Art News. Vasari Codex

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 15, 2025 visibility 6 link 3 artists

london imperial war museum faces critcism morning links for august 15 2025 1234749443

Greenpeace activists climbed a Shell-operated gas rig in the North Sea and unfurled a 315-square-foot crimson canvas created with artist Anish Kapoor, titled "Butchered," to protest environmental destruction. Separately, London's Imperial War Museum faces criticism for an information board in its Holocaust Galleries that historians say contains a serious misrepresentation of the Nuremberg race laws, with The Spectator accusing the institution of "soft Holocaust distortion." Meanwhile, the family of late mixed-media artist John Outterbridge is sifting through the charred ruins of his Altadena home, destroyed in the Eaton Fire, hoping to salvage artworks and archives to create a tribute.

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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 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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article policy schedule Jul 22, 2025 visibility 10 link 7 artists

us states culture funding cuts morning links 1234747960

The article reports that despite the Trump administration's efforts to eliminate federal funding for cultural agencies like the NEA, NEH, and IMLS, many US states have continued to support their arts and humanities agencies, though at reduced levels. According to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), states and territories allocated nearly $650 million to these agencies in fiscal year 2026, a 7.4% drop from 2025. While 29 states increased arts funding, others saw significant cuts: New Hampshire reduced its arts funding by 90% due to a revenue shortfall, while California, Missouri, Kansas, and Hawaii also experienced notable reductions. Conversely, Florida, North Dakota, Connecticut, and Oregon increased their arts appropriations, helping to offset overall losses. Per capita, Minnesota leads arts funding at $7.85, while New Hampshire, Georgia, and Wisconsin allocate less than $0.20.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 18, 2025 visibility 11 link 7 artists

solange pessoa brazilian sculptor aspen art museum glasgow 1234747756

Brazilian sculptor Solange Pessoa is the subject of a solo exhibition at the Aspen Art Museum, featuring her evolving installation *Bags – Aspen version* (1994–2025). The work, originally created in 1994, consists of burlap sacks filled with organic materials such as coffee beans, seeds, feathers, dried peppers, and records by Brazilian musicians, arranged in towers on a dirt-covered floor. Pessoa, who has long been based in Belo Horizonte, has recreated the piece in various locations over three decades, and this iteration marks one of her few solo museum shows outside Brazil.

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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 6 link 8 artists

who was j m w turner why so important british artist 1234745218

This article profiles British painter Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), detailing his rise from a barber's son to one of Britain's most famous artists. It covers his early training at the Royal Academy Schools, his mastery of watercolor and oil, and his prolific output of over 500 oil paintings and thousands of works on paper. Key works discussed include *Jedburgh Abbey* (c. 1832), *Fishermen at Sea* (1796), and *The Battle of Trafalgar* (1822), the latter of which sparked controversy for historical inaccuracies. The piece notes that for his 250th birthday, international institutions are celebrating his legacy.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 12, 2025 visibility 12 link 14 artists

must see site santa fe international cecilia alemani once within a time 1234746679

Curator Cecilia Alemani has organized the latest edition of the SITE Santa Fe International, titled "Once Within a Time," inspired by Godfrey Reggio's 2022 film of the same name. The exhibition, which opened in 2025, centers on storytelling and features Reggio's trippy 55-minute film alongside works by over a dozen artists, including Helen Cordero, D.H. Lawrence, Louise Bonnet, Norman Zammitt, Joseph Yoakum, John McCracken, Karla Knight, and Ali Cherri. The show extends beyond SITE Santa Fe to multiple venues across New Mexico, such as the New Mexico Military Museum, a hotel, and a cannabis shop, weaving together themes of eros, energy, the military, and the state's archetypes like UFOs, Land art, and Native spirituality.

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article news schedule Jul 10, 2025 visibility 4 link 1 artist

nan goldin israel gaza rencontres darles talk 1234747158

Photographer Nan Goldin publicly addressed Israel’s war in Gaza during a talk at the Rencontres d’Arles photography festival in France. She appeared on stage with novelist Édouard Louis, who read a statement about the conflict. An audience member shouted at Goldin, who responded by citing civilian death tolls and questioning whose lives matter. Goldin also criticized the conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism, calling it a weapon to silence critics of Israeli government actions.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 9, 2025 visibility 6 link 9 artists

lorna simpson fort greene brooklyn home art studio hits the market 1234747042

Lorna Simpson's former home and studio in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood, designed by British architect David Adjaye in 2006, has been listed for sale at $6.5 million. The four-story, 22-foot-wide building at 208 Vanderbilt Avenue, dubbed "Pitch Black," features black polypropylene panels on the front and glass walls at the back opening onto over 800 square feet of garden space. Simpson, who created the space after failing to find a suitable existing property, used it as a combined residence and studio with her then-husband, photographer James Casebere, before relocating to a larger commercial space nearby. The property now serves as archival and storage space and is being marketed by the Corcoran Group.

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article news schedule Jul 2, 2025 visibility 11 link 4 artists

khaled sabsabi reinstated for venice biennale 1234746757

Creative Australia has reinstated Lebanese-born artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino as the representatives for Australia's pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, following an independent review and months of public backlash. The pair were initially removed in February after a column in The Australian criticized Sabsabi's 2007 video installation "You," which includes manipulated footage of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, accusing the artist and curator of favoring boycotts of Israel. The abrupt removal prompted resignations from senior Creative Australia staff and board members, widespread condemnation from the art community, and an open letter from shortlisted pavilion candidates demanding reinstatement.

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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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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 27, 2025 visibility 7 link 10 artists

liz collins fiber art risd museum venice biennale 1234746310

Liz Collins created two monumental 16-foot-long tapestries for the 2024 Venice Biennale, titled *Rainbow Mountains: Moon* and *Rainbow Mountains: Weather* (both 2023). Initially conceived as a single 40-foot weaving, the project proved too ambitious and was split in two. Collins worked at the TextielLab in Tilburg, Netherlands, switching to a lighter yarn after a failed trial, and ultimately brought the finished works to New York in duffel bags before curator Adriano Pedrosa selected them for the Biennale. The textiles depict mountain ranges emitting rainbows through dark skies, exploring themes of duality—danger and joy, precarity and euphoria.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 26, 2025 visibility 8 link 5 artists

napoleon sale sothebys paris france famous antiques dealer 1234746214

On Wednesday in Paris, Sotheby's auctioned a collection of Napoleonic artifacts from the private collection of prominent French antiques dealer Pierre-Jean Chalençon, generating €8.7 million ($9.6 million) against a €6 million estimate. The 112-lot sale included imperial furniture, Old Master paintings, and personal relics such as Napoleon's worn stockings and a copy of his marriage certificate. Highlights included a portrait by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse that sold for €863,600 (20 times its estimate) and the only surviving remnant of Napoleon's first will, which fetched €482,600. However, Napoleon's bicorne hat underperformed, selling for €355,600 against a €600,000 low estimate, amid provenance questions raised by French newspaper Le Figaro.

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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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rate_review review schedule Jun 24, 2025 visibility 13 link 7 artists

the mastermind film review kelly reichardt josh oconnor 1234746055

Kelly Reichardt's new film *The Mastermind*, starring Josh O'Connor as a carpenter and family man who turns art thief, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and will be released by Mubi. The film follows O'Connor's character, J.B., as he plots a heist inspired by a real 1972 robbery of the Worcester Art Museum, targeting paintings by American modernist Arthur Dove. The movie blends suspense, humor, and meticulous visual storytelling, with Reichardt drawing on the aesthetic of 1970s America and the work of photographers Stephen Shore and William Eggleston.

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article news schedule Jun 23, 2025 visibility 5 link 2 artists

medici portrait damaged by tourist at uffizi galleries florence 1234745923

A 17th-century portrait of Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici was damaged at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence when a tourist attempted to take a photo mimicking the prince's pose. The young Italian man tripped over a barrier, fell onto the painting, and tore the canvas. Security cameras captured the incident, and the tourist has been identified and reported to police, potentially facing criminal charges and repair costs.

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article news schedule Jun 23, 2025 visibility 7 link 9 artists

romania wins long term hold on disputed el greco 1234745914

Romania has secured a "long-term hold" on El Greco's painting *Saint Sebastian* (1610–1614), which was pulled from a Christie's New York Old Masters sale in February. The work is claimed by Romania as unlawfully taken from its national collection in 1947. The painting will remain at Christie's until legal proceedings resolve the dispute. Meanwhile, Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro died in Milan at age 98, and abstract painter Thornton Willis died in New York at 89. Other news includes a letter from National Gallery director Gabriele Finali defending the Rubens attribution of *Samson and Delilah*, Japan's curatorial appointments for the 2026 Venice Biennale, and a Bristol City Council fundraiser to acquire an early JMW Turner painting.

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article news schedule Jun 18, 2025 visibility 9 link 9 artists

tefaf cameos in just like that museums respond to rising middle east conflict greek heritage damaged by earthquake morning links for june 18 2025 1234745553

The June 18, 2025 edition of ARTnews' Morning Links reports that Iran and Israel have taken protective measures for artworks and heritage sites amid escalating missile strikes. Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization moved artifacts to secure storage and closed museums, while Israeli museums transferred artworks to protected storage, with Suzanne Landau, director of the Israel Museum, noting the country's familiarity with such crises. Other headlines include a government watchdog finding that President Donald Trump illegally slashed funding to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an interview with Pussy Riot co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova about her performance at MOCA Los Angeles, earthquake damage to monasteries in northern Greece, and details about the Studio Museum in Harlem's inaugural exhibitions. The digest also covers TEFAF's cameo in the TV show 'And Just Like That', a Jenny Saville drawing heading to auction at Sotheby's, and a profile of previously unknown Surrealist painter Henry Orlik.

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article news schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 12 link 15 artists

bob rennie donation national gallery art canada morning links 1234745311

Vancouver-based art collector Bob Rennie has donated 61 artworks valued at C$22.8 million ($16.8 million) to the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. The donation includes works by Ai Weiwei, Mona Hatoum, Dan Graham, and Rodney Graham, and the museum has named a space after the Rennie family, with plans for at least one more. In other news, the Orange County Museum of Art is exploring a merger with the University of California, Irvine, and its director Heidi Zickerman will step down in December. Critics are blasting a digital projection of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Wrapped Reichstag onto the German parliament, calling it an 'aesthetic outrage.' Additionally, Iván Argote's pigeon sculpture Dinosaur on the High Line Plinth inspired a Pigeon Fest in New York, and rare copies of Lincoln's 13th Amendment and Emancipation Proclamation are heading to auction at Sotheby's.

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candle obituary schedule Jun 16, 2025 visibility 11 link 7 artists

leonard lauder dead estee lauder art collecting 1234745163

Leonard Lauder, the eldest son of Estée Lauder and a billionaire cosmetics executive, died at age 92. He served as chairman emeritus of Estée Lauder Companies, having previously been president and CEO, and grew the company's sales from $800,000 to over $16 billion. A major art philanthropist, in 2013 he donated 81 Cubist works worth over $1 billion to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including pieces by Picasso, Braque, Léger, and Juan Gris. He also served as chairman emeritus and trustee at the Whitney Museum.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 11, 2025 visibility 8 link 8 artists

claudia alarcon silat weaving venice biennale james cohan 1234740421

Claudia Alarcón, a Wichí artist from Argentina, learned the traditional yica stitch from her mother and grandmother at age 12. Her weavings, created in collaboration with the all-female collective Silät, were a standout at the 2024 Venice Biennale, earning critical praise from Barry Schwabsky in The Nation. The works are now featured in a solo show at James Cohan Gallery in New York, as well as in Brazil’s Bienal do Mercosul, and will travel to the De La Warr Pavilion in England, the Museo de Arte de São Paulo, and the Guggenheim Bilbao.

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article news schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 7 link 7 artists

smithsonian stands up to trump moca closes its geffen branch amid protests is putins daughter dealing art morning links for june 10 2025 1234744759

The Smithsonian Institution publicly affirmed its independence from the Trump administration after President Donald Trump attempted to fire National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet, citing her perceived criticism of him. Sajet has continued reporting to work, and the Smithsonian's Board of Regents backed Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch's authority over personnel decisions, while also directing him to ensure exhibits remain nonpartisan. Separately, Los Angeles's Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) closed its Geffen branch early on June 8 as National Guard troops clashed with anti-ICE protesters, though Russian artist Nadya Tolokonnikova continued her durational performance "Police State" inside the closed museum. The protests unfolded in front of Barbara Kruger's 1990 mural "Questions," which Kruger said was a prophetic commentary on the current political moment.

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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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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 3, 2025 visibility 10 link 12 artists

ruba katrib moma ps1 the gatherers exhibition interview 1234744012

MoMA PS1 has opened its marquee spring exhibition, “The Gatherers,” a group show featuring 14 artists from around the world who explore the psychic and material burdens of climate change, globalization, and neoliberalism. Curated by Ruba Katrib, the exhibition includes works in sculpture, video, assemblage, and installation, spanning regions from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Lithuania, and is on view through October 6. Katrib, PS1’s chief curator and director of curatorial affairs, emphasizes that the show lets the artworks speak for themselves through form and material rather than delivering a direct lecture.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 30, 2025 visibility 8 link 10 artists

met museum rockefeller wing renovation review 1234743781

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, closed since 2021, reopens after a $70 million renovation. The redesign by architect Kulapat Yantrasast transforms the previously dark and cramped galleries into airy, energizing spaces, with a major rehang that reconfigures the Oceania galleries. Notable changes include the repositioning of a Kwoma ceremonial house ceiling in collaboration with descendants of the original painters, the relocation of Asmat funerary poles to a dedicated gallery, and the addition of newly acquired works by Ömie artist Ilma Savari. The renovation also features revised wall texts that better contextualize the objects.

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article news schedule May 29, 2025 visibility 5 link 1 artist

centre pompidou brazil satellite 1234743858

The Centre Pompidou will open its first South American satellite in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, in November 2027, backed by Paraná state officials. Designed by Paraguayan architect Solano Benítez, the museum will feature exhibition galleries and research facilities, highlighting South American artists alongside works from the Pompidou’s permanent collection of around 150,000 objects. This expansion comes as the Paris flagship closes for five years starting September 2024 for a $280 million renovation.

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trending_up market schedule May 26, 2025 visibility 9 link 10 artists

sothebys saunders old masters sale results 1234743514

A Sotheby's single-owner sale of 55 Old Masters works from the collection of Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III on May 21 achieved $64.7 million, falling well short of the $80–120 million estimate. The evening sale had a 58.5% sell-through rate, with 17 lots unsold and two withdrawn; a subsequent day sale on May 22 saw a similar 58.3% rate. Top lots included Francesco Guardi's Venetian views at $10.5 million, a record $8.8 million for Jan Davidsz. de Heem, and a record $7.37 million for Frans Post. Despite these highlights, the overall performance was dampened by high estimates, shifting collector tastes, and the prevalence of guarantees.

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