Art News. Vasari Codex

article culture schedule Jan 1, 2026 visibility 9 link 5 artists, 2 galleries

experts how to make it art world

Artnet News has launched a new four-part podcast mini-series titled "How to Get Ahead in the Art World," produced in partnership with Art Market Mentors. Hosted by editor-in-chief Naomi Rea and produced by Sonia Manalili, the series features insights from top art-world insiders including Cat Manson (former Christie's leader turned career coach), Loïc Gouzer (former Christie's rainmaker and founder of Fair Warning), and Brooke Lampley (senior roles at Sotheby's and Gagosian). Each episode covers a key career lesson: taking ownership of your career, trusting your instincts, leading with passion, and embracing a layoff as a reset.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Dec 31, 2025 visibility 15 link 8 artists

art bites robert rauschenberg talking heads album cover

Robert Rauschenberg designed the cover for Talking Heads' 1983 album *Speaking in Tongues*, creating a limited-edition LP package with three plastic discs featuring cyan, magenta, and yellow designs that produced a full-color, kinetic composition when overlaid on the spinning record. The project stemmed from a friendship between Rauschenberg and frontman David Byrne, who met after Byrne saw Rauschenberg's photo collages in a New York gallery. Despite production challenges that limited the design to a special edition, the album won a Grammy for best album cover.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Dec 29, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists

british taxpayers to underwrite 1 billion loan to cover bayeux tapestry while its shown in the uk

France’s Bayeux Tapestry will be loaned to the British Museum in 2026, with the UK Treasury providing an indemnity guarantee of approximately £800 million ($1 billion) to cover potential damage or loss during transport and display. The guarantee, part of the UK government’s indemnity scheme, is a contingent liability—no upfront payment is required unless something goes wrong. The tapestry will travel by truck via the Channel Tunnel in a specially designed crate, displayed behind protective screening, and remain in London until July 2027. The loan is part of a broader cultural agreement between Britain and France, announced by President Emmanuel Macron during his July state visit to London.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Dec 29, 2025 visibility 22 link 32 artists

art pop culture crossover 2025

Artnet News recapped nine notable art and design crossovers in pop culture from 2025. These include a Renoir painting spotted in a Wes Anderson film, a John Everett Millais reference on a Taylor Swift album cover, and a Dieter Rams chair appearing in the TV show "Severance." The article also highlights painter Ronan Day-Lewis bringing his visual world to film with his debut "Anemone," Spike Lee incorporating his art collection into the film "Highest 2 Lowest," and Frank Lloyd Wright's Oak Park home being featured on the TV series "The Bear."

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Dec 26, 2025 visibility 16 link 23 artists

10 art historical deep dives

Artnet News published a roundup of 10 art historical deep dives from 2025, curated by an editor who expresses a deep passion for art history. The article highlights several featured stories, including the eccentric tale behind Carl Kahler's monumental cat painting "My Wife's Lovers" (1891), commissioned by Gilded Age patron Kate Birdsall Johnson; the record-breaking sale of Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" for $236.4 million at Sotheby's New York, with its rich symbolism and Imperial Chinese motifs; the online resurgence of August Friedrich Schenck's obscure 19th-century painting "Anguish" (ca. 1878), popularized by TikTok; and the centenary of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" with a deep dive into Francis Cugat's iconic cover art "Celestial Eyes" (1924).

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Dec 22, 2025 visibility 45 link 31 artists, 36 galleries

contemporary art galleries 2025

The article reflects on the closure of several notable contemporary art galleries in 2025, including Clearing, Blum, High Art, Venus Over Manhattan, Sperone Westwater, Galerie Francesca Pia, Tilton Gallery, Altman Siegel, Kasmin, Rena Bransten Gallery, L.A. Louver, and Canal Projects. It opens with a eulogy for Florine Stettheimer by Georgia O'Keeffe, drawing a parallel between the artist's unique way of life and the distinctive, charismatic spirit of galleries that have shuttered. The author recounts personal experiences at now-closed spaces like Metro Pictures, JTT, and Clearing, and quotes dealer Olivier Babin and the legendary Leo Castelli on the fleeting importance of galleries.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Dec 22, 2025 visibility 20 link 17 artists

10 art restorations in 2025

In 2025, a series of major art restorations unveiled transformative discoveries in masterpieces by Caravaggio, Raphael, and Artemisia Gentileschi, among others. Caravaggio's final work, *The Martyrdom of St. Ursula* (1610), owned by Intesa Sanpaolo, was cleaned ahead of Rome's "Caravaggio 2025" exhibition, revealing hidden faces and a soldier's helmet previously only visible by x-ray. At the Vatican Museums, a decade-long restoration of the Raphael Rooms concluded with the revelation that two allegorical figures in the Hall of Constantine were painted by Raphael himself, not just his assistants, rewriting art history. Meanwhile, Artemisia Gentileschi's *Hercules and Omphale* (ca. 1635–37), damaged in the Beirut explosion, underwent emergency conservation by the Getty.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Dec 22, 2025 visibility 18 link 6 artists

this artemisia gentileschi painting is unlike any of her others heres why

A previously unknown painting by Artemisia Gentileschi, *Hercules and Omphale* (ca. 1635–37), was identified after being damaged in the 2020 Beirut port explosion. The work, which hung in Beirut’s Sursock Palace, underwent a three-year conservation at the J. Paul Getty Museum and is now on view at the Columbus Museum of Art in the exhibition *Artemisia Gentileschi: Naples to Beirut*. It depicts the Greek myth of Queen Omphale enslaving Hercules, a rare subject for Gentileschi that subverts traditional gender roles.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Dec 17, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists

sothebys 2025 sales results analysis

Sotheby's is projecting $7.0 billion in consolidated 2025 sales, a 17% increase over the previous year and the strongest result in the company's history. Auction sales rose 26% to $5.7 billion, driven by high-quality consignments including the Leonard A. Lauder Collection and a $236.4 million Klimt painting. Luxury sales climbed 22% to $2.7 billion, while RM Sotheby's surpassed $1 billion for the first time. The opening of Sotheby's new global headquarters at the Breuer Building was a commercial centerpiece, generating $1.17 billion in its inaugural week. The company also expanded rapidly in the Middle East, staging the first international auction in Saudi Arabia and launching Collectors' Week in Abu Dhabi.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Dec 10, 2025 visibility 17 link 8 artists, 2 galleries

artist studio

Journalist Bianca Bosker went undercover as a studio assistant for painter Julie Curtiss and other artists, revealing the gritty, athletic reality behind art-making—a world of blood, sweat, and sleepless nights. The article explores how mounting financial pressures, especially for sculptors and installation artists like Ivana Bašić, Erwin Wurm, and Lindsey Mendick, force tough decisions about studio space and production. Bašić, despite critical acclaim, lost a subsidized Dumbo studio and now outsources production to keep costs down, while a growing number of established artists pass on wisdom through residencies and assistant teams.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Dec 9, 2025 visibility 15 link 2 artists

jacques louis david versailles

The Palace of Versailles has agreed to reexamine the provenance of a Jacques-Louis David sketchbook from 1790 after a Radio France investigation revealed it was looted by the Nazis during World War II. The sketchbook was stolen from Professor Lereboullet in July 1940, sold by Munich's Karl and Faber gallery in 1943, then acquired by dealer Otto Wertheimer before being purchased by Versailles in 1951. The museum claims it was unaware of the theft, and France's ministry of culture has promised further research and discussions with the descendants.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Dec 9, 2025 visibility 16 link 1 artist

swedish court acquits climate activists monet painting

A Swedish court acquitted six climate activists from the group Återställ Våtmarker (Restore Wetlands) who smeared red paint on the protective glass of Claude Monet's painting *The Artist’s Garden at Giverny* (1900) at the National Museum of Sweden in June 2023. The painting, on loan from the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, was unharmed; the court ruled the activists had no intent to damage the work, noting they used water-soluble paint and targeted a glass-covered piece, though some paint reached the frame.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Dec 9, 2025 visibility 14 link 4 artists

brazil library heist matisse

Brazilian authorities arrested one suspect after an armed robbery at São Paulo's Mário de Andrade Library on Sunday, where two thieves stole eight Henri Matisse engravings and works by Brazilian painter Candido Portinari. The artworks were displayed in a glass vitrine as part of the exhibition “From the Book to the Museum,” which was set to close November 30. The thieves held up a security guard and a couple, stuffed the items into a canvas bag, and discarded some works near a rubbish heap during their escape, partially captured by facial recognition cameras. The second suspect remains at large, and the library has not disclosed which specific works were taken.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Dec 8, 2025 visibility 27 link 38 artists

artnews awards 2025 jury

The second annual ARTnews Awards have announced their 2025 winners, selected by a jury of five esteemed US-based curators: Ryan N. Dennis (Co-Director & Chief Curator, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston), Anne Ellegood (Executive Director, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), Rosario Güiraldes (Curator of Visual Arts, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis), Ruba Katrib (Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, MoMA PS1, New York), and Victoria Sung (Phyllis C. Wattis Senior Curator, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive). These jurors reviewed exhibitions held between August 2024 and July 2025, meeting twice alongside two ARTnews senior editors to nominate and select winners across six categories.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Dec 4, 2025 visibility 19 link 10 artists, 2 galleries

warhol portrait muhammad ali art basel miami

A 1977 Andy Warhol portrait of Muhammad Ali, priced at $18 million, will be the centerpiece of Lévy Gorvy Dayan's booth at Art Basel Miami Beach. The 40-inch acrylic and silkscreen canvas, featuring a royal purple background, was previously purchased for $18.1 million at Christie's in 2021. The work is part of a series of 10 Warhol portraits of sports stars commissioned by collector Richard L. Weisman, and is autographed on the back by Ali.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Dec 4, 2025 visibility 18 link 13 artists

art nouveau renaissance mucha jugendstil paris metro

The article recounts the author's personal rediscovery of Art Nouveau, sparked by encountering an iron doorknob shaped like a Belgian endive at the Bröhan Museum in Berlin. It explores the movement's history, its German variant Jugendstil, and the philosophical debate between Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno over its merits—Benjamin criticizing it as a superficial escape from industrial reality, Adorno defending its utopian desire to reconcile art, nature, and technology. The piece also notes a contemporary resurgence of interest in the style.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Dec 3, 2025 visibility 16 link 7 artists

elizabeth browning jackson

Elizabeth Browning Jackson, a pioneering artist in the art-furniture movement, was rediscovered in 2021 after a phone call from Stephen Markos, founder of Superhouse Gallery, who had long admired her 1982 sculptural couch "Gloria." Markos urged Jackson to open a barn on her Rhode Island property, where she found her early works—hand-tufted rugs, cut-aluminum furniture, drawings, and prototypes—sealed away for 35 years. This rediscovery culminates at Design Miami 2025, where Superhouse presents Jackson as a foundational voice in the art-furniture movement, alongside contemporaries like Dan Friedman and Wendy Maruyama. Jackson's new exhibition "Re/construct" is also on view at Superhouse's Tribeca space through December 20, featuring reconstructed rugs based on her original 1980s designs.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 15 link 9 artists

roman sculpture

This article explores the rediscovery of Roman sculpture during the Renaissance and its profound influence on artists like Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. It details how Roman sculptors, inspired by Greek methods after the conquest of Greece in 146 B.C.E., created highly realistic works that served both artistic and political purposes, glorifying emperors and reinforcing imperial power. The piece highlights six iconic Roman sculptures—including the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, the Colossus of Constantine, Trajan's Column, and the Augustus of Prima Porta—describing their historical context, artistic features, and enduring legacy.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 13 link 4 artists

long forgotten rubens found in paris mansion

A long-lost painting by Peter Paul Rubens, a dramatic crucifixion scene dated to around 1614–15, was discovered among the possessions of a deceased Parisian homeowner during a routine appraisal. Auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat identified the work and consulted Rubens expert Nils Büttner, who confirmed its authenticity through x-ray imaging and pigment analysis. The painting sold at auction on November 30 for €2.3 million ($2.7 million), exceeding its presale estimate of €1–2 million.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Dec 1, 2025 visibility 14 link 5 artists

louvre ticket price hike

The Louvre will raise ticket prices by 45 percent for non-E.U. visitors starting January 14, 2026, with tickets increasing to €32 ($37) for travelers from the U.S., U.K., and China, while E.U. visitors continue to pay €22. The price hike, announced on November 27, is expected to generate €15–20 million annually to fund modernization plans, following intense criticism over aging infrastructure and a $102 million jewel heist in October. The museum also faces structural issues, including the temporary closure of parts of its Sully wing due to fragile support beams, and has implemented an €80 million security master plan.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 28, 2025 visibility 14 link 8 artists

rediscovered renoir auction

A rediscovered Renoir painting, *L'enfant et ses jouets – Gabrielle et le fils de l'artiste, Jean* (created before 1910), sold for over €1.8 million ($2 million) at Hôtel Drouot in Paris on November 25. The intimate portrait of Renoir's young son Jean with his nursemaid Gabrielle had remained in the same private collection for over a century, never before published or exhibited. It was offered by auctioneer Christophe Joron-Derem in the "Tableaux Modernes" sale and purchased by an international buyer, with the hammer price of €1.45 million falling within the presale estimate.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 26, 2025 visibility 15 link 3 artists

renoir painting missing for a century sells in paris for 2 million

A Renoir painting that had been missing for a century sold for $2 million at auction in Paris. The work, titled *L’enfant et ses jouets – Gabrielle et le fils de l’artiste, Jean* (circa 1910), depicts the artist’s young son Jean with his nursemaid Gabrielle. It had never been published or exhibited and was discovered in remarkably good condition. Auction house Joron-Derem offered the painting in its Tableaux Modernes sale at Hôtel Drouot on November 25, where an international collector secured it for a hammer price of €1.45 million ($1.68 million), with buyer’s fees bringing the total to about €1.8 million ($2 million). The painting had been gifted by Renoir to his pupil and close friend Jeanne Baudot, then passed to her adopted son Jean Griot, who kept it in his bedroom until his death in 2011.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 25, 2025 visibility 11 link 9 artists

sothebys modern sales by the numbers

Sotheby's three-part modern art evening auction in New York on Thursday night achieved a total of $304.6 million, a dramatic increase from the $93.1 million equivalent sale last year. The sale featured 69 lots, with three withdrawn and none bought in, resulting in a 95% sell-through rate. Top lots included Vincent van Gogh's still life "Piles de romans parisiens et roses dans une verre" (1887), which sold for $62.7 million with premium to private advisor Patti Wong, and a work by Frida Kahlo. Third-party guarantees covered 55% of the presale low estimate, but bidding remained competitive throughout.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 25, 2025 visibility 13 link 8 artists

rembrandt print drawer auction

A rare Rembrandt counterproof print, "The Goldweigher" (1639), was discovered in a Victorian chest in the Norfolk studio of the late theater designer Alan Barlow. His son, Edward Barlow, found the print while sorting through the studio and initially assumed it was a common reproduction. After examination by Cheffins auction house, it was identified as an original preparatory print, with reversed orientation, a Strasbourg lily watermark, and black chalk lines indicating Rembrandt's hand. It will be auctioned on December 3 with an estimate of £10,000–£20,000.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Nov 21, 2025 visibility 15 link 6 artists

trump epstein emails salvator mundi

Newly released emails between Jeffrey Epstein and journalist Michael Wolff reveal Epstein speculating about the $450 million sale of Leonardo da Vinci's *Salvator Mundi* and its possible connection to Donald Trump. In a May 2019 exchange, Epstein suggested that the painting's sale by Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman might have been a covert bribe to secure Trump's support on Middle Eastern policy, specifically his veto of a congressional resolution against U.S. involvement in the Yemen war. Epstein also noted that his "art guy" thought the painting wasn't very good.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 23 link 10 artists

sothebys lauder day sale

Sotheby's held a day sale on Wednesday featuring 30 works from the collection of cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder, generating $3.84 million against an estimate of $2.22 million to $3.29 million. The sale followed a strong Tuesday auction led by a Gustav Klimt portrait from Lauder's collection that achieved the second-highest price ever for an artwork at auction. Standout results included works by Dorothea Rockburne, Elizabeth Murray, and Lyonel Feininger that far exceeded their estimates, while a Claes Oldenburg sculpture sold for $444,500, the top price of the day.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 21 link 7 artists

peter hujar day biopic ira sachs

Filmmaker Ira Sachs has released a new film titled *Peter Hujar's Day*, based on a 1974 audio recording and subsequent book by writer Linda Rosenkrantz. The film captures a single day in the life of photographer Peter Hujar, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1987, as he recounts mundane details and artistic anxieties to Rosenkrantz. Starring Ben Whishaw as Hujar and Rebecca Hall as Rosenkrantz, the movie adapts a transcript Rosenkrantz rediscovered and published in 2021. Sachs describes the project as an exploration of portraiture, light, and emotion, contrasting with his earlier, more turbulent film *Passages*.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Nov 17, 2025 visibility 15 link 3 artists

stolen banksy print recovered thief sentenced

A judge at London's Kingston Crown Court sentenced Larry Fraser to 13 months in jail for stealing a Banksy print of the iconic *Balloon Girl* image from Grove Gallery in September 2024. Fraser, who pleaded guilty, used a hammer to break a glass door and stole the print in 36 seconds, hoping to pay off a drug debt. The Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad recovered the artwork within days after Fraser and accomplice James Love stashed it on the Isle of Dogs. Love was acquitted by a jury, claiming he was unaware of the theft until after the fact.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 13, 2025 visibility 11 link 2 artists

metallica kirk hammett conan frank frazetta

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett is auctioning Frank Frazetta's painting *Conan the Berserker* (1967), which he purchased directly from the artist for $1 million in 2009. The work, originally used as cover art for a paperback edition of Robert E. Howard's novel *Conan the Conqueror*, will be offered in Heritage Auctions' “Hollywood/Entertainment Signature Auction” on December 9–10, with bidding starting at $10 million. The sale follows a record-breaking Frazetta auction in September, when his oil painting *Man Ape* (1966) sold for $13.5 million.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Nov 13, 2025 visibility 17 link 5 artists

tate staff vote strike inadequate pay

More than 150 unionized workers at Britain's Tate museums, represented by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), will strike from November 26 to December 2 over what they call inadequate pay raises. The strike follows a vote where 98% of members supported action, with 88% turnout. Staff at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool, and Tate St. Ives were offered a 2-3% salary increase, which the union argues is below the government's Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance maximum of 3.25%. The action coincides with the opening of the major exhibition "Turner & Constable: Rivals & Originals" at Tate Britain on November 27.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original