Art News. Vasari Codex

gavel restitution schedule Jul 1, 2025 visibility 12 link 1 artist

cambridge university looted benin bronze

Cambridge University has removed a Benin bronze statue of a cockerel, known as an “okukor,” from display at Jesus College after students campaigned for its removal. The bronze was looted by British colonizers from what is now Nigeria in the 19th century, and students voted for the artwork to be returned to Nigeria. The college is now considering repatriation and has permanently removed the statue from its dining hall, with students proposing that a new commissioned piece replace it.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 30, 2025 visibility 14 link 1 artist

vatican museums restored raphael rooms cleaning project

The Vatican Museums have unveiled the final room of the Raphael Rooms in the Apostolic Palace after a decade-long cleaning and restoration. The project revealed that Raphael used a novel mural painting technique, applying oil paint directly to the wall rather than using traditional fresco. Restorers discovered a grid of metal nails embedded in the walls, intended to hold a natural resin surface for the oil paint, confirming earlier reports of this experimental approach. The room, dedicated to the Roman emperor Constantine, was completed by Raphael's students after his death in 1520.

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article news schedule Jun 26, 2025 visibility 10 link 2 artists

hatshepsut statues destroyed research

New research challenges the long-held belief that Pharaoh Thutmose III destroyed statues of his predecessor Hatshepsut out of vengeful rage after her death in 1458 B.C.E. Jun Yi Wong, a research fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, examined hundreds of statue fragments from Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri in Luxor. His study, published in Antiquity on June 24, reveals that the statues were broken according to a ritual practice called deactivation—snapped at the neck, waist, and knees—while faces were left intact. Wong found that the fragments were not immediately buried but later reused by everyday Egyptians as building materials, suggesting pragmatic reuse rather than targeted erasure.

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article news schedule Jun 24, 2025 visibility 6 link 1 artist

1000 year old sword intact river netherlands

Construction workers discovered a 1,000-year-old sword in the Korte Linschoten River on a private estate in the Netherlands in March. The blade, forged between 1050 and 1150 C.E., features a Brazil-nut-shaped pommel and copper wire inlays of spiritual symbols. After conservation, it was donated to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, where it is now on free public view through August.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 24, 2025 visibility 11 link 2 artists

lough kinale book shrine medieval manuscripts national museum ireland

In 1986, divers recovered ancient fragments from a lake in Longford County, Ireland, which were later identified as the Lough Kinale Book Shrine, the largest and oldest book shrine in Ireland. After a 39-year conservation process at the National Museum of Ireland (NMI), the 9th-century oak and bronze container is now on public display. The shrine, featuring intricate metalwork, snake-head hinges, and a permanently sealed interior, was reconstructed using photogrammetry and 3D modeling. It is part of the NMI exhibition "Words on the Wave," which showcases over 100 early medieval artifacts, including manuscripts on loan from the Abbey Library of St. Gall in Switzerland.

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article news schedule Jun 24, 2025 visibility 11 link 4 artists

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

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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article news schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 10 link 1 artist

ai art restoration conservation mit

MIT mechanical engineering student Alex Kachkine has developed a new AI technique that could dramatically speed up the restoration of aged or damaged paintings. The method uses a high-resolution scan of the artwork, an AI algorithm to identify cracks and missing patches, and a digitally printed polymer film—called a "digital mask"—that is overlaid onto the painting and sealed with varnish. The mask can be removed without trace using conservators' solvents. Kachkine tested the process on a 15th-century oil-on-panel painting by the Master of the Prado Adoration of the Magi, where the AI identified 5,612 damaged sections and the restoration took just 3.5 hours—66 times faster than conventional hand inpainting.

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article news schedule Jun 13, 2025 visibility 12 link 3 artists

national portrait gallery director resigns trump kim sajet

Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., has resigned from her post after President Donald Trump claimed on social media that he had fired her. The Smithsonian Institution initially affirmed its independence, stating that only its secretary and Board of Regents control personnel decisions, and Sajet continued working. However, as of June 13, she departed the role she had held since 2013, citing her desire to put the museum first. Trump had criticized Sajet for being a supporter of DEI and for including a wall text with a portrait of him that mentioned his impeachments and the January 6 insurrection.

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article policy schedule Jun 13, 2025 visibility 13 link 1 artist

neh staff layoffs trump administration

The Trump administration laid off approximately 100 employees from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) on June 10, part of a broader reduction in force that has left fewer than 60 staff remaining at the agency. The cuts follow earlier funding freezes and a $65 million budget reduction by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with funds redirected to President Trump’s National Garden of American Heroes. The NEH’s union, the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403, has condemned the restructuring as an existential threat to institutions that rely on NEH grants for research, preservation, and education.

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article news schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

jerry gogosian winds down instagram hilde lynn helphenstein

Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, the creator of the popular Instagram account Jerry Gogosian, announced she is winding down the project after seven years. The account, known for its sharp and often acerbic commentary on the art market, amassed 151,000 followers since its launch in 2018. Helphenstein initially ran the account anonymously, revealing her identity in 2020, and used it to mock dealer Larry Gagosian, comment on auction records, and document her experiences at art fairs. The account also had real-world impact, including prompting Gagosian gallery to drop a director after Helphenstein urged people to come forward with sexual harassment allegations. Helphenstein, who previously ran her own gallery in Los Angeles, said she has 'grown out' of the project and is looking toward her next endeavor.

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

adam eve nude restored fitzwilliam

An illuminated manuscript from 1505, *The Primer of Claude of France*, has had its original nude depictions of Adam and Eve digitally restored after a former owner crudely painted clothing over them. The restoration was achieved using an algorithm developed by Cambridge University's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, which stripped away the overpaint without damaging the original page. The manuscript is currently on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, as part of the exhibition “Colour: The Art and Science of Illuminated Manuscripts.”

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article news schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 11 link 2 artists

assyrian king ashurbanipal relief nineveh

A team of archaeologists from Heidelberg University has uncovered a monumental stone relief in Nineveh, Iraq, depicting King Ashurbanipal flanked by two major Assyrian gods, Ashur and Ishtar, along with demigods. The 2,600-year-old relief, measuring nearly 20 feet across and 10 feet high, was found buried in a pit at the northern palace, a site first excavated in the 19th century by Austen Henry Layard. The discovery is part of the Heidelberg Nineveh Project, launched in 2018 after the liberation of Mosul from the Islamic State.

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article policy schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 16 link 1 artist

smithsonian institution challenges kim sajet firing trump

The Smithsonian Institution issued a statement asserting its independence after President Donald Trump claimed he fired National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet. The statement did not name Sajet or Trump directly but affirmed that all personnel decisions are made by the Secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch, with board oversight. It followed reports that Sajet continued working despite the supposed firing and that the Trump administration had compiled a 17-point list of grievances against her. The statement also noted the Board of Regents directed the Secretary to ensure unbiased content in Smithsonian museums.

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article news schedule Jun 2, 2025 visibility 7 link 1 artist

etruscan sarcophagus spouses restoration rome

The National Etruscan Museum in Rome is undertaking a public restoration of the Sarcophagus of the Spouses, a 6th-century B.C.E. Etruscan terracotta tomb that was discovered in Cerveteri in 1881 and reassembled from 400 fragments by the museum's founder, Felice Barnabei. The open restoration will begin with the couple's legs, using digital technologies, and aims to highlight the work of art professionals while creating a long-term conservation plan for the masterpiece.

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article news schedule May 26, 2025 visibility 11 link 4 artists

shooting washington dc jewish museum

A shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night killed two Israeli embassy staff members, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, in what authorities have called an antisemitic attack. The gunman, Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, opened fire as the victims exited a diplomatic event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, then entered the museum where he was detained by security. Police reported that Rodriguez shouted “free, free Palestine” after being taken into custody. The museum expressed heartbreak and condemned the violence, while the Israeli embassy mourned the loss of the couple, who were engaged to be married.

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article news schedule May 23, 2025 visibility 11 link 2 artists

sutton hoo bromeswell bucket not bucket

Archaeologists have discovered the base of the Bromeswell Bucket, a Byzantine-era vessel from Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, U.K., revealing that it was used as a cremation urn. The bucket, first found in fragments in 1986, 2012, and 2023, features a hunting scene and a Greek inscription. Excavations by the TV program Time Team, the National Trust, FAS Heritage, and volunteers uncovered the base, which contained cremated human and animal remains, including a skull and talus, as well as bones from an animal larger than a pig. The remains were likely stored in a bag, confirming the bucket's funerary purpose.

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gavel restitution schedule May 21, 2025 visibility 16 link 1 artist

metropolitan museum returns antiquities iraq robin symes

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced it will return three ancient sculptures to Iraq, collectively valued at $500,000. The objects include a Sumerian gypsum alabaster vessel (ca. 2600–2500 BCE) and two Babylonian terracotta sculptures (ca. 2000–1600 BCE) depicting a male and female head. The repatriation follows new information from an investigation into Robin Symes, a dealer accused of trafficking looted artifacts. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office reported that the Symes investigation has led to the seizure of 135 antiquities worth over $58 million, with two of the items seized by the Antiquities Trafficking Unit earlier this year.

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trending_up market schedule May 21, 2025 visibility 15 link 2 artists

this qing dynasty painting could sell for nearly 19 million at auction

Sotheby's Hong Kong offered the Qing dynasty imperial painting *The Blue Goats* as a single-lot sale during its Asian Art Week. Commissioned by Emperor Qianlong in the late 1750s, the seven-by-six-foot hanging scroll was created by Italian Jesuit painter Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining) and Chinese court artist Jin Tingbiao, blending Western and Eastern techniques. Despite a presale estimate of HK$60–150 million ($7.7–19.3 million), the work sold for HK$58.9 million ($7.6 million) after fees, below the low estimate. The painting depicts a pair of gorals in a rocky landscape and is inscribed with a poem by the emperor symbolizing his military conquests.

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article news schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 11 link 2 artists

monumental relief last assyrian ruler unearthed nineveh

A team of German archaeologists from Heidelberg University has uncovered a monumental stone relief in the throne room of the North Palace of King Ashurbanipal at Nineveh, near Mosul, Iraq. The slab, measuring 5.5 meters long and 3 meters high and weighing 12 tons, depicts the last great Assyrian ruler alongside the deities Ashur and Ishtar, as well as a mythological fish genius. The discovery was announced by Professor Aaron Schmitt, who noted that no other known Assyrian palace reliefs feature major deities, making this find exceptional. The excavation is part of the Heidelberg Nineveh project, ongoing since 2018.

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gavel restitution schedule May 14, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists

buddha gems sothebys controversy

Sotheby's has postponed the auction of the Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha, a collection of over 300 ancient gemstones and metal sheets linked to the Buddha, after criticism from academics, Buddhist leaders, and India's Ministry of Culture. The gems, discovered in 1898 by colonial engineer William Claxton Peppé in Uttar Pradesh, India, were set to be sold by his descendants in Hong Kong on May 7, with bidding starting at HK$10 million ($1.3 million). The auction house stated it is now in discussions with the Indian government to find a resolution.

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trending_up market schedule May 13, 2025 visibility 14 link 3 artists

cryptopunks bored ape yacht club yuga labs digital art nonprofit

The Infinite Node Foundation, a new nonprofit focused on digital art conservation founded by venture capitalist Meyer 'Micky' Malka and Becky Kleiner, has acquired the full intellectual property rights to CryptoPunks from Yuga Labs. The purchase price is reported to be around $20 million. CryptoPunks, created in 2017 by Matt Hall and John Watkinson, is one of the earliest and most famous NFT collections, credited with sparking the 2021 NFT craze. Yuga Labs, the parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club, had bought the rights in 2022 for an undisclosed sum. The foundation's advisory board includes Web3 figures such as Yuga Labs co-founder Wylie Aronow and Art Blocks founder Erick Calderon.

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article news schedule May 13, 2025 visibility 13 link 4 artists

grand egyptian museum king tut treasures

The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza has received another 163 artifacts from the tomb of King Tutankhamun, transferred from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo's Tahrir Square. This delivery includes the pharaoh's ceremonial chair, gilded footstool, canopic shrine, and jewelry, bringing the museum closer to staging the first-ever complete display of the boy king's treasures. The artifacts were transported with care and underwent condition reports at GEM's conservation labs. The final piece to arrive will be Tutankhamun's funerary mask, ahead of the museum's long-awaited grand opening on July 3.

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article news schedule May 13, 2025 visibility 11 link 3 artists

king tut tomb clay troughs awakening osiris

A new study by Nicholas Brown, a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University, challenges the long-held interpretation of four clay troughs found in Tutankhamun's tomb. Discovered by Howard Carter in 1922, the troughs were previously dismissed as stands for gilded wooden staffs. Brown argues that the troughs' small bases could not have supported the staffs, and instead proposes they were used in the "Awakening of Osiris" ritual, holding libations of water for purification and rejuvenation in the afterlife. The study draws on material symbolism, including the Nile mud composition and the reed mats they rested on, to support this reinterpretation.

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gavel restitution schedule May 12, 2025 visibility 14 link 4 artists

open restitution africa research organization profile

Open Restitution Africa (ORA), an African-led research organization, has compiled case studies including the Ngadji drum, a sacred instrument confiscated from Kenya's Pokomo people by British colonial officers in 1902 and now held by the British Museum. With a $600,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation, ORA provided microgrants to scholars like William Mutta Tsaka of the National Museums of Kenya, who documented the drum's cultural significance and the community's ongoing struggle for repatriation. The project aims to fund independent researchers and community activists across Africa, covering fieldwork costs often neglected by larger provenance grants.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 6, 2025 visibility 7 link 1 artist

flannery o connor hidden artwork exhibition

An exhibition titled "Hidden Treasures" at Andalusia Farm in Milledgeville, Georgia, is showcasing dozens of previously unseen artworks by celebrated Southern Gothic writer Flannery O’Connor, including childhood drawings, cartoons, paintings on wood, a stuffed doll, and a 1952 self-portrait. The works were recently rediscovered in a storage unit behind a fast-food restaurant and in the attic of a townhouse belonging to O’Connor’s late cousin Louise Florencourt, who had guarded the archive for decades. The exhibition marks the centennial of O’Connor’s birth and is organized by the Andalusia Interpretive Center in partnership with Georgia College & State University.

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article policy schedule May 6, 2025 visibility 10 link 1 artist

legal resistance grows against doge cuts

Two legal challenges advanced on Thursday against the Trump administration's cuts to U.S. cultural agencies. A coalition of academic groups—the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, and the Modern Language Association—filed a lawsuit to stop the "illegal dismantling" of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which in April announced a 70–80 percent staff reduction and cancellation of over 1,000 grants. Separately, a federal judge issued an emergency order temporarily blocking similar cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, after the Department of Government Efficiency placed its 75-person staff on leave and the American Libraries Association brought suit.

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article policy schedule May 3, 2025 visibility 11 link 1 artist

national endowment for the arts cancels grants trump

President Donald Trump's administration has canceled or withdrawn grant offers from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) via email, affecting arts organizations nationwide. The NEA stated it is updating its grantmaking priorities to focus on projects that reflect the nation's artistic heritage as prioritized by the president, including historically Black colleges, Hispanic-serving schools, the 250th anniversary of American independence, AI competency, houses of worship, disaster recovery, skilled trades, military and veterans, Tribal communities, and Asian American economic development. Some affected grants supported artists of color, and the language appeared to conflict with the administration's prior push against DEI initiatives. Similar cancellations have occurred at the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 10 link 1 artist

aral culture summit uzbeikstan

The inaugural Aral Culture Summit (ACS) took place in Nukus, Uzbekistan, organized by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF). The summit brought together around 500 attendees to explore how arts, cultural heritage, and design can support environmental regeneration in the Aral Sea region, which has suffered catastrophic ecological collapse due to Soviet-era river diversions for cotton farming. Speakers included Ivana Živković of the UNDP, Elena Kan of KIVA Center for Agroinnovations, Kazakh biodesigner Dana Molzhigit, and Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets, who discussed afforestation, climate resilience, traditional knowledge, and microclimate design.

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candle obituary schedule Apr 21, 2025 visibility 11 link 3 artists, 2 galleries

sarah cunningham death accidental inquest

A new inquest has determined that the death of British abstract painter Sarah Cunningham at age 31 last year was accidental. Cunningham, represented by Lisson Gallery, went missing after a night out in London on November 2, 2023, and was later found dead on the tracks at Chalk Farm Underground Station. The Poplar Coroner's Court concluded on April 9 that although she jumped onto the track, she did not intend to take her own life, noting she was intoxicated at the time. Her body was discovered after a train struck her 18 minutes later.

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gavel restitution schedule Apr 18, 2025 visibility 15 link 4 artists

bayeux tapestry fragment rediscovered in germany

A long-lost fragment of the Bayeux Tapestry, the 11th-century embroidered chronicle of the Norman Conquest of England, has been rediscovered in the Schleswig-Holstein State Archives in Schleswig, Germany. The roughly one-inch linen piece belonged to the estate of archaeologist Karl Schlabow, who had been part of a Nazi-affiliated group that re-measured the tapestry in 1941. The fragment will be repatriated to France later this year, but first it will go on public display at the Museum of Archaeology at Gottorf Castle as part of the exhibition “Viking Twilight: Turning Point in the North” from April 16 through November 2.

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