Basquiat’s 'Museum Security' leads Sotheby’s New York contemporary evening sale at US$52.7m

Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1983 painting 'Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)' sold for US$52.7 million at Sotheby's Now and Contemporary Evening Auction in New York, becoming the fifth-most expensive Basquiat ever auctioned. The work, estimated at over US$45 million and backed by an irrevocable bid, hammered at US$45.3 million to a telephone bidder represented by Sotheby's Lucius Elliott. The auction totaled US$266.8 million with fees, selling 40 of 44 lots, and combined with the preceding Robert Mnuchin collection sale—led by Mark Rothko's 'Brown and Blacks in Reds' at US$85.8 million—the evening brought in US$433.1 million.

New York Galleries: Openings and Closings of the Week (01/05—01/11)

New York Galleries: Openings and Closings of the Week (12/08—12/14)

New York Galleries: Openings and Closings (02/02-02/08)

A flurry of gallery activity is scheduled for the week of February 2-8, 2026, in New York City. Numerous exhibitions are opening, including "Interstice: Whirled Music" at Kiang Malingue, "Everything She Touches" by Alix Vernet at Eric Firestone Gallery, and "Anima" by Felipe Baeza at Print Center New York. Concurrently, many shows are in their final days, such as "A Retrospective by Ruth Asawa" at the Museum of Modern Art, "FDR Drive Musel, 1984" by Keith Haring at Martos Gallery, and "West Coast Women of Abstract Expressionism" at Berry Campbell.

Art Center Sarasota celebrates its 100th year, among 32 local art shows this month

Art Center Sarasota is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a season of exhibitions, including "SARTQ Collective: Legacy x Response: SARTQ Responds to a Century of ACS," which honors the center's history through contemporary works by local artist collective SARTQ. Other featured shows include "Juan Alonso-Rodriguez: Earthly Glyphs," presenting fictional microscopic views of Earth's strata, and "Njeri Kinuthia: Reconstruction," exploring identity through textile-inspired portraits. These exhibitions are part of 32 visual art shows taking place across Southwest Florida in October, hosted by more than a dozen art centers from Sarasota to Marco Island.

New York Dealer Hal Bromm Can’t Remember His Last Art Fair. He Couldn’t Be Happier

Hal Bromm, a New York art dealer who opened his gallery in Tribeca decades before it became a gallery hub, is celebrating 50 years in the neighborhood. He opened in 1974, predating the wave of galleries that moved to Tribeca around 2013, and has remained at 90 West Broadway since 1977. To mark the milestone, he will present the exhibition “50: The View from Tribeca” on September 19 and publish a book, *New Art, Old Buildings: Stories from Hal Bromm’s Tribeca*. Bromm reflects on his early career, including introducing artists like Donald Judd, Alighiero Boetti, and Mario Merz to New York audiences, and his instinct-driven approach to selecting artists.

Krannert Art Museum reopening highlights gallery reinstallations, artist Ronny Quevedo exhibition

Krannert Art Museum in Champaign, Illinois, is reopening on August 28 with a major reinstallation of its Andean gallery, featuring the exhibition "Fragmented Histories: Andean Art Before 1600." The gallery, co-curated by Kasia Szremski and Allyson Purpura, moves away from a linear display to explore the mobility of objects, their histories of looting, and their ongoing cultural significance. The reopening also includes a solo exhibition by contemporary artist Ronny Quevedo, titled "Ronny Quevedo: a l l s t a r s," and reinstallations of European and American art in the Bow and Trees galleries.

Tefaf New York: determination in the face of Trump’s tariff chaos

Tefaf New York returns to the Park Avenue Armory with 91 exhibitors from four continents, presenting 7,000 years of art amid uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump's recently announced tariff regime. The fair's director, Leanne Jagtiani, sent a letter to exhibitors acknowledging the "significant impacts" on the industry, assuring them of close communication with shippers and legal advisers, and advocating for the exclusion of artworks from potential EU reciprocal tariffs. While artworks are understood to be exempt, antiques and contemporary works in unconventional materials may be subject to the new tariffs, creating confusion among dealers and collectors.

Coveted Rothko From Robert Mnuchin’s Collection Nets $85.8 Million in New York

A major Mark Rothko painting, *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957), from the collection of the late financier and dealer Robert Mnuchin, sold for $85.8 million at Sotheby’s New York, becoming the second-highest price ever achieved for the artist at auction. The work, estimated at $70–100 million, was part of an 11-lot sale dedicated to Mnuchin’s collection, which also includes works by Willem de Kooning, Pablo Picasso, and Franz Kline. A phone bidder won the painting, with Helena Newman, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, handling the bid.

New York Gallery The Hole Sued Over Back Rent, Accused of Not Paying Artists and Workers

The Hole, a prominent New York-based contemporary art gallery, is facing multiple lawsuits and allegations of financial instability. Legal filings from landlords at both its Bowery and Tribeca locations indicate significant rent arrears totaling over $180,000, alongside unpaid real estate taxes. Founder Kathy Grayson confirmed the closure of the gallery’s Los Angeles outpost, attributing the crisis to a sharp decline in sales starting in late 2023 and a destabilizing period of rapid expansion.

It is the great Mark Rothko leading Sotheby's first auctions in New York

È il grande Mark Rothko a guidare le prime aste di Sotheby’s a New York

Sotheby's kicked off New York's art and auction week with two major sales on May 14, 2026, led by the highly anticipated Robert Mnuchin: Collector at Heart Evening Auction. The top lot was Mark Rothko's "Brown and Blacks in Reds" (1957), which sold for $85.8 million, the second-highest price ever for the artist at auction. The Mnuchin auction achieved a "white glove" sale, selling all 11 lots for a total of $166.3 million, followed by The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction which brought in $266.8 million. Combined, Sotheby's generated $433.1 million, a 133% increase over its May 2025 session. The sales reflect a strong return of high-value trophy lots to the secondary market, driven by the dispersal of prominent collectors' estates.

Performa Is Bringing a Star-Studded Variety Show to Broadway

Performa, New York's biennial for performance art, is staging a one-night variety show on Broadway at Manhattan's Town Hall on June 10. The inaugural Performa All-Star Variety Show will feature artists including Barbara Kruger, Julio Torres, Marcel Dzama, Laurie Simmons, and Anne Imhoff, hosted by comedian Casey Jost. The 90-minute, 12-act event draws inspiration from 19th-century vaudeville and Futurist cabarets, offering a public spectacle outside the biennial's usual three-week format.

mary tyler moores art collection doyle auctions

Doyle Auctions will sell over 300 lots from the estate of television star Mary Tyler Moore, including memorabilia, contemporary art, and home furnishings. The auction runs in Beverly Hills from May 16 to 20 and in New York on June 4. Highlights include limestone sculptures by Mimmo Paladino, portraits by Peter Max and Al Hirschfeld, photographs by Annie Leibovitz, and jewelry by Paloma Picasso. Moore, who died in 2017, was a pioneering actress and philanthropist.

Out and About: What's Happening in Philly

This article is a roundup of events happening in Philadelphia, including a Mother's Day Weekend visit to the Barnes Foundation, a live stage show of "Dancing with the Stars," the Night Market at East Market, and Broadway productions of "Chicago" and "The Wiz." It highlights the Barnes Foundation's collection of impressionist and modern art, along with its new exhibition "Freedom Dreams" on view through August 9.

Louisiana reunites Basquiat's 'Heads' for the first time

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark is hosting "Headstrong," the first museum exhibition in Scandinavia dedicated to Jean-Michel Basquiat. The show reunites 49 works on paper created between 1981 and 1984 that focus on the artist's depiction of the head—works Basquiat originally kept for himself and which were only discovered after his death. The exhibition includes the record-breaking 1982 "Untitled" painting, which previously sold for $110.5 million.

art dealers movie villains

Artnet News examines the recurring trope of art dealers as villains in popular cinema, highlighting seven films that feature duplicitous gallerists, auction house specialists, and art advisors. Examples include Rhodora Haze in *Velvet Buzzsaw* (2019), a ruthless gallerist who profits from a dead artist's work against his dying wish, and Virgil Oldman in *The Best Offer* (2013), an auction house director entangled in forgery and deception. The article also references Victor Taft in *Legal Eagles* (1986), where a performance artist's father's suspicious death drives the plot.

This month’s New York auctions could bring up to $2.3bn

New York's leading auction houses, including Sotheby's and Christie's, expect to generate between $1.7bn and $2.3bn during their November sales, driven by major consignments such as 55 works from the estate of Leonard Lauder and 37 works from the collection of Jay and Cindy Pritzker. Sotheby's, which has moved its headquarters into the former Whitney Museum's Breuer Building, leads the season with estimated sales of $863m to $1.175bn, featuring Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (estimated at $150m) and Frida Kahlo's El Sueño (La Cama) (estimated at $40m-$60m).

'HEAD STRETCH' at Andrew Kreps Gallery, 394 Broadway, New York, United States on 24 Apr–20 Jun 2026

Andrew Kreps Gallery in New York presents 'Head Stretch,' a group exhibition featuring Felipe Barsuglia, Allan Gandhi, Luciana Maas, Flora Rebollo, Gokula Stoffel, and Erika Verzutti. The show is rooted in a shared studio building in São Paulo called 'Predinho,' where friendships and creative exchanges among the artists led to the exhibition. The title reflects diverse interpretations: from craning to see another's work to the stretched proportions of figures in paintings, and the expansion of perspective through community. Works by the six artists, including paintings, sculptures, and drawings, are installed in ways that create new associations, with Verzutti inserting her own pieces to open them to fresh readings.

art exhibition moma marcel duchamp retrospective

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York is organizing a major retrospective of Marcel Duchamp, the first in the U.S. since 1973. Curated by Michelle Kuo, Ann Temkin, and Matthew Affron, the exhibition titled "Marcel Duchamp" will run from April 12 through August 22 and feature over 300 artworks, including iconic pieces like *Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2* and *Fountain*. The curators describe the challenge as extreme, given Duchamp's deliberate confounding of traditional art systems, and they aim for a "deadpan accuracy" in presenting his work, including studies and replications as independent artworks.

parties performa anniversary performance art

Performa celebrated its 20th anniversary and the opening of its 2025 biennial with a multi-venue event in New York, starting at Harlem Parish and moving to a Lower East Side hub at 424 Broadway. The evening featured experimental music by Luciano Chessa, Eric Mingus, Elliott Sharp, and Joan La Barbara, a silent auction of custom wine blends by artists Julie Mehretu, Paul Pfeiffer, and Jessica Rankin, and a feast by chef Marcus Samuelsson. The party was co-chaired by artist Rashid Johnson and the late Agnes Gund, with guests including RoseLee Goldberg, Anne Imhof, Joan Jonas, Sanford Biggers, Laurie Simmons, and many others. The event also launched Performa's first magazine, *Works in Practice*.

red grooms work tennessee state museum seeks help restoring

In 1995, artist Red Grooms created the Tennessee Foxtrot Carousel, a working carousel featuring 36 figures from Tennessee history, installed at the base of Nashville's Broadway. After financial troubles forced its closure in 2003, the Tennessee State Museum acquired and dismantled it in 2004, storing it for years. Though the museum moved to a new $160 million building in 2018, the carousel remained in storage. Now, the museum has issued a request for information seeking partners to restore and operate the carousel, as reported by the New York Times.

lempicka rafaela nude auction

Tamara de Lempicka's portrait of her lover, *La Belle Rafaëla* (1927), sold for £7.47 million ($10.05 million) at Sotheby's London Modern and Contemporary Evening Sale on June 24. The work, estimated at £6–9 million, hammered just above its low estimate to a buyer in the room. It had last appeared at auction in 1985, when it sold for $242,000, then a record for the artist. The painting depicts Rafaëla, a sex worker Lempicka encountered in Paris's Bois de Boulogne, who became her lover and muse.

Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe: ONE Art Space Hosts Celebrity Packed Chuck Connelly Art Show!

ONE Art Space in Tribeca is hosting "Tribeca’s Midnight Parade — When Art Runs Wild," a solo exhibition of paintings by Chuck Connelly. Co-curated by Adrienne Connelly and MaryAnn Giella McCulloh, the show features the 1994 painting "Animals in the Street," which depicts Tribeca figures as animal archetypes, including a lion judge and the artist as a horse. The private opening drew a celebrity guest list including Princess Tina Radziwill, orchestrated by PR powerhouse Norah Lawlor.

Basquiat's 'Museum Security' to Headline Sotheby's May 2026 Contemporary Evening Auction

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s monumental 1983 painting 'Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)' is set to headline Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Auction in May 2026. Estimated to fetch in excess of $45 million, the work is appearing at auction for the first time in over a decade. Before the sale, the canvas will undergo a global tour with stops at the Breuer building in New York, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and London.

Artist Jan Tichy plans to plunge MSU's Broad Art Museum into darkness

Artist Jan Tichy has created a major exhibition titled "Darkness" at the Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, opening January 30, 2026, and running through late July. The exhibition transforms the museum's main floor galleries by blacking out Zaha Hadid's iconic angular windows and entrances, using projections and modulated lights to simulate a 24-hour day-night cycle. Tichy, who previously worked with the museum on a Flint water crisis project in 2017, collaborated with MSU researchers—including the Department of Entomology—to create works inspired by academic studies, such as photographic prints made from insects collected on the museum grounds over a year.

‘Truly inspiring’: New Princeton University Art Museum opens its doors to all

The new Princeton University Art Museum opened its doors to the public on Oct. 31, 2025, with a 24-hour open house that drew 21,763 visitors. The event featured dancing, stargazing, artmaking, live performances, film screenings, and a trivia contest, with highlights including Claude Monet's "Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge" and Nick Cave's mosaic. Director James Steward welcomed the crowd, and the museum also hosted previews for students, faculty, staff, and tradespeople, attracting thousands more.

Performa brings digital doubles, kids reciting animal noises and more to New York

Performa, New York's performance art biennial, returns for its 20th anniversary edition with a main slate of eight commissions, seven by women artists and one by a male-female duo. Projects include Ayoung Kim's live motion capture choreography exploring body doubles and digital avatars at Canyon, Diane Severin Nguyen's remix of Vietnam War-era protest songs with an 11-person supergroup at Bric, and Tau Lewis's staging of the Sumerian epic 'The Descent of Inanna' using textile sculptures and experimental opera at Harlem Parish. The biennial also features a Lithuanian Pavilion with Augustas Serapinas's mobile wooden shack and Lina Lapelytė's piece 'The Speech,' in which 270 children perform animal vocalizations at Federal Hall.

A ‘town square for the arts and humanities’: The new Princeton University Art Museum shares opening details

The Princeton University Art Museum will open its new building to the public with a 24-hour celebration from 5 p.m. on Oct. 31 to 5 p.m. on Nov. 1, 2025. The event includes tours, artmaking, live performances, film screenings, poetry readings, and yoga, all free of charge. Planning began in 2012, and the museum has also scheduled preview days for Princeton students, faculty, staff, and members before the public opening.

Ruth Orkin: Women on the Move | Exhibition

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is presenting "Ruth Orkin: Women on the Move," an exhibition of 21 vintage photographs by the mid-20th-century American photographer Ruth Orkin (1921–1985). Drawn from the museum's collection, the show highlights Orkin's depictions of women in diverse settings—from Hollywood celebrities and Broadway stars to Women's Army Auxiliary Corps members, tourists in Europe, and families in an Israeli kibbutz. Orkin, who was barred from joining the cinematographers' union due to her gender, turned her narrative eye to photography, often collaborating with her subjects to invert the conventional male gaze. The exhibition runs from December 12, 2025, to April 19, 2026.

Major new Jean-Michel Basquiat collector’s book, priced at $1,400, released from Assouline.

Assouline has released a new collector's book titled "Basquiat: The World of Jean-Michel," a 348-page volume featuring over 200 artworks and archival photographs of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Priced at $1,400, the book is part of the publisher's Ultimate Collection of large-format, hand-bound volumes, and is organized thematically into six chapters covering Basquiat's depictions of heads, New York City's influence on his work, his use of silkscreens, and spiritual themes.