's Presidents," spanning the last century from Woodrow Wilson to Barack Obama. It highlights the evolution of the form, from traditional depictions of Harding and Hoover to Norman Rockwell's beaming Nixon, Elaine de Kooning's artful Kennedy, and culminating in Kehinde Wiley's vibrant, almost-surrealist 2018 portrait of Barack Obama, which generated significant public excitement.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 19 link 21 artists

10 nudes take home a nude benefit

The New York Academy of Art held its 26th annual "Take Home a Nude" benefit auction at Sotheby's Upper East Side headquarters, honoring artist John Alexander. The event featured 112 artists, including Ryan McGinness, Natalie Frank, Christo, Eric Fischl, and Kiki Smith, who each donated unique drawings made from the same nude models during Will Cotton's annual Drawing Party. The party, hosted at Cotton's studio, brought together New York artists to sketch live models, with this year's theme featuring the sons and daughters of art-world figures like Glenn O'Brien, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, Anne Pasternak, and Barbara Gladstone posing alongside the nudes.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 18 link 11 artists

take home a nude new york academy of art

The New York Academy of Art held its 25th annual 'Take Home a Nude' fundraiser at Sotheby’s New York on October 24, featuring a live auction and party. Attendees included actresses Brooke Shields and Naomi Watts, who bid on artworks, along with dealers, artists, and collectors. Sotheby’s auctioneer Courtney Christensen led the sale, and 'Baby' Jane Holzer was honored for her collecting and Warhol-era legacy. Watts purchased four works, including a portrait by Liz Markus for $14,000, while Shields helped raise bids online.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 12 link 1 artist

mable auguste rodin sculpture despair auction rouillac

A small marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin, titled *Despair (Le Désespoir)* (1892), that had been missing since 1906 was rediscovered and sold at auction for €860,000 ($1 million). The 11-inch figure of a seated woman was initially thought to be a copy but was authenticated by the Comité Rodin after a months-long investigation by auctioneers Aymeric and Philippe Rouillac. The sale took place on June 8 as part of the 37th Garden Party Auction at Château de Villandry in France.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article local schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 23 link 16 artists

historic paris art schools risk development

The Académie de la Grande Chaumière, a historic Paris art school founded in 1904 that taught artists like Balthus, Joan Miró, and Louise Bourgeois, faces eviction by July 31 after its owner Alexandre Garèse declined to renew its lease. Garèse plans to redevelop the Montparnasse site into a mixed-use complex with commercial and cultural spaces, hiring architect Franklin Azzi for the project. Over 21,000 people have signed a petition to save the school, and local heritage groups SOS Paris and Monts 14 have rallied against the closure.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 20 link 4 artists

french museums hike ticket prices non european visitors

Several major French cultural institutions, including the Louvre, the Château de Versailles, and potentially the Arc de Triomphe, have implemented a "differential tariff" that raises ticket prices for non-European Union visitors. Starting January 1, 2026, non-E.U. tourists will pay €30 ($35) to enter the Louvre, up from €22 ($25). The policy, first reported by Le Monde, is expected to generate up to €20 million annually for the Louvre alone, helping to fund urgent renovations estimated at €400 million over 15 years. The move follows a leaked letter from Louvre director Laurence des Cars to culture minister Rachida Dati warning of severe building deterioration, including temperature fluctuations endangering artworks and water damage. French president Emmanuel Macron has announced a sweeping restoration, but state funding will cover only a fraction of the cost.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 18 link 8 artists

westmoreland frick collection restaurant review

The Frick Collection in New York has opened its first-ever restaurant, Westmoreland, named after founder Henry Clay Frick's private train car. Located on the museum's newly renovated second floor, the 50-seat dining room features interiors by Bryan O'Sullivan Studio, a mural by artist Darren Waterston, and a menu of comforting, unadventurous fare like caesar salad, club sandwich, and avocado toast. The kitchen is led by Skyllar Hughes, a veteran of Danny Meyer's Ci Siamo, and operated by Union Square Events. Only museum ticket holders can dine, and reservations must be made in person.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Jun 9, 2025 visibility 13 link 3 artists

rivera kahlo estate mismanagement allegations

Hilda Trujillo Soto, former director of the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera museums in Mexico City, has publicly accused the trust overseeing these institutions of years of mismanagement. In a blog post published in early April, Soto alleged that trustees failed to address discrepancies in records, with Kahlo and Rivera works possibly missing and later appearing in private U.S. collections. She also claimed that materials from Kahlo’s personal diary and artworks catalogued in 1957, including *Frida in Flames* and *The Abortion*, have been misplaced or illegally sold. The trust, established by Rivera in 1955 and now administered by Mexico’s central bank Banxico, denied Soto’s claims, stating she never officially reported concerns during her tenure from 2009 to 2020.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 9, 2025 visibility 15 link 5 artists

jennie c jones met roof commission

Artist Jennie C. Jones has unveiled "Ensemble" (2025), a rooftop commission at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art featuring three monumental, wind-activated stringed instruments—an Aeolian harp, zither, and one-string—that visitors are asked not to touch. The sculptures, coated in deep red powdered aluminum and concrete panels, are designed to be played by the breeze, though wind did not cooperate during the press preview. Jones drew inspiration from the Met's collection of 5,000 musical instruments, African American folk instrument makers like Moses Williams and Louis Dotson, and Minimalist abstraction, creating a work that explores anticipation and the sonic potential of untouchable objects.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Jun 9, 2025 visibility 14 link 3 artists

rodins the thinker history

Auguste Rodin's iconic sculpture *The Thinker* was originally conceived in 1880 as part of a larger project—a decorative doorway for a planned Musée des Arts Décoratifs at the Palais d'Orsay in Paris. Rodin later exhibited the figure independently, and after his wife Rose Beuret died in 1917, he placed a bronze cast on her grave in Meudon, where he was buried months later. The article reveals lesser-known facts about the work, including that the first cast (1884, now at the National Gallery of Victoria) originally wore a Florentine cap identifying it as the poet Dante Alighieri, and that the plaster version of *The Gates of Hell* now sits at the Musée d'Orsay, the very site where the doorway was originally intended.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 9, 2025 visibility 16 link 4 artists

a dessert themed exhibition lets you have your art and eat it too

The Kunstmuseum Den Haag in the Netherlands is presenting "Grand Dessert," an exhibition that explores the social significance of sweets through a mix of historical artifacts, contemporary painting, video, and sculpture. Guest curated by dessert expert Janny van der Heijden—host of the Great Dutch Bake Off—alongside curator Suzanne Lambooy, the show features works by Wayne Thiebaud, Piet Mondrian, and Natasja Sadi, among others, and includes sections on pudding, chocolate, cake, and ice cream. The exhibition has been extended by six months due to its popularity, drawing over 250,000 visitors.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Jun 9, 2025 visibility 14 link 1 artist

klaus biesenbach american art scene political correctness

Curator Klaus Biesenbach, now director of the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, gave a lengthy interview to Der Spiegel in which he explained his decision to leave the American art scene, citing what he described as an oppressive climate of "political correctness." He claimed that DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) initiatives in U.S. museums had become "unbearable" quota requirements, and recounted a story about mandatory Zoom meetings after George Floyd's murder where he felt pressured to share personal experiences of discrimination. He also referenced the resignation of SFMOMA curator Gary Garrels over "reverse discrimination" comments and acknowledged his own controversial tenure at MOCA Los Angeles, which saw two high-profile resignations and a leadership restructuring.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original