Art News. Vasari Codex

article culture schedule Jun 4, 2025 visibility 12 link 6 artists

three things hokusai great wave 2367449

Katsushika Hokusai's iconic woodblock print "The Great Wave" (officially *Under the Wave off Kanagawa*) is examined through three lesser-known facts. The article notes that the print, created between 1830 and 1832, is surprisingly small—less than 15 inches wide—and that its vivid blue pigment, Prussian blue, was a recent European import that revolutionized Japanese ukiyo-e prints. It also highlights Hokusai's practice of adopting over 30 different names throughout his career, which now helps scholars periodize his work.

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article news schedule Jun 3, 2025 visibility 24 link 36 artists

whitney museum paused independent study program censorship 2651955

The Whitney Museum of American Art has suspended its storied Independent Study Program (ISP) for the 2025–2026 academic year, following widespread outcry over the censorship of a performance titled "No Aesthetic Outside My Freedom: Mourning, Militancy, and Performance" by artists Fadl Fakhouri, Noel Maghathe, and Fargo Tbakhi. The performance, scheduled for May 14, was canceled by museum leadership after reviewing a video in which Tbakhi made demands that supporters of Israel or America leave the venue. Director Scott Rothkopf informed the ISP community of the pause in an email, citing the need to search for a new director. The museum also confirmed that Sara Nadal-Melsió, hired in 2024 as the ISP's first associate director, will not retain her position. The cancellation drew condemnation from free speech advocates, including the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), which likened the museum's actions to an authoritarian approach.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 1, 2025 visibility 12 link 7 artists

frida kahlo casa roja 2649522

A new museum dedicated to Frida Kahlo, the Museo Casa Kahlo, will open on September 27 in Mexico City's Coyoacán district at her family home, Casa Roja. Unlike the existing Museo Frida Kahlo at the adjacent Casa Azul, which focuses on her later career and marriage to Diego Rivera, this institution will explore Kahlo's early life and artistic roots, including her father's photography. The museum will display childhood photographs, dolls, jewelry, letters, her first oil painting, and her only known mural, alongside temporary exhibitions of Mexican, Latin American, and women artists. The project is led by Kahlo's descendants, including Mara Romeo Kahlo and Frida Hentschel Romeo, with support from the Rockwell Group architecture firm and a new nonprofit, the Fundación Kahlo.

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person people schedule May 30, 2025 visibility 13 link 7 artists

art institute of chicago director on leave airline incident 2640021

James Rondeau, the director and president of the Art Institute of Chicago, will return to work on June 2, 2025, after taking voluntary leave following an incident on a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Munich on April 18. Rondeau was met by police upon landing after reports that he became intoxicated and removed his clothes mid-flight. The museum conducted an independent investigation and expressed confidence in his leadership, with Rondeau stating he regrets the incident and is grateful to continue furthering the museum's mission.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 29, 2025 visibility 13 link 5 artists

how did hiroshige become an international sensation 2643771

A new exhibition at the British Museum, “Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road,” showcases over 100 works by the Japanese ukiyo-e master Utagawa Hiroshige, including a landmark gift of 35 prints from U.S. collector Alan Medaugh. Many of the prints have never been publicly displayed before, and some are believed to be the only surviving examples of their kind. The show runs through September 7 and features landscapes, bird-and-flower prints, fan prints, and an immersive digital experience created with Outernet London.

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candle obituary schedule May 23, 2025 visibility 11 link 5 artists

sebastiao salgado photographer dead 1234743518

Sebastião Salgado, the acclaimed Brazilian photographer known for his powerful black-and-white images documenting worker exploitation, environmental destruction, and human rights abuses, has died at age 81. His death was announced by Instituto Terra, the organization he co-founded with his wife Lélia Wanick Salgado. Salgado had been in declining health since contracting malaria in the 1990s. His work spanned decades and continents, from the Sahel desert to the Amazon rainforest, and he was widely regarded as one of the most beloved photographers of his generation.

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trending_up market schedule May 23, 2025 visibility 20 link 12 artists

saunders collection old masters sothebys 2613872

The collection of Old Masters assembled by Thomas A. Saunders III and his wife Jordan sold for $64.7 million at Sotheby’s on May 21, falling below its low presale estimate but still becoming the most valuable trove of Old Masters ever sold in a single auction. Seven artist records were set, including Luis Meléndez’s *Still Life of a Cauliflower…* ($6.3 million) and Jan Davidsz. de Heem’s floral still life ($8.8 million). The top lot was Francesco Guardi’s twin landscapes of Venice ($10.5 million). A further 14 paintings sold the next day, bringing the collection’s total to $65.4 million.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 23, 2025 visibility 11 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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article news schedule May 22, 2025 visibility 14 link 6 artists

pope leo first general address van gogh sower at sunset 1234743440

Pope Leo XIV, in his first general address, referenced Vincent van Gogh's 1888 painting *The Sower at Sunset* as a metaphor for faith and divine guidance. He noted that behind the sower, van Gogh painted the grain already ripe, interpreting the sun as the central figure of the biblical parable. The address highlighted the Pope's engagement with art as a means of spiritual reflection.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 22, 2025 visibility 16 link 2 artists

calder gardens philadelphia opening date 1234742794

Calder Gardens, a new museum in Philadelphia dedicated to Alexander Calder, has announced it will open on September 21, 2025. The institution, located on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, features a building designed by Herzog & de Meuron and a sculpture garden by Piet Oudolf, with rotating works curated by the Calder Foundation. It will be administered in partnership with the Barnes Foundation, and memberships offering unlimited admission to both institutions start at $98 annually.

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trending_up market schedule May 22, 2025 visibility 13 link 7 artists

fort worth kimbell art museum acquires chardin the cut melon 1234743207

The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, has acquired Jean Siméon Chardin's 1760 painting *The Cut Melon* directly from the descendants of Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild. The work had previously sold for $30.3 million at Christie's France in June 2024 to Italian investor Nanni Bassani Antivari, who failed to pay, leading Christie's to sue him. The museum, which was the underbidder at auction, announced the acquisition on Wednesday, and the painting goes on view Thursday in the Louis I. Kahn building.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 10 link 3 artists

leonard blavatnik james dyson idan ofer rich list uk 2025 1234742626

The Sunday Times's 2025 'Rich List' shows that Top 200 collector and art patron Leonard Blavatnik's net worth fell by more than £3.5 billion to £25.725 billion, dropping him to #3 on the UK wealth ranking. The list includes over a dozen collectors from ARTnews's 2024 Top 200 Collectors list, such as James Dyson, Idan Ofer, Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor, Alan Howard, and Mohammed Mahdi al-Tajir, with Ofer noted as one of the top five individuals whose wealth rose most. Other figures mentioned include Simon Reuben, John Fredriksen, Sri Prakash Lohia, Lakshmi Mittal, Elton John, and former Christie's stakeholder Joe Lewis.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 17, 2025 visibility 18 link 21 artists

fenix immigration museum rotterdam 2645539

A new cultural institution called Fenix has opened in Rotterdam, Netherlands, dedicated entirely to the topic of migration. Housed in a 1923 waterfront warehouse that once served the Holland America Line—a major transporter of cargo and passengers—the museum occupies nearly 175,000 square feet in the Katendrecht neighborhood, a historic gateway for millions of immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries. Designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, the building features a central double-helix staircase nicknamed the Tornado, leading to a rooftop observation deck. Three inaugural exhibitions, including “All Directions,” showcase over 150 artworks and objects by artists such as Max Beckmann, Willem de Kooning, Sophie Calle, and Yinka Shonibare, alongside personal mementoes from local families.

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article news schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 9 link 8 artists

kids damage art 2639206

A child under the age of five recently scratched a Mark Rothko painting at a museum in the Netherlands, forcing its removal for restoration. The article compiles several notorious incidents of children accidentally damaging artworks, including a 12-year-old boy punching a hole through a $1.5 million Baroque painting by Paolo Porpora in Taipei, a 4-year-old shattering a 3,500-year-old vase at the Hecht Museum in Israel, a girl climbing a Donald Judd sculpture at Tate Modern, and kids breaking a glass artwork by Shelley Xue at the Shanghai Museum of Glass. In most cases, the damage was accidental, driven by curiosity or misinterpretation, and often involved lapses in adult supervision.

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person people schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 17 link 4 artists

v a c foundation ex director teresa mavica interview 1234742351

Teresa Iarocci Mavica, former director of the Moscow-based V-A-C Foundation, which she co-founded with Russian billionaire Leonid Mikhelson, has resurfaced after three years of silence. She resigned from V-A-C in November 2021, just before the opening of GES-2 House of Culture, Russia's largest contemporary art museum, and left Russia shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Now based in Naples, she has curated "The Sun to Come" at Made in Cloister, launching her biennial program "REBIRTH." The exhibition includes three Russian artists, reflecting her continued commitment to cultural dialogue between Russia and Europe despite the war.

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candle obituary schedule May 15, 2025 visibility 18 link 10 artists

koyo kouoh remembered 2643870

Koyo Kouoh, the acclaimed Cameroonian-born curator and director of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) in Cape Town, has died at age 57 after a battle with cancer. Tributes pour in from artists Robin Rhode and Julie Mehretu, curator Azu Nwagbogu, and colleagues like Mandla Sibeko, who mourn the loss of a towering figure in African and global contemporary art. Kouoh was also set to serve as artistic director of the 2026 Venice Biennale, making her the first African woman to hold that role.

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trending_up market schedule May 15, 2025 visibility 18 link 7 artists

met receives photography collection walter artur 1234742347

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has received a promised gift of more than 6,500 photographic works from German American collector Artur Walther and the Walther Family Foundation. The collection spans 19th-century vernacular photography to contemporary video, with strengths in African studio photography, German post-war photography, Chinese conceptual art, and early vernacular images. Artists represented include Malick Sidibé, Zanele Muholi, Ai Weiwei, Thomas Struth, and Bernd and Hilla Becher. A selection will debut when the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing reopens this month, with further displays planned for the Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing opening in 2030.

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trending_up market schedule May 15, 2025 visibility 16 link 6 artists

marlene dumas miss january rubell family christies auction 1234742222

A Marlene Dumas painting, *Miss January* (1997), sold for $13.6 million at a Christie’s auction, making the South African artist the most expensive living female artist at auction. The work, consigned from the Rubell Family collection, had an estimate of $12–18 million and was backed by a third-party guarantee. It was won by an anonymous telephone bidder represented by Sara Friedlander, Christie’s deputy chairman for postwar and contemporary art.

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candle obituary schedule May 12, 2025 visibility 18 link 8 artists

venice biennale curator koyo kouoh dies 1234741881

Koyo Kouoh, the Cameroonian-born curator appointed to lead the 2026 Venice Biennale, has died unexpectedly at age 57. The Venice Biennale announced her passing on Saturday, describing her as a figure of “passion, intellectual rigor, and vision.” Her husband, Philippe Mall, stated that a recently diagnosed cancer was the cause of death in a hospital in Basel, Switzerland. Kouoh had served as executive director and chief curator of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art (Zeitz MOCAA) in Cape Town since 2019, and was the second African-born curator to lead the Venice Biennale.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 10, 2025 visibility 21 link 23 artists

national gallery sainsburg wing reopening gabriele finaldi 1234741454

London's National Gallery has reopened its Sainsbury Wing after a three-year, $113 million renovation, timed to the museum's 200th anniversary. Director Gabriele Finaldi, who was knighted this year, oversaw the project, which was designed by architect Annabelle Selldorf and faced criticism from original architect Denise Scott Brown. The revamped wing features a light-filled foyer, 17 galleries with no prescribed route, and a rehang titled “The Wonder of Art.” The museum also acquired a mysterious painting by an unknown artist, The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret and Two Angels (1500–10), for $20 million through Sotheby's.

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article news schedule May 5, 2025 visibility 15 link 2 artists

will the us participate in the 2026 venice biennale 1234740594

As President Donald Trump cuts U.S. art programs and funding, questions surround the country's participation in the 2026 Venice Biennale. A Vanity Fair piece by Nate Freeman reports that the selection process is already behind schedule, with the U.S. State Department's typical 18-month lead time now reduced to just one year. The National Endowment for the Arts, which convenes the advisory committee for the pavilion, has been halted, and a key assistant secretary position is vacant. The application portal remains open but now includes new language requiring art that "reflects and promotes American values" and scrubbing references to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

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museum exhibitions schedule May 3, 2025 visibility 15 link 14 artists

the first homosexuals queer art show 2637891

An exhibition titled "The First Homosexuals" has opened at Wrightwood 659 in Chicago, curated by queer art historian Jonathan David Katz and associate curator Johnny Willis. Spanning over 300 artworks, the show traces how the coining of the term "homosexual" by Hungarian writer Karl-Maria Kertbeny in 1868 reframed artistic expressions of identity and sexuality, featuring works by artists such as Hokusai, Utamaro, Bertel Thorvaldsen, George Catlin, Saturnino Herrán, Richmond Barthé, Romaine Brooks, and Tamara de Lempicka. The exhibition includes sections on pre-colonial indigenous cultures, colonialism and resistance, and queer art icons.

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article news schedule May 2, 2025 visibility 9 link 1 artist

the ashes tudor lodge wall paintings 2635562

Rare 16th-century wall paintings depicting fantastical beasts, heraldic rabbits, and Grotesque heads have been uncovered at the Ashes, a Tudor hunting lodge in Inglewood Forest, Cumbria, U.K. Built in the 1560s during Elizabeth I's reign, the two-story building originally housed William Simpson, a bailiff of Castle Sowerby Manor. The paintings, created using the secco technique on dry plaster, were found in stages—first on the second story in the 1970s, then on the ground floor during excavations in the 2010s and 2020s. The most recent discoveries, made by owners Jen and Richard Arkell, reveal elaborate decorative panels likely inspired by textile designs, reflecting the cosmopolitan tastes of the period.

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trending_up market schedule May 2, 2025 visibility 13 link 8 artists, 2 galleries

anna weyant gagosian tefaf new york 2636874

Gagosian Gallery will present a new body of work by artist Anna Weyant at TEFAF New York, featuring intimately scaled paintings of jewelry rendered with trompe l’oeil precision. The booth, designed with lavender walls and pine-hued carpet, showcases pieces like "Pearl Earrings" (2025) and "Pearl Bracelet (Sold)" (2025), some with cheeky price tags and red dot stickers. Weyant, represented by Gagosian since 2022, has seen her market soar, with her auction record set at $1.6 million for "Falling Woman" (2020) at Sotheby’s in 2022.

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article culture schedule May 2, 2025 visibility 9 link 9 artists

art bites duchamp man ray tennis 2620586

The article recounts the first meeting between artists Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray in 1915, when a language barrier threatened their connection. They broke the ice with an impromptu tennis match using old rackets and a ball, with no net, as Man Ray called out tennis scores and Duchamp simply replied 'yes.' This playful encounter launched a five-decade friendship and prolific collaboration, during which they co-created works ranging from photographs and installations to experimental films, and became central figures in New York Dada.

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article news schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 10 link 8 artists

howard castle completes restoration 2635867

Castle Howard, the historic North Yorkshire estate known for its role in Netflix's *Bridgerton* and the 1981 film *Brideshead Revisited*, is reopening to the public after major restoration work. The centerpiece is the tapestry drawing room, which had stood as an empty shell since a 1940 fire devastated much of the house. The room has been fully reconstructed with a new ceiling, floor, fireplace, paneling, and window casings, overseen by architect Francis Terry. Four 18th-century tapestries by John Vanderbank, depicting the seasons, have been restored and reinstalled in their original locations for the first time since the early 1700s. The restoration also prompted a rehang of the Long Gallery and a reimagining of the grand staircase, which now displays artifacts collected by the earls of Carlisle.

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article culture schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 13 link 6 artists

why did leonardo and michelangelo have beef 2620049

Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, two of history's most celebrated artists, had a well-documented rivalry rooted in competition for commissions, class differences, and artistic disagreements. Their first known encounter occurred when Leonardo served on a committee deciding the placement of Michelangelo's *David* (1501), where Leonardo reportedly mocked the sculpture by sketching it as the sea god Neptune. Their rivalry escalated when both were commissioned to paint opposing murals in Florence's Salone dei Cinquecento—Leonardo's *Battle of Anghiari* and Michelangelo's *Battle of Cascina*—neither of which was completed. The artists traded insults over the years, with Michelangelo criticizing Leonardo's view of sculpture as inferior to painting, and Leonardo deriding Michelangelo's muscular figures as resembling "a bag of walnuts."

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rate_review review schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 14 link 4 artists

jack whittens 9 11 01 moma 2634165

Jack Whitten's monumental mosaic-painting "9.11.01" (2006) is the focus of this article, which examines the work on view at the Museum of Modern Art. The painting, created in response to the September 11 attacks, uses abstract forms—a cracked black pyramid with dagger-like spines and bootprints—to evoke the trauma of that day. Whitten, who witnessed the first plane strike from his studio in Manhattan, embedded ash and wreckage fragments into the surface, blending abstraction with historical memory.

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article news schedule Apr 28, 2025 visibility 12 link 6 artists

vatican museums sistine chapel closed conclave new pope 1234740027

The Vatican Museums, including the Sistine Chapel, have closed to the public as Vatican City prepares for a conclave to elect a new pope following the death of Pope Francis on April 28. The reopening date is uncertain, as conclaves have historically lasted from days to weeks, though modern elections for Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI closed the city for less than a week. The Museums house a vast collection of Renaissance and Baroque art, as well as modern works by artists like Paul Gauguin, Salvador Dalí, and Pablo Picasso, and attracted 6.8 million visitors in 2024.

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article policy schedule Apr 25, 2025 visibility 13 link 12 artists

national endowment for humanities sculpture garden trump 1234739893

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced a new grant program to fund statues for President Trump’s National Garden of American Heroes, a sculpture garden first proposed in 2021. The garden will feature life-size statues of 250 notable Americans, with a location still to be determined. Selected artists, who must be U.S. citizens, can receive up to $200,000 per statue, which must be made of traditional materials like marble or bronze and depict figures in a realistic style. The application deadline is July 1, and the project is jointly funded by the NEH and the National Endowment for the Arts with a total of $34 million, drawn from federal grants originally allocated to other cultural programs but later canceled by the administration.

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