‘I’m not trying to make him handsome’: Polly Samson on photographing husband David Gilmour – in pictures

Polly Samson, acclaimed author and wife of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, presents her first solo photography exhibition at Leica Gallery London, featuring intimate images taken over two decades of Gilmour on tour and in the studio. The show, titled 'Polly Samson – Between This Breath and Then,' runs until 7 May 2026 and coincides with the release of her book 'David Gilmour: Luck and Strange – Studio/Live,' published by Thames & Hudson. Samson's photographs capture candid moments of Gilmour, their family, and the creative process behind albums including 'Luck and Strange.'

‘The extremely happy part of the crowd’: Hungarian arts figures hope for change after 16 years of Orbán rule

The 16-year tenure of Viktor Orbán has come to an end following a landslide victory for Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party in the 2026 Hungarian parliamentary election. The shift in power has sparked widespread celebration among Hungary’s progressive art community, which has long felt stifled by Orbán’s nationalist and socially conservative agenda. Figures from major Budapest galleries and the contemporary art scene report a profound sense of relief, signaling a potential departure from the "illiberal democracy" that dominated the country for nearly two decades.

Mysterious Lake District barn joins national treasures on heritage list

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has granted Grade II* listed status to "Henry’s Castle," a mysterious limestone structure in the Lake District previously used as a livestock shelter. Following a four-year restoration project involving archaeologists and conservation engineers, experts identified high-status architectural features including a 14th-century oak roof truss, a corbelled chimneystack, and a garderobe. These elements suggest the building was originally a significant residence, such as a hunting lodge or a lookout dwelling, rather than a simple barn.

former owners of the art newspaper and lofficiel say amtd still owes buyout funds amid ipo listings

The former owners of The Art Newspaper and L’Officiel are embroiled in legal disputes with the Hong Kong-based AMTD Group, alleging they have not received full payment for the sale of their publications. Russian publisher Inna Bazhenova, who sold The Art Newspaper for an estimated $16–17 million, and the Jalou family, former owners of L’Officiel, claim that AMTD owes significant buyout funds despite the media brands being used to anchor high-profile IPOs on the New York and London stock exchanges. Bazhenova specifically alleges that shares provided as part of the payment have been 'parked and frozen' by a brokerage linked to AMTD, preventing her from accessing her capital.

bernini sculpture elephant rome damaged vandalism

A fragment of the tusk from Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s 17th-century elephant sculpture in Rome’s Piazza della Minerva was discovered broken off and lying on the ground. Local authorities and police are currently reviewing security footage to determine if the damage to the marble work was caused by intentional vandalism or recent heavy rainfall.

Caravaggio, Class, Clothes, and Street Style by Elizabeth Currie

caravaggio class clothes street style elizabeth currie

An excerpt from Elizabeth Currie's upcoming book "Street Style: Art and Dress in the Time of Caravaggio" analyzes the significance of clothing in Caravaggio's painting *The Cardsharps*. The author dissects the garments of the three figures—a finely dressed youth, a possibly liveried servant, and a disheveled card sharp—to reveal how their attire provides clues to their social status, professions, and the complex, often deceptive relationships between them.

south africa venice biennale court

South Africa's culture minister Gayton McKenzie canceled artist Gabrielle Goliath's selected presentation for the country's national pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, prompting Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo to file a constitutional court challenge on January 22. The artist's work, *Elegy*, commemorates victims of injustice including women, queer people, and victims of the Herero and Nama genocide, and was to address deaths of Gazan women and children since October 2023. McKenzie described the work as "highly divisive" and canceled the exhibition on January 2, despite an independent committee's binding selection. The minister now plans to replace it with a project by the collective Beyond the Frames titled "Shameless Rebellions: a South African Chorus."

lewis carroll rare alice in wonderland oxford

Lewis Carroll's personal copy of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' from the original 1865 run has been acquired by Oxford's Christ Church college and the Bodleian Libraries. The rare volume, donated by American philanthropist and bibliophile Ellen Michelson, contains the author's handwritten notes, sketched plans for a future nursery edition, and 10 original pencil sketches by John Tenniel used for the wood engravings. The book had never before been exhibited in the United Kingdom.

art basel artist arrest chalk performance

Performance artist Thomas Iser was arrested during Art Basel Miami Beach after spray-painting the words “Sorry to disturb, art in progress” on a window of the Miami Beach Convention Center using washable spray chalk. He invited his three-year-old daughter to add marks, and police charged him with criminal mischief. Iser, who has staged similar interventions globally, was handcuffed in front of his child and spent a night in jail before posting $600 bail. Miami-based artist Jillian Mayer witnessed the scene and documented it, noting the artist was in full body paint. Iser has since reframed the arrest as an unintended extension of the performance.

elizabeth street garden mamdani reconsider demolition

For 12 years, a one-acre community garden in Manhattan's Nolita neighborhood, Elizabeth Street Garden, has been locked in a battle with New York City officials over plans to build affordable housing on the site. The city, under former Mayor Eric Adams, had scheduled an eviction for March 2024 to make way for Haven Garden, a 123-unit senior housing development. After a last-minute impasse, the Adams administration abandoned those plans in June, instead rezoning three nearby sites. However, newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who campaigned on closing the garden for housing, has revived uncertainty. Just before Mamdani took office, the Adams administration permanently dedicated the land as public parkland, requiring state legislative approval for any future development.

brueghel mayken verhulst

Recent evidence suggests that Mayken Verhulst (ca. 1518–1599), the mother-in-law of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, authored works long attributed to the anonymous Brunswick Monogrammist. A key painting, *Ecce Homo* from the National Museum in Gdańsk, bears a unique double signature combining the initials of her husband, Pieter Coecke van Aelst, with her family name “Bessemer,” indicating her authorial role within the workshop. This discovery, detailed in an essay from the exhibition *The Woman Question 1550–2025* at the Museum of Modern Art Warsaw, challenges centuries of art-historical attribution.

christoph buechel art mosque iceland pavilion venice biennale shut down

Authorities in Venice have shut down the working mosque installed by Swiss artist Christoph Büchel in the city center as part of his presentation for the Icelandic Pavilion at the 2015 Venice Biennale. The closure followed an evaluation by a public safety committee, citing overcrowding during Friday prayers that exceeded the legal limit of 90 people, as well as security concerns due to the mosque's location near a pedestrian bridge. The Venice Biennale expressed hope that solutions could be found to reopen the pavilion, while the Icelandic Art Center's director published a letter detailing the fraught negotiations with Italian authorities leading up to the installation.

australian government rejects proposal text data mining ai companies

On Monday, Australian Attorney General Michelle Rowland confirmed the federal government's rejection of a proposal that would have allowed tech companies to use text and data mining to train artificial intelligence models. The proposal, initially presented to the Productivity Commission in August, had been advocated by tech firms including Atlassian cofounder Scott Farquhar, who argued for copyright changes similar to those in the US and Europe. The decision follows backlash from Australian creatives, including rapper Adam Briggs, author Anna Funder, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and the Australian Recording Industry Association.

estonian museum director russian prison

Maria Smorzhevskikh-Smirnova, the director of the Narva Museum in Estonia, was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison by a Russian court. The charges stem from her hanging banners on Narva Castle that label Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal,” including one that fuses Putin’s face with Adolf Hitler’s and another showing a bloodied mug shot of Putin. The court cited laws against disseminating “war fakes” and “rehabilitating Nazism.” Smorzhevskikh-Smirnova has been displaying such banners since 2023 on Russian Victory Day, and Russian authorities have projected Victory Day parades toward Narva from the nearby town of Ivangorod.

donald trump jeffrey epstein the secret handsake statue dc

An anonymous artist collective called the Secret Handshake has installed a 12-foot-tall statue in Washington, D.C., depicting Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein holding hands and twirling, titled "The Secret Handshake." The sculpture, made from wood, foam, and resin, includes plaques quoting a birthday message Trump reportedly wrote to Epstein and a satirical reference to free speech. The artists declined to identify themselves, speaking through a pseudonymous representative, and stated the work aims to highlight the public friendship between the two men, both of whom have been accused of abusing women.

ringling museum donors pull support desantis

Donors are reportedly withdrawing or reconsidering planned gifts to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, totaling over $750,000, following Governor Ron DeSantis's proposed transfer of the museum from Florida State University to New College of Florida. Although the transfer was not included in the final state budget, the controversy has deepened concerns about the museum's future stewardship under the smaller, conservative-aligned New College, whose reputation has shifted under DeSantis's appointments and policy changes.

painter morgan weistling dhs stole work social media homelands heritage

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted an image of Morgan Weistling's oil painting "New Life in A New Land" on its X account with the caption "Remember Your Homeland’s Heritage," without obtaining the artist's permission. Weistling publicly stated that the use was a violation of his copyright, expressing surprise and seeking next steps. The painting depicts a pioneer family in a covered wagon, and DHS had also recently used a Thomas Kinkade work without apparent authorization.

mystery artists return with trump dance sculpture

An anonymous artist collective, previously responsible for an eight-foot-tall golden monument of Donald Trump crushing Lady Liberty, has installed a new unauthorized artwork on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall. The piece is a life-size, gold-painted television set playing a silent 15-second loop of Trump performing his signature slow-motion dance moves, set against backdrops including campaign rallies and a party with Jeffrey Epstein. The installation, permitted through Sunday, includes a spray-painted gold eagle and a plaque quoting a White House statement criticizing the earlier sculpture. The White House responded with a sarcastic statement from spokesperson Abigail Jackson, claiming the video brings 'joy and inspiration' to tourists.

spanish court franco heirs return cathedral statues santiago

Spain's Supreme Court has ordered the heirs of former dictator Francisco Franco to return two 12th-century religious statues depicting Isaac and Abraham to the city of Santiago. The sculptures, originally part of the Portico of Glory at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, were removed under Franco's administration in the mid-20th century and transferred to the Meirás Palace at the request of Franco's wife. The court ruled that the transfer was illegal and that the statues remain the property of the city, rejecting the family's claim that they were purchased through an antique dealer in 1954.

We the People: Iowa City’s ‘library lady’ lives on through art collection

The article details the enduring legacy of Hazel Westgate, a pioneering children's librarian who served the Iowa City Public Library for nearly 40 years until her death in 1988. Westgate's most visible contribution is a unique collection of original children's book illustrations, acquired through personal correspondence with legendary authors and illustrators like Dr. Seuss and Charles M. Schulz, many inscribed directly to her or the children of Iowa City. Her mission was to ensure the artwork reflected the children themselves, fostering a lifelong love of reading and literature.

What Art Can Do

A conversation between German author and filmmaker Alexander Kluge and curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, originally published in 2017, has been republished following Kluge's recent death at age 94. The dialogue explores the unique capacities of different art forms, the need for interdisciplinary collaboration, and the role of art as an "oasis" or "garden" within an overwhelming technological landscape.

The Left Side of History: On Haile Gerima’s Black Lions—Roman Wolves

The article is a critical essay analyzing Haile Gerima's 2026 film 'Black Lions—Roman Wolves: The Children of Adwa,' focusing on its exploration of Italy's colonial occupation of Ethiopia and the repression of this history. The author uses a scene from Gerima's earlier film 'Teza'—featuring children playing near a decaying fascist monument in Ethiopia—as a starting point to discuss how colonial memory and trauma are cinematically excavated.

After Farce: Ubu, the Imperialist

The article examines the cultural and artistic response to Donald Trump's presidency, tracing how artists and critics initially invoked Alfred Jarry's absurdist character Ubu to make sense of Trump's first term. It argues that the second term has moved beyond farce into a normalized, active remaking of the international political order, with Trump pursuing overt imperial ambitions that exceed Jarry's original satire.

'Epic in scale': APY Lands exhibition opens at NGA after three-year delay

The National Gallery of Australia has officially opened 'Ngura Puḻka — Epic Country,' a landmark exhibition featuring 30 large-scale paintings by 49 First Nations artists from the APY Lands. The show, which features works predominantly measuring three-by-three meters, highlights the Tjukurpa (lore and ceremony) of the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara regions. The opening follows a significant three-year delay caused by an independent investigation into allegations of improper interference by non-Indigenous staff.

beauty perfume fragrance critics perfumetok

Cultured magazine has enlisted three top fragrance critics—April Long, Arabelle Sicardi, and Maxwell Williams—to discuss the state of fine fragrance in an era of oversaturation, where over 3,000 new perfumes launch annually and #perfumetok has amassed over 7 billion views. The conversation covers niche perfumery, dupe culture, AI noses, and the central question of when a perfume qualifies as a work of art versus a mere commodity. Each critic brings a distinct background: Long is a New York-based journalist with 15 Fragrance Foundation awards; Sicardi is a beauty philosopher and author of the upcoming book 'House of Beauty'; Williams is both a journalist and a working perfumer trained at the Institute for Art and Olfaction.

Gelitin “All for All” at Perrotin, New York

The Austrian group Gelitin has opened a new exhibition titled "All for All" at Perrotin gallery in New York. The show continues the group's long-term exploration of artworks as social forms, focusing on building chosen families and temporary publics through their collaborative practice.

Germany Creates New Council to Oversee Returns of Looted Art

The German government has established a new council, the Coordination Council for Returns of Cultural Property and Human Remains from Colonial Contexts, to oversee the restitution of artifacts acquired during the colonial era. The council will include representatives from federal, state, and municipal authorities and is intended to provide a structured, national approach to handling these complex returns.

Mexico’s culture ministry urges eBay to halt sales of pre-Hispanic artefacts

Mexico's Ministry of Culture has identified 195 pre-Hispanic archaeological objects listed for sale on eBay by a US-based seller and has formally demanded the platform halt the sales and return the items. The ministry, through Secretary Claudia Curiel de Icaza, argues the sale is illegal as the export of such cultural heritage has been prohibited since 1827, and their presence abroad results from illicit extraction. Legal action has been initiated with Mexican and international authorities, including Interpol and US Homeland Security Investigations, to secure repatriation.

Director of the Hermitage Museum Sanctioned by the European Union

Le directeur du Musée de l'Ermitage sanctionné par l'Union européenne

The European Union has imposed sanctions on Mikhail Piotrovsky, the 81-year-old director of the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, as part of its 20th sanctions package against Russia. Piotrovsky was blacklisted for supporting the war in Ukraine and overseeing illegal archaeological excavations in occupied Crimea. The EU cited his use of Kremlin war rhetoric—calling the museum's exhibition policy a "cultural special operation"—and the Hermitage's role in incorporating Ukrainian cultural objects from occupied territories into Russia's state museum fund. Additionally, under his leadership, unauthorized digs were conducted at the ancient Greek site of Myrmekion in Crimea, led by Hermitage archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, who was arrested in Warsaw and later released in a prisoner exchange.

From street art to sculpture parks: how Dubai is becoming an open-air gallery

Dubai has transformed into an open-air gallery through initiatives by Brand Dubai, Dubai Culture, and government entities, fulfilling a 2018 vision by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The city now features murals, sculptures, and street art in neighborhoods like Karama and Satwa, alongside dedicated art zones such as Alserkal Avenue and Dubai Design District. Art festivals including Art Dubai, Sikka Art & Design Festival, Quoz Arts Fest, Dubai Design Week, and the newly launched Bluewaters Art Festival further enrich the public art landscape, making visual art accessible without tickets.