Art News. Vasari Codex

article culture schedule May 6, 2026 visibility 19 link 3 artists

How Fatinha Ramos Channels ‘Visual Activism’ in Her Richly Layered Illustrations

Fatinha Ramos, a Portuguese artist and illustrator based in Antwerp, describes her work as 'visual activism,' creating richly layered illustrations that give voice to minorities and address social issues. She collaborates with major clients including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Tate, Scientific American, the Anne Frank Museum, and MoMA, which commissioned her to illustrate an essay about being compared to Frida Kahlo. Born with osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), Ramos spent much of her childhood in hospitals, where drawing became an escape. After 12 years as an art director in advertising and publishing, she now focuses on her own practice, which challenges stereotypes around disability, climate crisis, sexism, and racism. She is currently working on a graphic novel and a series of anatomical glass sculptures based on brittle bone disease.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 7, 2026 visibility 19 link 54 artists

Chiara Camoni, “Con te con tutto” (With You, With Everything)—Italian Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale: Chiara Camoni, Cecilia Canziani, and Alessandro Rabottini in Conversation

Chiara Camoni presents "Con te con tutto" (With You, With Everything), the Italian Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale. In a conversation with curator Cecilia Canziani and Alessandro Rabottini, Camoni discusses how the project emerged organically from years of friendship, collaboration, and shared thinking, rather than being a staged event.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 29, 2026 visibility 28 link 16 artists

Whitney Biennial 2026: Care, Catastrophe, and Private Gestures

The Whitney Biennial 2026, the 82nd edition of the longest-running survey of American art, opened with a stripped-down, self-referential title and no subtitle, reflecting a moment of national self-questioning. The exhibition features 56 artists, duos, and collectives, with highlights including Agosto Machado's shrine sculptures dedicated to friends lost to AIDS, Emilie Louise Gossiaux's tender works about her guide dog London, and Michelle Lopez's apocalyptic video projection *Pandemonium*. Machado, a longtime downtown New York artist and caregiver, died shortly after the biennial opened, and his ashes are to be mixed with those of Marsha P. Johnson and spread in the Hudson River.

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person people schedule Jun 20, 2025 source 2 sources visibility 20 link 17 artists, 3 galleries

sandy stephen perlbinder art collection sagaponack norman jaffe 2

Philanthropists Sandy and Stephen Perlbinder, who have been part of Long Island's East End cultural scene since 1969, are being honored at the Parrish Art Museum's annual midsummer gala in July 2025. The couple commissioned an oceanfront home from architect Norman Jaffe in Sagaponack and have filled it with a collection featuring works by Jack Pierson, Almond Zigmund, Constantino Nivola, Roni Horn, Jenny Holzer, Mel Kendrick, Lynn Chadwick, Claude Lawrence, and others. Sandy serves as vice president of the museum's board of trustees, and the couple previously supported a Jaffe retrospective at the Parrish in 2005.

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trending_up market schedule May 15, 2026 visibility 8 link 2 artists

A Rare Blue-Green Diamond Ring Sold for Over $17 M. At Christie’s Geneva

A rare 5.5-carat blue-green diamond ring, named Ocean Dream, sold for over $17 million at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction in Zurich on May 13, 2026. The triangular-cut stone, estimated at $9–12 million, is set in an 18-karat white gold band with pink and white diamonds. The buyer was an unnamed private client, and the ring took 20 minutes to sell. It had previously fetched nearly $10 million at Christie’s Geneva in 2014.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 7, 2026 visibility 16 link 4 artists

Rio’s Museum of Image and Sound finally opens after 16 years in development

The Museum of Image and Sound (MIS-RJ) on Rio de Janeiro's waterfront opens to the public on May 8 after 16 years of development. The 10,000-sq.-m building, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, features eight floors with panoramic views of Copacabana Beach and a façade honoring Roberto Burle Marx. The project faced multiple delays, funding suspensions, and controversy over urban redevelopment, including backlash when a nightclub on the site was demolished in 2010. Work resumed in 2021, and the $62.5 million museum was completed with public and private funds from donors like Itaú, Vale, and Rede Globo.

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article news schedule May 4, 2026 visibility 18 link 3 artists

AI Helps UK Researchers Identify Unknown Subject in Hans Holbein Drawing as Anne Boleyn

Researchers Karen L. Davies and Hassan Ugail used artificial intelligence facial recognition to analyze two Hans Holbein drawings from the Royal Collection Trust. Their study, published in npj Heritage Science, suggests that a portrait previously labeled as Anne Boleyn actually depicts her mother, Elizabeth Howard, while a drawing cataloged as an unidentified woman is the true likeness of Anne Boleyn. The findings challenge long-held identifications based on 18th-century inscriptions and align more closely with contemporary descriptions of Boleyn as slender with dark hair.

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article news schedule May 4, 2026 visibility 18 link 6 artists

A.I. Identifies Holbein Drawing as Possible Portrait of Anne Boleyn

Researchers at the University of Bradford have used artificial intelligence to analyze preparatory drawings by Hans Holbein the Younger in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. The AI model, which previously identified a forgotten Raphael painting, suggests that a drawing long believed to depict Anne Boleyn actually shows her mother, Elizabeth Howard, while another drawing labeled "Unidentified Woman" likely portrays Anne Boleyn herself. The findings, published in Heritage Science, are based on biometric analysis of facial features, bone architecture, and proportional relationships, offering quantifiable evidence to resolve long-standing scholarly uncertainty about the sitters' identities.

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article news schedule May 3, 2026 visibility 17 link 3 artists

Mystery sitter in Holbein portrait could be Anne Boleyn, AI analysis finds

Researchers using AI have analyzed two Renaissance sketches by Hans Holbein from the Royal Collection, known as the Windsor sketch and the Unidentified Woman. The AI model, developed by Professor Hassan Ugail at the University of Bradford, compared the entire Holbein corpus and found that the Unidentified Woman may actually be Anne Boleyn, while the Windsor sketch—long thought to depict Boleyn—may instead show her mother, Elizabeth Howard. The study suggests the works were incorrectly inscribed in the 1700s, leading to centuries of misidentification.

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gavel restitution schedule Apr 28, 2026 visibility 25 link 1 artist

Judge Orders Prado to Hold Disputed Velázquez Painting in Divorce Case

A Spanish judge has ordered the Museo del Prado in Madrid to take custody of a painting attributed to Diego Velázquez, which is at the center of a divorce dispute between steel magnate José María Aristrain and his ex-wife Gema Navarro. The work, a portrait of Philip IV linked to Velázquez’s early years in Madrid, was removed from Aristrain’s residence on March 17 and transferred to the Prado’s storage after Navarro filed a complaint alleging it had been wrongly withheld from her. The Ministry of Culture, acting with court and prosecutorial support, designated the museum as custodian until ownership is resolved. The painting had previously surfaced at auction, failing to sell in 2007 amid attribution doubts, before being acquired by Navarro in 2015 for €878,000.

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article news schedule Apr 28, 2026 visibility 21 link 4 artists

Barbados's slavery museum and memorial faces major delays

Barbados's Heritage District at the Newton Enslaved Burial Ground, a major project including a memorial, national museum, archives, and cultural complex, is facing significant construction delays more than four years after its 2021 announcement. The site, one of the largest known burial grounds of enslaved Africans in the Western Hemisphere, is being developed under the Road (Reclaiming Our Atlantic Destiny) Programme led by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley. While a temporary pavilion for the National Performing Arts Centre opened in August 2025, the overall completion—initially slated for 2024—has been pushed back due to expanded archival digitization, supply-chain disruptions, and a fire at the Barbados Archives Department in June 2024. The memorial, designed by Adjaye Associates, is conceived as a landscape intervention using teak sourced from Ghana.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Apr 26, 2026 visibility 21 link 3 artists

An Art Historian’s Riotous Novel Melds Medieval Art with Monica Lewinsky

Julia Langbein's new novel *Dear Monica Lewinsky*, published by Doubleday, follows translator Jean Dornan as she revisits a traumatic relationship with a professor from her youth, set against the backdrop of the 1998 Monica Lewinsky scandal. The story interweaves medieval art, particularly the 13th-century *Golden Legend*, with Lewinsky's public shaming, as Jean prays to Lewinsky for guidance and is visited by a haloed version of her. Langbein, an art historian with a PhD from the University of Chicago, draws on her expertise to explore themes of humiliation, self-estrangement, and collective experience.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 24, 2026 visibility 17 link 5 artists

Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani, a New Sort of Street Artist, Rises from Art History’s Margins

Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani, a late Japanese American collagist who lived and worked as a street artist in New York City, is the subject of a new solo exhibition at the Spencer Museum of Art in Kansas City, on view through June. Co-curators Maki Kaneko and Kris Imants Ercums organized the show thematically rather than chronologically, reflecting Mirikitani's fragmented life—from surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and incarceration at Tule Lake to arriving in New York in the 1950s. The exhibition draws on years of research, including visits to the parks where he lived and to Hiroshima, and builds on Linda Hattendorf's 2006 documentary *The Cats of Mirikitani*.

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article policy schedule Apr 15, 2026 visibility 32 link 3 artists

V&A Pulls Catalog Materials Due to Chinese Censorship Laws

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London has admitted to removing maps and images from two exhibition catalogs following censorship demands from a Chinese printing firm. Documents revealed that C&C Offset Printing flagged content in the catalogs for the exhibitions "Music Is Black" and "Fabergé: Romance to Revolution" as violating Chinese law. The censored items included a 1930s map of British trade routes and a photograph of Vladimir Lenin, which the printer claimed could not be produced under Beijing’s strict regulations.

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person people schedule Apr 10, 2026 visibility 17 link 1 artist

David Geffen Settles Divorce With David Armstrong After Bitter Legal Fight

Billionaire art collector and entertainment mogul David Geffen has reached a private settlement with his estranged husband, David Armstrong, ending a contentious legal battle. The divorce proceedings gained significant public attention due to the absence of a prenuptial agreement and serious allegations of exploitation and psychological manipulation leveled by Armstrong. While the financial terms remain confidential, the settlement concludes months of litigation over spousal support and asset division following their two-year marriage.

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article news schedule Apr 10, 2026 visibility 24 link 7 artists

How a Hopi Potter Named Nampeyo Became a 19th-Century Art Star

The Hopi-Tewa artist Nampeyo (1859–1942) is being celebrated as a foundational figure in modern ceramics for her role in the Sikyátki Revival. By studying ancestral pottery shards from archaeological excavations, Nampeyo revitalized centuries-old techniques and motifs, transforming Pueblo pottery into a globally recognized art form. Her career spanned from selling works at regional trading posts to becoming a celebrated figure who demonstrated her craft at the Grand Canyon and exhibited at major fairs in Chicago.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 7, 2026 visibility 26 link 2 artists, 5 galleries

Milan’s contemporary art credentials further bolstered by arrival of Paris Internationale

Paris Internationale, the influential non-profit art fair, has announced its inaugural Milan edition featuring a lineup of 34 galleries. Scheduled to coincide with Milan Art Week, Miart, and the Salone del Mobile, the fair includes prominent participants such as Jocelyn Wolff, kaufmann repetto, and Sylvia Kouvali. The move signals a strategic expansion for the French organization into a city increasingly recognized for its intersection of art, design, and high-level production.

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article news schedule Apr 6, 2026 visibility 20 link 1 artist

Irreconcilable differences: Canadian cultural tourism to the US experiences a steep decline

Canadian tourism to the United States has plummeted by more than 30% following a period of heightened political tension, including threats of annexation and the imposition of trade tariffs by the Trump administration. This decline is being felt acutely across the northern border states and major cultural hubs, with cities like Seattle, Detroit, and Portland reporting significant drops in Canadian visitors.

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trending_up market schedule Mar 11, 2026 visibility 17 link 3 artists

italy purchases rare caravaggio portrait

The Italian government has acquired a rare Caravaggio portrait for €30 million ($34.7 million), marking one of the state's most significant art purchases to date. The painting depicts Monsignor Maffeo Barberini, the future Pope Urban VIII, and was previously held in a private Florentine collection before being transferred to the permanent collection of the Palazzo Barberini in Rome.

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article local schedule Feb 12, 2026 visibility 11 link 1 artist

joe frazier statue philadelphia museum of art steps

The Philadelphia Art Commission has approved a plan to relocate a statue of real-life boxer Joe Frazier to the base of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's steps. This move is intended to replace the iconic statue of fictional boxer Rocky Balboa, which is being moved to the top of the same steps.

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trending_up market schedule Feb 2, 2026 visibility 20 link 2 artists

rare greek funerary sculpture tefaf david aaron

A rare ancient Greek funerary sculpture, the Stele of Medeia (375-350 BCE), is being offered for sale at the TEFAF art fair by the London gallery David Aaron. The piece, priced at £450,000, depicts an unmarried young woman and retains significant original pigment. It has already attracted significant interest from a major US museum.

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article culture schedule Jan 15, 2026 visibility 17 link 3 artists

ian mckellan documentary ls lowry bbc

Ian McKellen has signed on to star in a new BBC documentary about cult British painter L.S. Lowry, titled "L.S. Lowry: The Unheard Tapes." The film will focus on previously unheard audio recordings Lowry made in the final four years of his life, which contain what is described as the longest interview the artist ever gave. McKellen will lip-sync to Lowry's own words, bringing the artist back to life through his distinctive Lancastrian voice. The documentary is being produced by the BBC and has the support of Lowry's estate.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 13, 2026 visibility 15 link 4 artists

anne boleyn portrait elizabeth i

New research by Tudor historian Owen Emmerson suggests that the most famous portrait of Anne Boleyn, displayed at London’s National Portrait Gallery, actually depicts her daughter Queen Elizabeth I. Emmerson argues the late-16th-century painting was deliberately made to resemble Elizabeth I, reinforcing a legitimate Tudor succession. The theory is supported by comparisons with another portrait of Elizabeth at Compton Verney and by Lawrence Hendra of Philip Mould gallery. An upcoming exhibition at Hever Castle, "Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn," will present this and other evidence, alongside newly identified contemporaneous images of Boleyn, including a miniature from the British Museum and a drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger.

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article culture schedule Dec 19, 2025 visibility 14 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

chris kraus novel

Chris Kraus, the influential contemporary art writer, co-editor of Semiotext(e), and novelist best known for her 1997 autobiographical novel *I Love Dick*, has released a new novel titled *The Four Spent the Day Together*. The book follows a character named Catt Greene, who closely mirrors Kraus's own life: a childhood in Connecticut, later success as an art critic and novelist with *I Love Dick* (adapted into an Amazon series), a marriage to an addiction counselor struggling with his own addiction, and online backlash for being a landlord. In the third part, Greene investigates a real-life murder in rural Minnesota, seeking new material as her own life feels depleted.

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person people schedule Dec 19, 2025 visibility 17 link 4 artists

2026 ruth awards recipients yuji agematsuwill rawls

The Ruth Foundation for the Arts has named five artists as recipients of its 2026 Ruth Awards: Yuji Agematsu, Ranu Mukherjee, Will Rawls, Ellen Sebastian Chang, and Anna Martine Whitehead. Each winner receives an unrestricted $100,000 grant disbursed over two years. The artists work across diverse media—from Agematsu's miniature street-detritus sculptures and Rawls's multidisciplinary choreography to Mukherjee's painting and film installations, Sebastian Chang's decades-spanning theater and film work, and Whitehead's performance art. The awards are open to artists across North America and are now in their third year.

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article culture schedule Dec 16, 2025 visibility 15 link 12 artists

illuminated medieval manuscripts to know

This article explores the history and significance of illuminated manuscripts, correcting the common misconception that they were exclusively produced by medieval European monks. It highlights five standout examples, including the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, made for Jean I, Duke of Berry around 1411 by the Limbourg brothers, and the Book of Kells, created around 800 C.E. by monks of Iona Abbey. The article notes that illuminated manuscripts, defined by the decorative use of gold or silver, date back to the 4th century B.C.E. and span cultures from the Middle East to Africa and Mesoamerica, serving primarily as status symbols rather than reading material.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 26, 2025 visibility 12 link 1 artist

two curatorial teams win the 2025 hyundai blue prize

Two curatorial teams have won the Hyundai Blue Prize+ 2025, an award organized by Hyundai Motor Company to support curators addressing contemporary issues in an Asian context. The winners are Hyejin and Yoonyoung Park, a Seoul-based duo whose proposal examines AI's reliance on natural resources and labor, and Yifeng Wei and Penny Dan Xu, based in Dublin and London, who invite viewers to reimagine the future of modern technology. Selected from over 160 proposals, the teams participated in a mentorship program and research trip before being chosen by an international jury. Their exhibitions will be held at Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing between mid-2026 and early 2027, with each receiving 800,000 RMB (about $110,000) for production costs.

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article news schedule Nov 17, 2025 visibility 11 link 5 artists

layoffs metropolitan museum art

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has laid off 79 employees and furloughed 181 workers, with 93 staff members taking early retirement, citing a $150 million deficit exacerbated by the pandemic. The museum's director Max Hollein and CEO Daniel H. Weiss announced the cuts in an email, noting that salaries comprise 65% of the annual budget. This is the second round of layoffs since April, when 81 employees lost their jobs, and the museum has also implemented pay reductions for top executives and frozen hiring. The workforce has shrunk by about 20%, from 2,000 to 1,600 staff, with 48% of those laid off being people of color. The Met aims to reopen on August 29 with reduced hours, pending government approval.

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article news schedule Oct 14, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists

british museum tudor heart henry viii

The British Museum has launched a high-profile fundraising campaign to acquire the Tudor Heart, a gold pendant from the early reign of Henry VIII, discovered by amateur metal detectorist Charlie Clarke in Warwickshire in 2019. The museum needs to raise £3.5 million ($4.6 million) by early next year to secure the piece, which features symbols of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon and is described as the only surviving Tudor jewelry of its kind. Actor Damian Lewis and historian Mary Beard are supporting the appeal, and the museum will host its first British Museum Ball on October 18 to further fundraising efforts.

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article news schedule Jul 30, 2025 visibility 13 link 1 artist

ucca centre for contemporary art allegedly withheld wages

The UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing allegedly withheld staff wages for six months from January to June, according to the South China Morning Post. The institution, founded by the late Belgian collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens in 2007, has faced financial challenges including lower ticket sales, higher international freight costs, stricter rental demands from its landlord in Beijing's 798 Art District, and difficulty collecting payments from international partners. Its Shanghai branch, UCCA Edge, has seen no activity since June after an exhibition co-presented with the Saudi Ministry of Culture. Director Philip Tinari acknowledged a difficult year for museums in China, citing a slower consumer economy, and said the UCCA is working on long-term funding solutions.

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