sothebys modern art may 2025 sale report giacometti

Sotheby's modern art evening sale in New York on Tuesday night achieved $186.4 million with buyer's premium across 60 lots, with a sell-through rate of 83.3%. Top lots included Pablo Picasso's *Homme assis* ($15.1 million), Georgia O'Keeffe's *Leaves of a Plant* ($13 million), and a new auction record for Paul Signac's *Saint-Georges. Couchant (Venise)* ($8.1 million). However, the sale was overshadowed by the failure of Alberto Giacometti's *Grande tête mince*, a 1955 bronze bust estimated north of $70 million, which went unsold after bidding stalled at $64 million.

Calls for Artists: May 2026

Burnaway's May 2026 Calls for Artists roundup lists multiple opportunities with deadlines in early May. These include the Joan Mitchell Center's call for figurative works, the Michael P. Smith Fund for Documentary Photography for Gulf Coast photographers, the Center for Craft Teaching Artist Cohort offering $10,000 grants to mid-career craft artists, the Hopper Prize grants totaling $13,000, residencies at The Studios of Key West and Trillium Arts, and the National Performance Network Creation & Development Fund. Each opportunity has specific eligibility, fees, and deadlines ranging from May 3 to May 18, 2026.

Silvia Heyden: Weaving Notes & Nature at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University has opened the exhibition 'Silvia Heyden: Weaving Notes & Nature,' celebrating the rhythmic tapestries of Swiss-born artist Silvia Heyden (1927–2015). The show features works from her first solo exhibition at Duke over five decades ago, alongside key experimental pieces from the 1960s and 70s, reconnecting her legacy to the Durham campus that shaped her artistic voice.

Rediscovered portrait by the Renaissance’s leading woman artist goes on display at the Winter Show

A rediscovered portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola, a pioneering female artist of the Italian Renaissance, has gone on public display for the first time in over a century at the Winter Show in New York. The painting, *Portrait of a Canon Regular* (1552), is Anguissola's earliest signed and dated work and was long considered lost until it was found in a private collection in North Carolina after being referenced in a 2019 monograph. It is being presented by Robert Simon Fine Art.

Where to see art in Houston now: 9 fun new exhibits opening in July

Nine new art exhibitions are opening in Houston in July, spanning traditional paintings, sculptures, high-tech immersive shows, and textile works. Highlights include Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin's "Town Meeting 1978-2028" at Art League Houston, which uses wind-drawing techniques to explore pre-Stonewall queer histories; Jeffly Gabriela Molina's "Fragmentos de un sueño que yo también soñé," focusing on immigrant experiences of home and memory; and Lin Qiqing's "Every Fiber of Their Bodies," weaving narratives of gender, immigration, and human relationships. The Menil Collection also re-installs René Magritte paintings after their return from a major retrospective in Sydney.

81 artists withdraw from Venice Biennale competition

New exhibition ‘Personal Structures – Confluences’ to open in Venice in May 2026

The European Cultural Centre Italy has announced the eighth edition of its biennial contemporary art exhibition, 'Personal Structures – Confluences,' set to run from May 9 to November 22, 2026, in Venice. Spanning Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora, and the Marinaressa Gardens, the massive showcase will feature 175 artists from over 40 countries, including high-profile figures like ORLAN, Rashid Al Khalifa, and Hirohiko Araki. This edition introduces 'PS Design,' a new section dedicated to the intersection of art and architecture, and will host the national pavilions of El Salvador and Seychelles alongside a significant collaboration with the Palestine Museum US.

Artist list for Counterpublic 2026 announced

The St. Louis-based triennial Counterpublic has unveiled its full artist list for the 2026 edition, titled 'Coyote Time.' Running from September 12 to December 12, the exhibition features 47 artists, duos, and collectives, including prominent names like Glenn Ligon, Nicholas Galanin, and Rirkrit Tirivanija. Curated by a diverse team including Stefanie Hessler and Wanda Nanibush, the triennial will utilize site-responsive practices and emergent technologies to explore themes of climate, immigration, and education.

Father Daughter Counterfeiting Duo Face Twenty Years in Prison

A father-daughter duo from New Jersey, Erwin Bankowski (50) and Karolina Bankowska (26), pleaded guilty to creating and selling over 200 counterfeit artworks falsely attributed to artists including Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Fritz Scholder, and Banksy. They admitted to wire fraud conspiracy and misrepresentation of Native American-produced goods, defrauding buyers out of at least $2 million. The pair fabricated provenances and collection histories, forged gallery stamps, and attempted to auction the works for up to $160,000 each. They each face up to 20 years in prison.

Frist Art Museum Presents Exhibition Spanning 100 Years of Contemporary Indigenous Art, Highlighting a Continuum of Elders and Emerging Makers

The Frist Art Museum is presenting a new exhibition that spans 100 years of contemporary Indigenous art, featuring works from both established elders and emerging makers. The show aims to highlight the continuity and evolution of Indigenous artistic practices across generations.

One of the most important galleries in Brazil is in Rome these weeks with an exhibition. The interview

Una delle più importanti gallerie del Brasile in queste settimane è a Roma con una mostra. L’intervista

Brazilian gallery A Gentil Carioca has brought the first Italian solo exhibition of artist Miguel Afa to the Fondazione Capitolina in Rome, in collaboration with the Rhinoceros space. Titled "Il tempo che vive in me" (The Time That Lives in Me), the show features works created during Afa's residency in Rome, exploring themes of time, memory, and light through oil paintings that blend Brazilian and Roman imagery.

The first edition of the Paris Internationale fair in Milan is a success: The report

La prima edizione della fiera Paris Internationale a Milano convince. Il report

The Parisian satellite fair Paris Internationale successfully launched its first international edition in Milan during the city's 2026 Art Week. Hosted in the modernist Palazzo Galbani, the fair distinguished itself from traditional models like miart through a non-hierarchical layout designed by Christ & Gantenbein and NM3. The event featured 34 carefully selected galleries, emphasizing solo and duo presentations from artists such as Leonora Carrington, Benni Bosetto, and Ibuki Inoue.

To-Do List: A night of poetry at the art museum, the rodeo comes to town and a Beatles tribute

This article is a weekly events roundup from Free Times, listing activities in the Columbia, South Carolina area from May 6-11. It includes an art exhibition by sculptor Ellen Emerson Yaghjian at Stormwater Studios, a poetry and performance night at the Columbia Museum of Art responding to Rodney McMillian's exhibition, a Beatles tribute concert, a rodeo, an oil paint-making workshop, a music concert, a historic walking tour, a teen craft workshop, and a rock concert.

Surrey Art Gallery probes Expo 86’s artistic legacy with In the Shadow of the Pavilions

The Surrey Art Gallery has launched "In the Shadow of the Pavilions," an exhibition exploring the complex artistic legacy of Vancouver’s Expo 86. Curated by Jordan Strom, the show features works and archival materials from over 50 artists, including those officially commissioned for the world’s fair and those who were excluded or responded critically to the event. Highlights include documentation of Michael Snow’s pioneering holography and Bill Reid’s Haida canoe, Loo Taas, alongside works by Stan Douglas and Rodney Graham.

Latin American Art: Structural Growth between Market and Institutions

Latin American Art: Structural Growth between Market and Institutions

Latin American contemporary art is experiencing structural growth and increased global visibility between 2024 and 2026, moving beyond speculative trends toward deep-seated institutional legitimacy. This shift is highlighted by the prominent inclusion of regional artists in major international platforms, most notably the 2026 Venice Biennale and the Pinault Collection. Key figures such as Rosanna Paulino, Adriana Varejão, and Paulo Nazareth are leading this movement, utilizing diverse media to explore themes of post-colonialism, racial violence, and ecological memory.

Venezia: Melissa McGill. Marea - Art Exhibition Contemporary art in Veneto

Artist Melissa McGill has announced "Marea," a large-scale public art intervention set to debut in Venice's Corte Nova during the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026. The project features approximately 100 paintings created on bedsheets, which will be hung from traditional laundry lines spanning the historic street. Developed in collaboration with local residents and students from Università Iuav di Venezia, the installation uses shades of blue and green to mirror the Venetian Lagoon and celebrate the city's enduring community spirit.

Philadelphia museums are pooling resources — and telling bigger stories together

Philadelphia’s major art institutions are entering an unprecedented era of collaboration, launching a series of joint exhibitions that pool resources and collections. The centerpiece of this movement is “Bodies and Souls,” a dual-site exhibition hosted by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) and the Woodmere Art Museum featuring the contemporary art collection of Robert and Frances Coulborn Kohler. Other notable partnerships include a three-museum retrospective of sculptor Syd Carpenter and an upcoming 18-gallery initiative titled “Radical Americana” led by the Clay Studio.

'Discovering Ansel Adams' highlights 36 exhibitions on display at Southwest Florida museums in March

Southwest Florida’s museum landscape is featuring a robust schedule this March, with 36 exhibitions on display across institutions from Sarasota to Naples. Key highlights include the Sarasota Art Museum’s centennial celebration of Art Deco through 100 rare posters from the Crouse Collection, alongside contemporary showcases such as Selina Román’s photographic explorations of the human form and Molly Hatch’s massive site-specific ceramic installation, "Amalgam."

'Enchanting Story of Orchids' at Museum of Everglades heads list of 39 exhibitions at Southwest Florida museums in February

Southwest Florida museums are hosting 39 exhibitions throughout February, with four new openings, three closings, and 32 continuing shows. The lineup includes 'Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration' at the Sarasota Art Museum, featuring 100 rare posters from the 1920s and 1930s, as well as solo exhibitions by artists Selina Román and Molly Hatch at the same venue.

Hurvin Anderson and Caroline Walker to show new works on London Underground

London's Art on the Underground programme has announced its 2026 lineup, featuring new public artworks by Hurvin Anderson, Caroline Walker, Phoebe Boswell, and Ain Bailey. Anderson will create a commission for Brixton station tied to his long-standing studio in the area, while Walker will depict women working night shifts on the Jubilee line. Boswell will install photographic assemblages at Bethnal Green and Notting Hill Gate stations focusing on Black swimming communities, and Bailey will produce an audio piece for Waterloo station highlighting closed London venues.

Joan Miro, Tamara de Lempicka shows headline 31 exhibitions at local museums in December

Southwest Florida museums are hosting 31 exhibitions in December, including three new openings and two closings. Highlights include "Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration" at Sarasota Art Museum, featuring 100 rare posters from the Crouse Collection celebrating the Art Deco centennial; "Selina Roman: Abstract Corpulence," a photo-based installation exploring body politics and femininity; and Molly Hatch's site-specific ceramic installation "Amalgam" (2023-24), commissioned for the museum's "Inside Out" program. Other venues from Sarasota to Naples continue ongoing shows from their permanent collections and traveling exhibitions.

Museum of Whimsy set to reopen during a month of stellar local exhibitions

Southwest Florida museums are hosting a busy month of exhibitions in November, with four new shows opening, two closing, and 23 continuing. At the Sarasota Art Museum, highlights include "Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration," featuring 100 rare posters from the Crouse Collection by master graphic designers of the 1920s and 1930s, alongside sculptural works and Art Deco furniture. Also on view is "Selina Roman: Abstract Corpulence," a photography and abstraction series exploring beauty and body politics, and "Molly Hatch: Amalgam," a site-specific installation of over 450 hand-painted earthenware plates commissioned through the museum's Inside Out Program. The Museum of Whimsy is also set to reopen during this period.

Christie's to sell three early paintings by Lucian Freud for £20m

Christie's will offer three early paintings by Lucian Freud from a single private collection at its London evening sale on 15 October, with a combined estimate of £13m to £20m. The works span three decades of Freud's career: *Woman with a Tulip* (1944, est. £3m-£5m), *Self-portrait Fragment* (around 1956, est. £8m-£12m), and *Sleeping Head* (1961–71, est. £2m-£3m). All three have been in the same collection for many years and have been exhibited widely, including in major retrospectives at the National Gallery, London, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

The Art of an Art Exhibition

Seventeen Colby College seniors, all studio art majors, have organized the Senior Art Exhibition 2025 at the Joan Dignam Schmaltz Gallery of Art in downtown Waterville, Maine. The exhibition, on view through May 24, features work by four sculptors, two photographers, three painters, five printmakers, and three digital media artists. It is the culmination of a yearlong capstone course that taught students the behind-the-scenes process of mounting an exhibition, including installation, collaboration with museum preparators, and producing a print catalog with artist statements and critical essays.

Romanesco in a Max Mara Coat

Romanesco im Max-Mara-Mantel

Evelyn Taocheng Wang's first institutional solo exhibition in Italy, "Sweet Landscape," opens at the Museion in Bolzano. The Chinese-born, Rotterdam-based artist presents silk paintings, pastel canvases, and painted garments that probe the region's complex history beneath its idyllic Alpine scenery. Works such as "Frog Princess Checks Her Smartphone in front of Window of August Macke’s Hat Shop" (2026) and "Ancient Roman bust for Sale" (2026) blend local food motifs, cultural translation, and hybrid identity, questioning who gets to write history and how landscapes are perceived through secondhand experiences.

Arles Drawing Festival: What Not to Miss at This Fourth Edition

Festival du dessin d’Arles : ce qu’il ne faut surtout pas rater pour cette quatrième édition

The fourth edition of the Arles Drawing Festival has opened, featuring over forty exhibitions across the city. The highlights include two major private drawing collections being publicly presented: Marin Karmitz's collection, displayed at the Sainte-Anne church under the title "Et la vie continue…", and the Collezione Ramo from Milan, showcased at the Museon Arlaten chapel as part of a focus on Italian art.

Cameron Art Museum partners with Cucalorus on new cinema series

Cameron Art Museum (CAM) in Wilmington, North Carolina, has announced a new film series called CAM at the Movies, produced in partnership with the Cucalorus Film Foundation. The series will take place at Jengo’s Playhouse and feature screenings paired with live conversations with artists, curators, and cultural leaders. The lineup includes three films: "Legacy" (June 26), a short film about the United States Colored Troops; Andy Warhol's "Flesh for Frankenstein" (August 28); and "Always Looking: Titus Brooks Heagins" (December 11), a documentary about the photographer's work. Each screening will be accompanied by discussions with filmmakers, curators, and museum staff, connecting the films to CAM's current exhibitions.

Beyoncé, Bad Bunny and Heidi Klum take artistic liberties with Met Gala dress code

The 2026 Met Gala, celebrating the opening of the Costume Institute's "Costume Art" exhibition, saw celebrities including Beyoncé, Naomi Osaka, Emma Chamberlain, and Heidi Klum embrace the dress code "Fashion is art" with bold, sculptural, and art-inspired ensembles. Beyoncé wore a custom Olivier Rousteing skeleton dress with a feathered train and diamond crown, while Osaka stunned in a Robert Wun white sculptural dress with a red anatomy-themed reveal. Co-chairs Anna Wintour, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams also made notable appearances, with Williams referencing a Robert Pruitt portrait of herself. Many guests drew direct inspiration from art history, such as Lauren Sánchez Bezos channeling John Singer Sargent's "Madame X" and Lena Dunham collaborating with Valentino's Alessandro Michele to depict Artemisia Gentileschi's "Judith Slaying Holofernes."

Met Gala guests arrive on carpet in dramatic works of art

The 2026 Met Gala, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, featured celebrities arriving in dramatic, custom outfits adhering to the dress code 'Fashion is art.' Notable attendees included Naomi Osaka in a Robert Wun white sculptural dress with red feathers and dripping red paint, Emma Chamberlain in a hand-painted Mugler gown by Miguel Castro Freitas, and co-chair Anna Wintour in a mint ensemble by Matthieu Blazy for Chanel. The event celebrated the opening of the Costume Institute's exhibition 'Costume Art.'

What Is the 2026 Met Gala Exhibit “Costume Art” All About?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute will unveil its 2026 exhibition, “Costume Art,” on May 4, 2026, coinciding with the Met Gala. Curated by Andrew Bolton, the show explores the relationship between fashion and the human body, juxtaposing garments like Rei Kawakubo's bulbous Comme des Garçons ensemble with artworks such as Hans Bellmer's “La Poupée” and Albrecht Dürer's “Adam and Eve.” Mannequins cast from real bodies and mirrored heads by artist Samar Hejazi will enhance the immersive experience. The exhibition runs from May 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027, in the new Condé M. Nast Galleries.