Vasari Art Codex

article news schedule Dec 29, 2025 visibility 4 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

cinema icon brigitte bardot dies olfactory art shines in germany controversy at imperial war museum and more morning links for december 29 2026 1234768207

This morning links roundup from ARTnews covers several art-world stories. UK ministers will underwrite up to £800 million in potential damage to the Bayeux Tapestry during its loan to the British Museum, making the British taxpayer the ultimate guarantor. London's Imperial War Museum has been accused of sidelining Victoria Cross recipients in favor of highlighting LGBTQ+ history after closing its gallery of the medals and returning them to Lord Ashcroft. Two exhibitions in Germany explore olfactory art, the Natural History Museum plans to open two spaces, and Ireland has reportedly turned the former Israeli embassy in Dublin into a museum for Palestine.

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article news schedule Dec 17, 2025 visibility 2 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

walkout louvre staff unions vote continue strike 1234767203

Unionized staff at the Louvre Museum in Paris voted unanimously to continue a strike that began on Monday, with hundreds of workers walking out to protest deteriorating working conditions, insufficient staffing, and a proposed dual pricing system for non-EU visitors. The strike has forced partial closures, with the museum offering only a limited 'masterpiece route' featuring works like the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. Unions rejected a Culture Ministry offer to cancel a planned €5.7 million budget cut, recruit more staff, and raise pay, deeming the proposals insufficient. Workers also oppose a plan to raise ticket prices for non-EU visitors from €22 to €32 to fund renovations, and criticize the use of funds from a brand licensing deal with Abu Dhabi.

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article news schedule Dec 8, 2025 visibility 6 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

what was stolen louvre crown jewels photos 1234757886

Thieves broke into the Louvre Museum in Paris and stole several pieces of the French Crown Jewels from the Galerie d'Apollon, including a diadem, necklace, earrings, and brooches from the parures of Queen Marie-Amélie, Queen Hortense, Empress Marie-Louise, and Empress Eugénie. Two items—the reliquary brooch and the corsage bow—were dropped and recovered, and a ninth item, Empress Eugénie's crown, was also taken but later recovered. The thieves triggered alarms and fled after a fast, violent break-in, leaving behind a cherry picker; no injuries were reported.

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article policy schedule Dec 1, 2025 visibility 4 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

louvre museum raises ticket prices for non european foreigners 1234764243

The Louvre Museum board has voted to raise ticket prices by 45% for visitors outside the European Economic Area, effective January 14. The price will increase from €22 ($25) to €32 ($37), affecting tourists from the United States, Britain, and Russia. The move is part of a broader effort to fund infrastructure upgrades and security improvements following a high-profile heist in October in which thieves stole nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the Apollo Gallery. The museum's director, Laurence des Cars, acknowledged that the institution has "very inadequate" and "outdated" security systems, and a full overhaul is not expected until 2032.

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article news schedule Nov 17, 2025 visibility 2 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

louvre museum closes gallery greek antiquities 1234761958

The Louvre Museum in Paris has temporarily closed a gallery housing Greek antiquities and several offices after an audit revealed structural weaknesses in beams on the second level of the southern Sully wing. The affected gallery, the Campana Gallery, which displays antique Greek ceramics, was shut as a precaution, and 65 employees have been relocated while experts assess the damage. The closure comes amid a difficult period for the museum, following a $102 million theft of France's crown jewels in October and a scathing report criticizing leadership for prioritizing acquisitions over security upgrades.

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article news schedule Nov 7, 2025 visibility 5 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

louvre heist suspect is former museum guard social media influencer 1234760445

Four suspects have been arrested for allegedly stealing the French crown jewels from the Louvre Museum last month. One suspect, identified as 39-year-old Abdoulaye N., is a former security guard at the Centre Pompidou and a social media influencer known for motocross stunts under the name Doudou Cross Bitume. His DNA was found at the crime scene, and he is suspected of breaking into the museum's Apollo gallery through an unsecured window before escaping on a motorbike. He has a prior criminal record including a 2014 jewelry store robbery conviction, and was due in court for a separate case. The stolen jewels have not yet been recovered.

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article news schedule Oct 27, 2025 visibility 4 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

louvre heist suspects arrested 1234758905

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of French crown jewels from the Louvre on October 19. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced the arrests on Sunday, with one man detained at Charles de Gaulle Airport while preparing to board a flight to Algeria. The heist, captured on a 36-second video, involved two thieves escaping with $102 million worth of Napoleonic jewelry using a furniture lift. Nine artifacts were taken from the Apollo Gallery, but one crown was dropped in the haste. The stolen jewels were not privately insured, meaning France will not be reimbursed if they are not recovered.

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article news schedule Oct 23, 2025 visibility 6 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

investigators look to dna analysis video footage to identify louvre thieves 1234758560

On October 19, 2025, thieves broke into the Louvre Museum's Apollo Gallery in Paris, using a cherry picker and an angle grinder to steal nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million in under eight minutes. One piece was recovered outside the museum. Approximately 100 investigators are now analyzing DNA evidence found on a helmet and gloves at the scene, as well as video footage captured by a bystander showing two suspects escaping on scooters. The museum reopened the day after the heist, but the Apollo Gallery remains closed due to the ongoing investigation.

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article news schedule Oct 22, 2025 visibility 5 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

louvre museum reopens despite crown jewel heist investigations 1234758368

The Louvre Museum reopened on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, after a dramatic jewel heist on Sunday, October 19, in which robbers used a cherry picker and angle grinder to steal eight pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the Apollo Gallery in just seven minutes. The second-floor gallery housing France’s crown jewels remains closed as investigations continue, and the museum’s security systems—deemed outdated and inadequate in a prior official report—are under heavy scrutiny. Museum director Laurence des Cars was booed by staff and is expected to address questions in a hearing later Wednesday, while the thieves remain at large.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 20, 2025 visibility 6 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

egyptian god erect phallus met 1234757936

A 5,000-year-old statue of the Egyptian god Min, currently on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition "Divine Egypt," has gone viral on social media after a user on X posted a humorous comment about its erect phallus. The statue, which originally featured a separate stone phallus now lost, depicts Min with his hand at his groin, a pose linked to male fertility. The exhibition includes nearly 250 artworks and objects related to Egyptian deities, with loans from the Louvre, the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

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article policy schedule Oct 3, 2025 visibility 4 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

trump fires national council on the humanities 1234755262

The White House fired the vast majority of the National Council on the Humanities, the advisory body for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), on Wednesday during a government shutdown. A letter from Mary Sprowls of the Presidential Personnel Office informed council members that their positions were terminated effective immediately. Only four members remain—all white men—despite a statutory requirement for equitable representation of women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities. The council typically comprises 26 scholars and humanities leaders appointed for six-year terms, and its meetings require at least 14 members. The dismissals come as the NEH has already faced severe cuts, including a two-thirds staff reduction in June and a proposal to eliminate the agency entirely in the 2026 budget.

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article news schedule Sep 19, 2025 visibility 1 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

egyptian bracelet missing melted down 1234752930

A 3,000-year-old gold bracelet belonging to King Amenemope was stolen from a conservation lab in Egypt, sold for 194,000 Egyptian pounds (about $4,000), and melted down by a gold smelter. The theft was carried out by a restoration specialist who took the artifact from a safe, and four suspects have since been arrested with proceeds recovered. The bracelet was being prepared for an upcoming exhibition titled “Treasures of the Pharaohs” at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome.

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person people schedule Sep 3, 2025 visibility 4 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

kim sajet milwaukee art museum director 1234750605

Kim Sajet has been appointed as the new director of the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM), starting September 22. The announcement comes shortly after Sajet was ousted as director of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery for supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. During her 12-year tenure there, she doubled attendance, raised over $85 million, and oversaw major capital improvements. Sajet previously held leadership roles at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

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article news schedule Jul 31, 2025 visibility 1 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

whitney museum person jumps staff email 1234748609

An unidentified 34-year-old man died after jumping from the Whitney Museum in New York on Wednesday evening, shortly before the museum closed. Whitney director Scott Rothkopf informed staff via email, stating that authorities confirmed the individual jumped from Whitney property onto the plaza below. The New York Police Department responded to a 911 call at 5:26 p.m. and found the man unconscious and unresponsive with injuries indicative of a fall; he was pronounced dead at the scene. The museum delayed its opening to noon on Thursday to allow staff time to process the incident, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is investigating.

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gavel restitution schedule Jul 25, 2025 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

king tutankhamen egyptian artifact auction grasshopper 1234748248

An intricately carved ivory and wood grasshopper from the Age of Tutankhamun, known as the 'Guennol Grasshopper,' is set to be auctioned by Apollo Art Auctions in July with an estimate of £300,000–£500,000. Egyptian art historians, including German Egyptologist Christian Loeben, have raised concerns that the cosmetic vessel may have been stolen by British archaeologist Howard Carter, who discovered King Tutankhamen’s tomb and allegedly kept some items for his own collection. The auction house states there is no documented evidence linking the object to the tomb, and it has been cleared against the Art Loss Register, but experts like former Met director Thomas Hoving have long connected it to the pharaoh’s burial.

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article news schedule Jul 18, 2025 visibility 1 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

kazimir malevich mnac bucharest yaniv cohen dispute 1234747568

Yaniv Cohen, a Bucharest-based Israeli businessman, is threatening to sue the art publication e-flux and Ukrainian American art historian Konstantin Akinsha for defamation over an article questioning the authenticity of three paintings attributed to Kazimir Malevich. The works—'Suprematist Composition in Color' (ca. 1915), 'Cubo-Futurist Composition' (ca. 1912–13), and 'Linear Suprematism' (ca. 1916)—are currently on view at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC) in Bucharest as part of the exhibition 'Kazimir Malevich: Outliving History.' Akinsha accused MNAC of lacking expertise and challenged the provenance of the previously unseen works, prompting Cohen to demand the article's removal and an apology via a letter from the Tel Aviv–based law firm Rosen-Ben Gal.

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article culture schedule Jun 25, 2025 visibility 1 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

relooted video game repatriation african artifacts 1234746041

South African video game studio Nyamakop unveiled its latest project, Relooted, at the Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles. The game is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer where players join a crew of thieves to steal back African artifacts from Western museums and repatriate them to their original communities. The artifacts in the game are based on real looted objects, such as the Ngadji drum held by the British Museum, and the missions involve heists from fictionalized museums. The studio spent two years researching artifacts with compelling stories of looting.

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

france hikes museum fees non europeans 1234744753

Beginning January 1, 2026, major French museums including the Louvre and the Château de Versailles will charge non-European Union visitors €30 (about $35), up from €22 ($25). The new "differential tariff" is driven by cultural budget cuts, waning corporate sponsorships, and rising restoration costs. Versailles, where 42 percent of 8 million annual visitors come from outside Europe, sees the funds as a lifeline for repairs, while the Louvre faces €400 million in renovation needs over 15 years. The policy is expected to spread to other sites like the Arc de Triomphe and Château de Chambord, and more institutions may adopt it in 2027.

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article museum schedule Feb 10, 2026 visibility 4 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

british museum acquires tudor heart pendant 2744141

The British Museum has successfully raised £3.5 million ($4.8 million) to acquire a rare 16th-century gold 'Tudor Heart' pendant, discovered by a metal detectorist in 2019. The pendant, linked to King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, will enter the museum's permanent collection and is expected to tour the UK.

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article news schedule Nov 28, 2025 visibility 5 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

louvre security report 2720444

A 2018 security audit commissioned by the Louvre from Van Cleef and Arpels identified critical vulnerabilities in the museum's Apollo Gallery, including a balcony accessible via a lift platform—the exact entry point used by thieves in a daring October 19, 2025 heist. The audit, which included diagrams highlighting a window facing Quai François-Mitterrand as a major weakness, was not passed on to current Louvre president Laurence des Cars when she took over in 2021. The museum only discovered the document after the theft, prompting an internal review and referral to France's General Inspectorate of Cultural Affairs. French authorities have since arrested four more suspects, bringing the total to eight, as the investigation continues into the theft of eight valuable pieces including Napoleon Bonaparte's emerald-and-diamond necklace.

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article news schedule Jun 24, 2025 visibility 2 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

king tuts iconic death mask was intended for someone else researchers say 2564419

Researchers from the University of York have proposed that King Tutankhamun's iconic death mask, discovered in 1925 by Egyptologist Howard Carter, was not originally made for the young pharaoh. The theory, based on the mask's pierced ears—a feature typically found on female rulers and children—suggests it was intended for a regal female burial, possibly Queen Nefertiti. Analysis of the gold used on the face versus the rest of the mask indicates the face was added later, effectively grafted onto a pre-existing mask. This idea, first raised by British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves in 2015, is supported by evidence that Tutankhamun's death at around age 19 was sudden, leading to a hurried burial with repurposed funerary objects.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 24, 2026 visibility 13 link 8 artists, 5 galleries

Exhibition | Carlos Garaicoa, 'Rituals and Liberty' at Goodman Gallery, New York, United States

Goodman Gallery presents Carlos Garaicoa's first solo exhibition at its New York viewing room, titled 'Rituals and Liberty.' The show features eight works, including five reliefs that blend painting and photography, and sculptural models incorporating 19th-century French engravings. The exhibition precedes Garaicoa's solo show at Museo La Tertulia in Cali, Colombia, in May. Garaicoa, a Cuban-born artist based in Madrid, explores urbanism and how architecture reflects and shapes society, continuing his long-standing interest in decoding urban infrastructures.

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article news schedule Apr 13, 2026 visibility 20 link 13 artists, 7 galleries

Expo 2026 Recap | Silver Room Block Party Returns | Pita Inn Opening in the City

Expo Chicago 2026 concluded with a strategic downsizing of its floor plan at Navy Pier, a move that drew praise from dealers for increasing the quality and manageability of the fair. Significant market activity was reported, including six-figure sales of works by Robert Nava and Luftwerk, alongside the distribution of the Northern Trust Purchase Prize which gifted several artworks to institutions like the Denver Art Museum and The Phillips Collection. Beyond the fair, the Illinois Arts Council announced over $325,000 in grants for public art projects commemorating the U.S. semiquincentennial.

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article news schedule Apr 10, 2026 visibility 25 link 24 artists, 6 galleries

Readers react to LACMA’s new David Geffen Galleries: L.A. arts and culture this weekend

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is preparing for the public debut of its $724-million David Geffen Galleries, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor. Ahead of the April 19 member opening, public discourse has intensified following a series of reports detailing the building's architecture, the reinstallation of Alexander Calder’s "Three Quintains (Hello Girls)," and the project's massive budget. Reader reactions remain deeply polarized, reflecting a two-decade-long debate over the structure's unconventional design and its impact on the urban landscape.

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person people schedule Apr 7, 2026 visibility 10 link 2 artists, 4 galleries

Ionit Behar, the MCA’s Newest Curator, on Opening Windows Into Other Worlds

Dr. Ionit Behar has been appointed as the Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago, effective February 9, 2026. Born in Israel and raised in Uruguay, Behar brings a global perspective shaped by her upbringing in an academic environment and her experience as an immigrant in the United States. Her curatorial philosophy emphasizes the museum as a space for intellectual discovery and emotional resonance rather than a mere repository of information.

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article news schedule Feb 17, 2026 visibility 10 link 7 artists, 1 gallery

Old Master Grandeur and Modern Patronage Converge at the 2026 Norton Museum of Art Gala

The Norton Museum of Art's 2026 annual gala drew nearly 700 guests and raised nearly $5 million for the museum's programs. The event featured a live auction hosted by Sotheby's Oliver Barker, selling works by contemporary artists like Julie Curtiss, Jeffrey Gibson, Jessie Henson, and Marilyn Minter, and honored trustee Ronnie Heyman and artist Loie Hollowell. The evening's design was inspired by the concurrent exhibition "Art and Life in Rembrandt's Time: Masterpieces from the Leiden Collection."

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article news schedule Jan 16, 2026 visibility 6 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

Hawai’i at the British Museum, a Venice palazzo for sale, Joseph Beuys’s ‘Bathtub’—podcast

The latest episode of The Art Newspaper's podcast 'The Week in Art' covers three distinct stories. Host Ben Luke tours the British Museum's new exhibition 'Hawaiʻi: a kingdom crossing oceans' with Alice Christophe, head of Oceania, discussing the museum's revised approach to stewarding its Hawaiian collection. The episode also examines the sale of Ca' Dario, a famed Venetian palazzo on the Grand Canal, with Anna Somers Cocks, who recounts its eerie history and supposed curse. Finally, Luke speaks with Thaddaeus Ropac about Joseph Beuys's late bronze sculpture 'Bathtub' (1961-87), which is featured in a new show at the Thaddaeus Ropac gallery in London.

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museum exhibitions schedule Dec 15, 2025 visibility 10 link 21 artists, 8 galleries

The best exhibitions of 2025, as chosen by curators and museum directors

Curators and museum directors from leading institutions worldwide selected their favorite exhibitions of 2025, highlighting a diverse range of shows. Standouts include Wolfgang Tillmans at Centre Pompidou, Paris, praised for its generous scope and integration of the library space; 'Encounters: Giacometti x Mona Hatoum' at Barbican Art Gallery, London, noted for its dialogue across time; and Ithell Colquhoun's retrospective at Tate St Ives, which repositions the artist from a Surrealist footnote to a major figure. Other acclaimed exhibitions include Noah Davis at Barbican Art Gallery, Linder at Hayward Gallery, Hamad Butt at Whitechapel Gallery, and Caroline Walker at Hepworth Wakefield.

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person people schedule Dec 11, 2025 visibility 5 link 17 artists, 4 galleries

Groundbreaking Achievement: 2025 Turner Prize Goes to Nnena Kalu, First Artist With Learning Disability to Win Prestigious Award

London-based artist Nnena Kalu (b. 1966) won the Turner Prize 2025 at a ceremony in Bradford on December 9, becoming the first artist with a learning disability to receive the prestigious award since its inception in 1984. Kalu’s practice spans sculpture, installation, and works on paper, featuring cocoon-like hanging sculptures made from unconventional materials like masking tape and VHS ribbon, as well as large-scale drawings of spiraling vortexes. She was selected from a shortlist that included Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami, and Zadie Xa, and was recognized for her presentation in the group exhibition “Conversations” at the Walker Art Gallery and her work at Manifesta 15 in Barcelona. The prize includes a £25,000 award.

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person people schedule Dec 9, 2025 visibility 7 link 6 artists, 1 gallery

Nnena Kalu wins the 2025 Turner Prize

Scottish artist Nnena Kalu has won the 2025 Turner Prize, becoming the first learning-disabled person to receive the prestigious award. Her winning work includes suspended sculptures bound with rope and tape, along with swirling vortex drawings, currently on display at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford as part of the UK City of Culture festival. Kalu, who is autistic and has limited verbal communication, was nominated for her contributions to the Conversations exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and for her work Hanging Sculpture 1 to 10 at Manifesta 15 in Barcelona. The jury, chaired by Tate Britain director Alex Farquharson, praised the visual and aesthetic quality of her abstract art, noting its powerful presence and enigmatic expressiveness.

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