Art News. Vasari Codex

museum exhibitions schedule May 6, 2026 visibility 25 link 8 artists

A Vienna Theater Opens Its Prized Klimt Ceiling Paintings to Tours During Restoration

The Burgtheater in Vienna has opened guided tours allowing the public to view Gustav Klimt's ceiling paintings up close for the first time, during a restoration of the works. The 10 paintings, created in the late 1880s by Klimt, his brother Ernst, and Franz Matsch, hang 60 feet above the staircases and were recently cleaned with cotton swabs and purified water after water damage. The tours, which require sturdy footwear, are currently sold out due to high demand.

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trending_up market schedule May 6, 2026 visibility 23 link 3 artists

Claude Monet’s Market Triumph: 12 Record‑Smashing Paintings That Define an Era

Claude Monet's market dominance is analyzed through twelve record-breaking paintings sold at auction over the past decade, led by *Meules (Haystacks)* (1890), which achieved $110.7 million at Sotheby's New York in 2019—a record for any Impressionist work. The article highlights key sales including *Le Bassin aux Nymphéas* (1919) at $80.45 million, *Nymphéas* (1906) at $54 million, and *Le Pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil* (1873–74) at $41.4 million, tracing how Monet's serene yet radical landscapes have consistently commanded top prices across Christie's and Sotheby's.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 6, 2026 visibility 19 link 2 artists

Alvaro Barrington takes a road trip to the Venice Biennale

Artist Alvaro Barrington has created a vibrant haulage truck titled "Labor Day Parade ’91" (2026) as his contribution to the 61st Venice Biennale, part of the exhibition "In Minor Keys." The truck, decorated with scenes linked to his background and art historical references, was driven from London to Venice on an epic road trip across Europe. It is now parked in the Giardini next to the Austrian pavilion, with its front tyres punctured to prevent movement. During the preview, the work was admired by artist Julie Mehretu and Dia Art Foundation director Jessica Morgan.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 6, 2026 visibility 21 link 18 artists

Our pick of the best pavilions at the 61st Venice Biennale

The article highlights standout national pavilions at the 61st Venice Biennale. The Belarus Pavilion features a powerful installation by the Belarus Free Theatre, including a wheat field built by former political prisoners, straw spiders made from prison bars, and a confession booth that runs facial recognition. The Brazil Pavilion presents a joint exhibition by Rosana Paulino and Adriana Varejão, focusing on colonial wounds and trauma through works like Paulino's 'Aracnes' and Varejão's 'Still Life amid Ruin'. The Bosnian Pavilion by Mladen Bundalo invites tactile engagement with themes of diaspora and migration, while the Austrian Pavilion by Florentina Holzinger draws attention with nude performers in water-filled pools.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 5, 2026 visibility 31 link 16 artists

‘A remarkably tenacious motif’: the many faces of Marilyn Monroe revealed in new book and show

The National Portrait Gallery in London will open "Marilyn Monroe: a Portrait" next month, accompanied by a book edited by curator Rosie Broadley in association with the Marilyn Monroe estate. The exhibition and book feature works by Andy Warhol, Pauline Boty, Marlene Dumas, James Gill, Rosalyn Drexler, and others, exploring Monroe as a persistent subject in visual art beyond film. Highlights include Warhol's 1962 silkscreen "Green Marilyn", de Kooning's 1954 portrait, and lesser-known works by Joseph Cornell and Alex Margo Arden.

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article news schedule May 5, 2026 visibility 28 link 5 artists

Museum acquisitions round-up: a rediscovered work by Rosso Fiorentino, a circular painting by Salman Toor and 16th-century gold goblet

The Art Newspaper reports on three notable museum acquisitions: a rediscovered Renaissance painting by Rosso Fiorentino acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a 16th-century silver gilt goblet by Hans Rappolt I acquired by the Siegerland Museum, and a circular painting by Salman Toor donated to the National Gallery of Art. The Rosso Fiorentino work, 'Madonna and Child with Saint John the Evangelist' (1512/13), was thought lost for centuries and was identified after cleaning revealed a hidden figure. The goblet, made around 1581, is a rare example of Nuremberg goldsmithing and was supported by a €75,000 donation from the German Federal Cultural Foundation. The Toor painting, 'Wandering Beggars' (2022), is the first by the artist to enter the NGA's collection, donated by the Bronzini-Vender family.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 4, 2026 visibility 22 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

Unrealized Artwork by Christo and Jeanne-Claude Will Take Over Gagosian in London

Gagosian gallery in London will present "Christo: Air," an exhibition opening May 21 and running through August 21, featuring a never-realized artwork conceived by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in 1968. The centerpiece, "Air Package on a Ceiling," was originally planned for the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia but abandoned due to technical limitations. The work, a 32-by-52-foot internally illuminated suspended form, will be installed for the first time, along with other rare pieces including "Wrapped Automobile—Volvo, Model PV-544 (1981)," which has not been shown in 30 years. Studio manager Lorenza Giovanelli discovered the original plans in 2018, two years before Christo's death.

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trending_up market schedule May 1, 2026 visibility 28 link 8 artists

Botticelli under UK export ban purchased by Klesch Collection

A Botticelli painting, *The Virgin and Child Enthroned* (1470s), valued at £10.2 million, has been purchased by the Klesch Collection, a British private collection, after the UK government placed an export bar on the work in May 2025. The painting, which sold at Sotheby’s London in late 2024 for £9.7 million, will be loaned to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford for three years, ensuring it remains in the UK.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 30, 2026 visibility 59 link 15 artists

British billionaire's £200m art collection most expensive ever offered in UK

British billionaire Joe Lewis will sell a tranche of his art collection in a standalone sale at Sotheby’s in London this June, estimated at £150m–£200m. This makes it the most valuable single-owner collection ever offered in the UK, surpassing the Pauline Karpidas collection which totalled £101m. Highlights include Gustav Klimt’s *Bildnis Gertrud Loew* (est £20m–£30m), Amedeo Modigliani’s *Homme à la pipe* (est £12m–£18m), and Francis Bacon’s *Two Studies for Self-Portrait* (est £8m–£12m). The sale follows a smaller March auction of four works from the Lewis collection that focused on School of London artists.

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article culture schedule Apr 29, 2026 visibility 19 link 4 artists

Buzkashi horsemen battling for a headless goat: Todd Antony’s best photograph

Photographer Todd Antony discusses his black-and-white series capturing the Central Asian sport of buzkashi, in which horsemen compete to grab and control a headless goat carcass. He traveled to Tajikistan to document matches involving up to 300 riders, shooting from a pickup truck and later taking portraits of riders on farms. One striking image shows three horses and their riders against a snowy mountain backdrop, with fog rolling in—a moment that inspired him to channel Richard Avedon's style using artificial lighting.

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rate_review review schedule Apr 28, 2026 visibility 41 link 6 artists

Zurbarán review – ecstatic visions, primitive surrealism … and the finest loincloths ever painted

The Guardian reviews a major exhibition of 17th-century Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán, highlighting his visionary and surrealist qualities. The show features works such as "The Apparition of Saint Peter to Saint Peter Nolasco" (1629), newly attributed paintings including a giant mask, and iconic pieces like "The Crucified Christ" and "Saint Serapion," all drawn from collections including the Prado and the National Gallery, London. The review emphasizes Zurbarán's ability to paint supernatural subjects with naturalistic conviction, his exquisite rendering of fabrics—especially loincloths—and his influence on modern artists like Salvador Dalí.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 27, 2026 visibility 26 link 3 artists

This 17th-Century ‘Supercomputer’ Could Set a New Auction Record

A rare 17th-century Mughal astrolabe, crafted in Lahore in 1612 by brothers Qa'im Muhammad and Muhammad Muqim, is heading to Sotheby's London on April 29 with an estimate of £1.5 million to £2.5 million ($2 million to $3.4 million). Weighing nearly 20 pounds and measuring the diameter of a large cooking pot, it is one of only two known astrolabes by these makers—the other resides in the National Museum of Iraq. Commissioned by Aqa Afzal, a Safavid-born deputy governor of Lahore, the instrument lists 94 cities, 38 stars, zodiac signs, and includes quadrants for trigonometry and solar calculations, blending Islamic and Sanskritic astronomical traditions.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 27, 2026 visibility 26 link 8 artists, 1 gallery

‘I was super horny when I made my early work’: Loie Hollowell’s abstract paintings of breasts and vaginas

Loie Hollowell discusses her latest painting series 'Overview Effect,' currently on view at Pace Gallery in London. The series features large-scale canvases with twin concave and convex sculpted circles, inspired by the out-of-body experience she had during the home birth of her daughter. The works continue her abstract exploration of pregnancy, birth, and the female body, following earlier series like 'Split Orb' and 'Dilation Stage' that responded to the difficult birth of her son. Hollowell cites influences including Georgia O'Keeffe, Louise Bourgeois, and Luchita Hurtado, as well as Instagram home-birth photographs and the Ina May Gaskin childbirth book.

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article policy schedule Apr 27, 2026 visibility 38 link 4 artists

Titian's ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’ to get a refresh with bank conservation grant

Bank of America’s annual art conservation program has awarded grants to 18 projects this year, including the restoration of Titian’s *Bacchus and Ariadne* (1520-23) at the National Gallery in London. The painting will be removed from display next month for conservation work that involves placing it on a new fabric support and repairing paint loss. Other funded projects include Rembrandt’s *The Night Watch* at the Rijksmuseum, bronze palms at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, *Gaki Zōshi* at the Tokyo National Museum, Matisse’s *La Négresse* at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and works at the Museo de Arte de Lima and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 21, 2026 visibility 17 link 3 artists

David Bowie: You’re Not Alone review – Ziggy glam and Berlin grime in a bum-shaking yet sanitised immersion

A new immersive film exhibition titled 'David Bowie: You’re Not Alone' has opened at London's Lightroom. Directed by Mark Grimmer, who previously designed the V&A's 2013 Bowie exhibition, the hour-long 360-degree film focuses on the artist's most-streamed hits and features unseen performance footage, including from his 1978 Earls Court show. It aims to appeal to both die-hard fans and a younger audience.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 21, 2026 visibility 19 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

Which Auction House Led the Pack in 2025?

Christie's led the global fine-art auction market in 2025 with $3.5 billion in sales, a 10.1% increase from 2024. Its top lot was Mark Rothko's 'No. 31 (Yellow Stripe), 1958,' which sold for $62.1 million. Sotheby's followed closely with $3.3 billion in sales, a 31% annual increase, highlighted by the record-breaking $54.7 million sale of Frida Kahlo's 'El sueño (La cama).' Phillips placed a distant third with $390.9 million in sales, a 14.2% decline.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 20, 2026 visibility 33 link 19 artists

V&A East Launches With a Fresh Lens on a 2.8 Million-Object Collection

The Victoria & Albert Museum has opened V&A East, a new $180 million outpost in east London designed by architects O'Donnell + Tuomey. Its mission is to engage young and local audiences by presenting over 500 objects from its 2.8 million-strong collection in thematic, non-chronological displays that connect historical artifacts to contemporary issues like identity, social justice, and environmental responsibility.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 20, 2026 visibility 33 link 20 artists

Thomas J. Price’s Monumental Sculpture Anchors V&A East’s Opening in London

The V&A East Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum's second site in East London, opened to the public on April 18. The inaugural presentation features new site-specific commissions by artists Rene Matić, Carrie Mae Weems, and Tania Bruguera, with Thomas J. Price's monumental sculpture serving as a key anchor piece for the new institution.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 17, 2026 visibility 16 link 6 artists

Rare Winnie-the-Pooh Drawings Surface for the First Time

Two previously unseen preliminary drawings of Winnie-the-Pooh by illustrator E.H. Shepard have surfaced for the first time on the centenary of the children's classic. Brought forward by Shepard’s family, the pencil sketches depict scenes from A.A. Milne’s original 1926 book that were never fully realized or published. These rare works, along with several other preliminary sketches that did make it into print, are currently on display and for sale at Peter Harrington Rare Books in London before traveling to the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair.

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article news schedule Apr 17, 2026 visibility 16 link 4 artists

Shakespeare’s London Home Finally Located After Centuries of Mystery

Scholar Lucy Munro of King’s College London has identified the precise location of William Shakespeare’s only owned London home in the Blackfriars neighborhood. By analyzing a 1668 property map created after the Great Fire of London, Munro pinpointed the site—now occupied by Ireland Yard and St. Andrew’s Hill—which was previously known only through vague historical references to the Blackfriars Gatehouse.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 17, 2026 visibility 39 link 8 artists

Museum openings: V&A East and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Plus, William Blake in Dublin—podcast

Two major museum projects have reached completion as London’s V&A East prepares for its public debut and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) unveils its new $700m David Geffen Galleries. V&A East opens with a focus on community-driven programming and its inaugural exhibition, 'The Music is Black: A British Story,' while LACMA’s long-awaited Peter Zumthor-designed building begins member previews amidst ongoing debates regarding its scale and cost.

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article news schedule Apr 16, 2026 visibility 17 link 7 artists

Mystery 17th-Century Portrait Sparks Search for Identity of Black Sitter

Researchers at the National Portrait Gallery in London have launched a landmark investigation into a rare 17th-century double portrait featuring a Black boy and a white boy standing side-by-side. The painting, which has hung at the historic Penshurst Place in Kent for centuries, is undergoing extensive restoration and technical analysis to identify the sitters. Experts are particularly struck by the composition, which depicts the Black figure at the same scale and status as the white figure, a significant departure from the era's typical portrayal of Black individuals as marginal attendants.

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article policy schedule Apr 15, 2026 visibility 28 link 9 artists

Is Chinese Censorship Reaching Inside Britain’s Museums?

London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has come under fire following reports that it altered exhibition catalogues to comply with Chinese government censorship. To reduce production costs, the museum utilized printers in China, which are subject to Beijing’s General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) regulations. Consequently, the museum removed historical maps and an image of Vladimir Lenin from publications for the "Music is Black" and "Fabergé: Romance to Revolution" exhibitions after they were flagged by Chinese authorities.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 15, 2026 visibility 55 link 14 artists

‘A fresh look at contemporary culture’: Gus Casely-Hayford, director of V&A East, takes us inside the new London museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum is expanding its footprint with the opening of V&A East Museum in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on April 18. Led by Director Gus Casely-Hayford, the new five-story institution joins the recently opened V&A East Storehouse as part of the East Bank cultural quarter. The museum will debut with the "Why We Make" galleries, featuring over 500 objects and new commissions by artists such as Tania Bruguera, Carrie Mae Weems, and Thomas J. Price, whose 18-foot bronze sculpture anchors the museum's entrance.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 14, 2026 visibility 38 link 8 artists

V&A East architecture review – from ceramics to codpieces, this is a honey-coloured treasure trove of human ingenuity

V&A East has officially unveiled its new museum building in London’s Olympic Park, a striking architectural addition to the city's burgeoning 'East Bank' cultural district. Designed by O’Donnell + Tuomey, the structure features a faceted, honey-colored concrete exterior inspired by the intricate folds of a sleeve in a Vermeer painting and the structural tailoring of Cristóbal Balenciaga. The interior houses a diverse collection of human ingenuity, ranging from Leigh Bowery’s sequined codpieces to historical ceramics, all organized within a framework that emphasizes the process of making.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 14, 2026 visibility 24 link 15 artists

V&A East collection review – a dazzling wealth of inspiration to fire up the geniuses of the future

The Victoria and Albert Museum has unveiled the first look at its new V&A East outpost in London’s Olympic Park, showcasing a collection that emphasizes diversity, global exchange, and the integration of art into daily life. The inaugural displays feature a wide-ranging mix of objects, from Althea McNish’s vibrant Caribbean-inspired textiles and Vivienne Westwood’s punk designs to a talismanic shirt inscribed with the Qur’an and a Japanese screen documenting colonial encounters. While the museum's public-facing branding focuses on community engagement, the actual curation offers a sophisticated, open-ended exploration of how different cultures influence and define one another.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 14, 2026 visibility 15 link 3 artists

Sotheby’s Sued by Cushman and Wakefield Over Unpaid $10.2 Million Commission

Real estate brokerage Cushman and Wakefield has filed a lawsuit against Sotheby’s, alleging the auction house failed to pay a $10.2 million commission following the $510 million sale of its former York Avenue headquarters to Weill Cornell Medicine. The broker claims that under a 2023 agreement, they were entitled to a 2-percent fee if the medical school transitioned from a tenant to a buyer, a deal that was finalized in 2025. Sotheby’s has dismissed the lawsuit as "baseless," asserting they will be vindicated in court.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 14, 2026 visibility 16 link 6 artists

A Bodybuilder’s 3,300-Year-Old Egyptian Stele Heads to TEFAF

A 3,300-year-old Egyptian stele once owned by bodybuilding pioneer Ben Weider is set to be a highlight at TEFAF New York this May. The limestone carving, which depicts Pharaoh Thutmose IV, was gifted to Weider in 1964 and recently surfaced at a Montreal auction before being acquired by the London-based gallery David Aaron. Alongside the stele, the gallery will present a 2,500-year-old greywacke bust of a goddess, which was recently authenticated after being dismissed as a fake due to its pristine condition and 18th-century restorations.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 10, 2026 visibility 24 link 9 artists

Marcel Duchamp at MoMA, Dorothea Tanning book, Leonora Carrington at the Freud Museum, London—podcast

The Museum of Modern Art in New York is launching the first major U.S. survey of Marcel Duchamp’s entire career in over fifty years, a landmark exhibition that will later travel to Philadelphia. Accompanying this resurgence of interest in avant-garde pioneers are two significant projects focused on women of the Surrealist movement: the publication of Alyce Mahon’s comprehensive new book on Dorothea Tanning and a specialized exhibition at London’s Freud Museum featuring Leonora Carrington’s 1940 painting 'Down Below'.

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article news schedule Apr 8, 2026 visibility 37 link 13 artists

Pressing issues: the vital role of printmaking in the history of art

Author and journalist Holly Black has released a new book titled 'The Story of Printmaking: A Global History of Art', published by Yale University Press. The publication traces the evolution of the printed image from its 9th-century origins in East Asia through the innovations of Old Masters like Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt to modern digital techniques. Drawing on her training at the London College of Printing, Black demystifies complex technical processes such as intaglio and mezzotint while highlighting both canonical figures like Picasso and influential but lesser-known pioneers like Robert Blackburn.

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