Art News. Vasari Codex

article policy schedule Aug 25, 2025 visibility 12 link 5 artists

amy sherald speaks out government censorship at the smithsonian 1234749864

Amy Sherald, the painter who canceled her exhibition “American Sublime” at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in July due to censorship issues, has broken her silence in a MSNBC article. Sherald canceled her September show after the museum considered removing her painting *Trans Forming Liberty* (2024), depicting model and performance artist Arewà Basit as a Black transgender Statue of Liberty. In her op-ed, Sherald explains that institutional fear shaped by political hostility toward trans lives played a role, and she cannot comply with a culture of censorship targeting vulnerable communities.

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article news schedule Aug 22, 2025 visibility 13 link 6 artists

rockbund art museum free admission morning links 1234749779

The White House published a list denouncing artworks and exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution, including a painting by Amy Sherald of a Black trans woman as the Statue of Liberty, which Sherald later pulled from a National Portrait Gallery show alleging censorship. Separately, Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum faced operational challenges after introducing free admission in 2025, including overcrowding and visitor complaints, leading to a hybrid reservation system. Other news includes Frieze London and Frieze Masters announcing collaborations and prizes, Sweden moving a historic church for a mine expansion, and Chanel partnering with the Pinacoteca de São Paulo for a women artists residency.

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article policy schedule Aug 22, 2025 visibility 10 link 4 artists

white house smithsonian artworks list refugees fauci 1234749773

The White House published an article on its website denouncing a range of artworks, exhibitions, and objects at the Smithsonian Institution, continuing President Donald Trump's protest against the museum network. The list included previously criticized shows, such as one about sculptures as signifiers of power at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture's displays on 'white dominant culture.' It also named new targets: a painting of a Black trans woman as the Statue of Liberty by Amy Sherald (which was pulled from a National Portrait Gallery show due to alleged censorship), Rigoberto A. González's 2022 painting 'Refugees Crossing the Border Wall into South Texas,' a stop-motion portrait of Anthony Fauci commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, and a papier-mâché Statue of Liberty from a workers' rights protest. The administration also objected to wall texts at the National Museum of the American Latino and the National Museum of American History's LGBTQ+ History display.

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article policy schedule Aug 21, 2025 visibility 12 link 7 artists

trump slavery museums smithsonian comments meaning 1234749760

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social criticizing the Smithsonian and museums nationwide, claiming they focus excessively on negative aspects of U.S. history such as slavery. He described these institutions as the last remaining segment of 'WOKE' culture. The article counters his remarks by highlighting the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), which presents both the horrors of slavery and themes of survival, liberation, and perseverance through objects like Harriet Tubman's handkerchief and artworks by Jacob Lawrence and Alison Saar. It also references the 2022 exhibition 'Afro-Atlantic Histories' at the National Gallery of Art, which balanced depictions of violence with messages of freedom and resilience.

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article news schedule Aug 20, 2025 visibility 4 link 2 artists

mickalene thomas racquel chevremont harassment allegations 1234749647

Artist Mickalene Thomas has been accused in a legal filing of fostering an abusive work environment and mismanaging funds involving her former romantic partner Racquel Chevremont. Chevremont, a model, curator, and reality TV star, filed a summons in the Supreme Court of the State of New York on August 8, alleging she was not properly compensated for work done for Thomas, that Thomas diverted significant funds and business opportunities, and that she subjected Chevremont to quid pro quo harassment and a hostile work environment. The summons states their romantic relationship ended in 2020 but their professional ties remained strained, and Chevremont is seeking $10 million in damages.

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trending_up market schedule Aug 15, 2025 visibility 10 link 5 artists

sothebys to open its new breuer building hq on november 8 with blockbuster exhibition 1234749349

Sotheby's has announced November 8 as the opening date for its new headquarters in the iconic Breuer Building at 945 Madison Avenue, New York. The auction house purchased the building from the Whitney Museum in 2023 and commissioned Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron, along with PBDW Architects, to renovate the landmarked structure. The opening will feature a blockbuster exhibition of modern and contemporary art, followed by major sales the week of November 17. The building, designed by Marcel Breuer and completed in 1966, previously housed the Whitney Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Frick Collection.

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article news schedule Aug 13, 2025 visibility 17 link 7 artists

morning links august 13 2025 1234749320

The article reports on several art world developments: US museums are making progress on Spanish-language translation efforts despite broader challenges like declining attendance and funding. The Harvard Art Museums have acquired Heinz Mack's Light-Relief (1960), a gift from the Mack Foundation. The Detroit Institute of Arts is opening its first major Native American art exhibition in over three decades, featuring 90 works by Anishinaabe artists. Ukrainian artist David Chichkan was killed fighting against Russia. Additionally, the Natural History Museum is displaying the Alien franchise egg prop in its space exhibition.

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article culture schedule Aug 6, 2025 visibility 11 link 9 artists

the right influential art historian victoria coates project esther 1234748703

The article profiles Victoria Coates, an art historian and former Trump administration official, who is leading 'Project Esther,' a conservative initiative aimed at taking over US higher education and targeting progressive organizations. Named after the biblical queen, the project accuses critics of Israel of anti-Semitism and seeks to dismantle what it describes as a 'terrorist support network.' Coates, who previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor and worked on Rumsfeld's memoirs, has a long history of attacking academia from within, including as an anonymous blogger behind 'Elephants in Academia.'

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article news schedule Aug 6, 2025 visibility 11 link 5 artists

morning links august 6 2025 1234749003

Sara Nadal-Melsió, the former associate director of the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program (ISP), has spoken out about her termination in June 2025, which occurred shortly after the museum's director Scott Rothkopf announced a suspension of the 50-year-old program. In an essay published in Hyperallergic, Nadal-Melsió describes her dismissal as retaliation for her public protest against the Whitney's cancellation of a pro-Palestinian performance titled "No Aesthetic Outside My Freedom: Mourning, Militancy, and Performance." She characterizes the museum's actions as part of a broader pattern of institutional obfuscation, corporate culture, and disregard for workers' rights.

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article news schedule Aug 4, 2025 visibility 4 link 4 artists

amy sherald trans forming liberty the new yorker cover 1234748747

Amy Sherald's portrait of a Black transgender Statue of Liberty, titled *Trans Forming Liberty* (2024), has appeared on the cover of *The New Yorker* after the artist canceled a planned iteration of her traveling survey at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, alleging censorship. Sherald said museum leadership objected to the painting and proposed replacing it with a video discussion that would include anti-trans views. The work is currently on view at the Whitney Museum, where her survey 'American Sublime' runs through August 10. The Smithsonian later stated it sought to contextualize rather than replace the work, while the Trump administration praised the removal as a 'principled and necessary step' amid broader scrutiny of the institution's exhibitions.

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article news schedule Aug 4, 2025 visibility 11 link 9 artists

tate attendance decline china private museums morning links 1234748744

Tate director Maria Balshaw has defended the museum network's programming against criticism linking it to declining attendance, arguing in the Guardian that visitor numbers have returned to 95% of pre-pandemic levels when compared to annual pre-Covid figures rather than the record year of 2019. She cited popular shows for Pablo Picasso, J. M. W. Turner, and Tracey Emin as a strong foundation for future growth, though critics like Catherine Bliss countered that apart from the Lynette Yiadom-Boakye portrait show and El Anatsui's Turbine Hall installation, recent contemporary exhibitions have failed to excite. Separately, the article reports a wave of closures and cutbacks sweeping China's private art museums, including the shutdown of Shenzhen's Jupiter Museum of Art and Qingdao's TAG Art Museum, with the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art also facing financial difficulties.

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article policy schedule Aug 3, 2025 visibility 8 link 3 artists

smithsonian trump impeachment display update history museum 1234748710

The Smithsonian Institution has addressed the removal of a display at the National Museum of American History that mentioned President Donald Trump's two prior impeachments. The display, which had been on view since 2021 alongside references to Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Richard Nixon, was altered to a 2008 version that predated Trump's presidency. The Smithsonian stated the display will be updated in the coming weeks to reflect all impeachment proceedings in U.S. history, denying any external pressure from the Trump administration. The controversy follows earlier tensions, including Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet and artist Amy Sherald's cancellation of her traveling survey due to staff fears of political pushback.

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article news schedule Jul 29, 2025 visibility 9 link 4 artists

john roberts smithsonian kim sajet firing 1234748455

Kim Sajet, the former director of the Smithsonian-run National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., resigned after President Donald Trump claimed he fired her via social media. Despite Trump's demand, Sajet continued reporting to work until formally quitting. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution, intervened to block internal board suggestions to follow Trump's orders, leading the board to issue a resolution affirming its sole authority to fire museum directors. The controversy followed Trump's executive order accusing the Smithsonian of promoting a "divisive, race-centered ideology" and his post calling Sajet a "highly partisan person" and "strong supporter of DEI." Separately, artist Amy Sherald withdrew her mid-career survey from the National Portrait Gallery after being asked to remove a portrait of a trans woman posing as the Statue of Liberty.

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article news schedule Jul 24, 2025 visibility 5 link 4 artists

amy sherald cancels smithsonian exhibition amid censorship concerns 1234748194

Painter Amy Sherald has canceled her upcoming solo exhibition “American Sublime” at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery after the museum considered removing her painting *Trans Forming Liberty* (2024), which depicts a Black transgender Statue of Liberty. The show was scheduled to open in September. Sherald stated she was informed of internal concerns about the painting and that discussions arose about replacing it with a video featuring reactions and discussion of trans issues, which she opposed over fears it would include anti-trans views. She wrote to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III that institutional fear shaped by political hostility toward trans lives compromised the integrity of her work.

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article news schedule Jul 24, 2025 visibility 8 link 9 artists

berlin biennale evasive palestine paul klee angel histor 1234747787

The 13th Berlin Biennale opened amid controversy over its handling of the Gaza conflict. In a tense press conference, curator Zasha Colah faced questions about whether any invited artists had withdrawn in solidarity with the Strike Germany campaign, and whether she had experienced state repression for addressing the genocide in Gaza. Colah acknowledged one artist’s withdrawal but denied experiencing state repression, while the biennial’s title, “passing the fugitive on,” and its theme of “the fox” were criticized as evasive. The article describes the event as a case study in how German cultural institutions navigate political pressure and censorship.

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article news schedule Jul 24, 2025 visibility 8 link 5 artists

morning links july 23 2025 1234748160

Sotheby's Upper East Side headquarters at 1334 York Avenue faces financial uncertainty after its tenant, Weill Cornell Medicine, scaled back plans for a research center due to federal healthcare budget cuts. The National Institutes of Health funding freeze has reduced Weill Cornell's projected grants from over $300 million in 2024 to $130 million this year, leading to potential layoffs and halted construction. S&P Global estimates the building has lost nearly half its value since 2020, now worth $443 million, and has assigned Sotheby's a speculative B- credit rating amid declining global art sales. Separately, Italy's culture minister Alessandro Giuli demanded historian Ernesto Galli della Loggia resign from the Council of National Committees after he criticized the government's cultural policies, sparking a public feud. Art Basel Miami Beach announced 285 exhibitors for its 2025 edition, and a UK report showed only one percent of artworks with deferred export licenses were acquired by museums in 2024-25, a sharp decline from previous years.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 17, 2025 visibility 12 link 11 artists, 1 gallery

adam lindeman to close venus over manhattan 1234747091

Adam Lindemann, a collector-turned-dealer, announced he will close Venus Over Manhattan, the New York gallery he founded 14 years ago. The gallery's final exhibition, a solo show for painter Susumu Kamijo, will run until July 18. Lindemann revealed the decision in an opinion piece for Artnet News, citing the challenges of straddling the roles of collector and dealer, as well as the politics of art fairs. He plans to return to collecting full-time.

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article culture schedule Jul 16, 2025 visibility 8 link 5 artists

diego velasquezs las meninas why so important 1234745600

Diego Velázquez's 1656 painting *Las Meninas* is examined as one of the most conceptually complex works in Western art history. The article explores how the painting subverts Renaissance artistic conventions by playing with perspective, illusion, and the relationship between viewer and subject, depicting Infanta Margaret Theresa surrounded by her entourage in the Royal Alcázar of Madrid.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 9, 2025 visibility 11 link 9 artists, 5 galleries

art basel 2025 blue chip galleries sales trend 1234746767

ARTnews analyzed publicly reported sales from five blue-chip galleries—Hauser & Wirth, Pace, Thaddaeus Ropac, White Cube, and David Zwirner—at Art Basel 2025, finding a combined total over 35% lower than in 2024, around 8% below 2023, and just over 20% down from 2022. The high-water mark was $204 million in 2024, boosted by eight-figure works from Hauser & Wirth. Meanwhile, the number of artists sold by these galleries rose steadily from 109 in 2022 to 157 in 2025, indicating a shift toward broader, less concentrated inventory. Dealers reported mixed sentiments, though seven-figure deals still occurred, and some noted that market uncertainty has led to more scattershot presentations with wider price ranges.

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article policy schedule Jul 1, 2025 visibility 5 link 12 artists

president trumps budget bill includes 40 m for statues at new national garden of heroes 1234746576

President Trump's proposed spending legislation, known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," includes $40 million for the procurement of statues for the National Garden of American Heroes. The funds, appropriated to the National Endowment for the Humanities for fiscal year 2025 and available through 2028, will support life-size statues of 250 historical figures, with selected artists receiving up to $200,000 per statue. The garden, first announced in a 2020 executive order, is a priority for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and requires realistic depictions in materials like marble or bronze.

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article culture schedule Jun 30, 2025 visibility 11 link 7 artists

shana moulton wellness culture buffalo interview 1234741025

Shana Moulton, an artist and chair of the art department at the University of California, Santa Barbara, discusses her exhibition "Meta/Physical Therapy" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and her retrospective at the Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art. The article centers on Moulton's semi-autobiographical alter ego, Cynthia, a hypochondriac navigating New Age wellness culture through video installations, performances, and a collection of eccentric objects. Moulton explores themes of hypochondria, hospital art, and the absurdity of wellness consumerism, drawing from her upbringing in a California mobile home park and her long-running video series "Whispering Pines" (2002–18).

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 27, 2025 visibility 10 link 15 artists

guerrilla girls feminist collective why so important 1234745911

The feminist collective Guerrilla Girls began its activism in May 1985 by wheat-pasting posters in SoHo, New York, that listed prominent male artists and revealed that their galleries showed 10 percent or fewer women artists. The group formed after the 1984 MoMA exhibition 'An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture' included only 13 women out of 169 participants, sparking protests that failed to gain traction. For 40 years, the Guerrilla Girls have used statistics-driven, provocative posters to call out sexism and racism in galleries, museums, and the broader art world. This year, their anniversary is marked by retrospective exhibitions at the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, and the National Gallery of Bulgaria in Sofia.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 25, 2025 visibility 9 link 16 artists

best digital art works picked by experts 1234745683

The Digital Art Mile, Basel's first-ever digital art fair, opened its second edition on Monday at the city's Kult Kino Camera cinema, running through Sunday. Founded by digital art adviser Georg Bak and ArtMeta founder Roger Haas, the fair features panels, conferences on the digital art market, and the headline exhibition “Paintboxed,” which explores the history of the Quantel Paintbox. In a calmer, more academic atmosphere than Art Basel, ARTnews asked 10 prominent digital art figures to select their favorite artwork from the fair, with responses highlighting works such as Kim Asendorf's "Monogrid 90," XCOPY's "Last Selfie," and Matt Kane's "Gazers 200."

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trending_up market schedule Jun 25, 2025 visibility 10 link 16 artists, 1 gallery

sothebys london contemporary evening summer sale report 1234746083

Sotheby's London contemporary evening sale on Tuesday brought in nearly £62.5 million ($84 million), within its pre-sale estimate of £55 million to £74 million. The 48-lot sale achieved an 83% sell-through rate, with five works selling for over £5 million each, led by Tamara de Lempicka's 'La Belle Rafaëla' (1927) at £7.4 million and Pablo Picasso's 'Nu assis dans un fauteuil' (1964–65). The auction saw strong bidding for a Basquiat work on paper, 'Untitled (Indian Head)', which sold for £5.4 million, and a standout result for Yu Nishimura's 'through the snow' (2023), which tripled its high estimate at £230,000.

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article news schedule Jun 16, 2025 visibility 12 link 12 artists

leonard lauder and joel shapiro both pass away national gallerys rubens painting questioned lenin statue removed from city of osh morning links for june 16 2025 1234745198

Leonard Lauder, the billionaire cosmetics heir and art collector, died at 92, having donated 81 Cubist works worth over $1 billion to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Artist Joel Shapiro, known for his Post-Minimalist sculptures, also passed away at 83. Other news includes a visitor breaking a Swarovski-covered chair at Palazzo Maffei in Verona, the removal of a Lenin statue in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, pay raises for London museum security guards, and a reopened debate over a Rubens painting at the National Gallery in London.

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article news schedule Jun 9, 2025 visibility 4 link 2 artists

rivera kahlo estate mismanagement allegations 1234744688

Hilda Trujillo Soto, former director of the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera museums in Mexico City, has publicly accused the trust overseeing these institutions of years of mismanagement. In a blog post published in early April, Soto alleged that trustees failed to address discrepancies in records, with Kahlo and Rivera works possibly missing and later appearing in private U.S. collections. She also claimed that materials from Kahlo’s personal diary and artworks catalogued in 1957, including *Frida in Flames* and *The Abortion*, have been misplaced or illegally sold. The trust, established by Rivera in 1955 and now administered by Mexico’s central bank Banxico, denied Soto’s claims, stating she never officially reported concerns during her tenure from 2009 to 2020.

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article news schedule Jun 9, 2025 visibility 4 link 1 artist

klaus biesenbach american art scene political correctness 1234744529

Curator Klaus Biesenbach, now director of the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, gave a lengthy interview to Der Spiegel in which he explained his decision to leave the American art scene, citing what he described as an oppressive climate of "political correctness." He claimed that DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) initiatives in U.S. museums had become "unbearable" quota requirements, and recounted a story about mandatory Zoom meetings after George Floyd's murder where he felt pressured to share personal experiences of discrimination. He also referenced the resignation of SFMOMA curator Gary Garrels over "reverse discrimination" comments and acknowledged his own controversial tenure at MOCA Los Angeles, which saw two high-profile resignations and a leadership restructuring.

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article policy schedule May 30, 2025 visibility 8 link 4 artists

national portrait gallery director fired trump 1234743964

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he had fired Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., citing her as a "highly partisan person" and a "strong supporter of DEI." Sajet had led the museum since 2013, and her termination follows a series of executive orders targeting the Smithsonian Institution, including one in March that criticized "anti-American ideology" at its museums. The museum currently features the exhibition "America’s Presidents," which includes a portrait of Trump with a caption referencing his impeachments and the January 6 Capitol attack. The National Portrait Gallery did not respond to requests for comment, and no replacement has been named.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 23, 2025 visibility 4 link 4 artists

frida kahlo museum mexico city casa roja 1234743461

A new museum dedicated to Frida Kahlo will open in Mexico City's Coyoacán district this September, housed in the Casa Roja, a private residence purchased by Kahlo's parents and passed down through the family. The property was gifted by the artist's grandniece Mara Romeo Kahlo, and the museum was designed by the New York–based Rockwell Group. Adán García Fajardo has been appointed director, and the project is funded by the newly established nonprofit Fundación Kahlo, chaired by public relations veteran Rick Miramontez. The museum will explore Kahlo's early life, inspirations, and cultural influences, and will feature rotating contemporary art exhibitions focused on Mexican, Latin American, and women artists.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 21, 2025 visibility 3 link 11 artists

suzanne valadon post impressionist painter 1234742809

Suzanne Valadon, a self-taught French post-impressionist painter known for her brash, unflinching style and commitment to representation, is the subject of a major retrospective at the Centre Pompidou in Paris through May 26. The exhibition, simply titled "Suzanne Valadon," features 200 works and is part of a recent swell of attention that includes six major exhibitions in six years, highlighting her self-portraits, nudes, and depictions of the human body with unidealized realism.

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