Art News. Vasari Codex

article news schedule Jan 12, 2026 visibility 15 link 1 artist

sasha suda philadelphia art museum ceo title removed

Sasha Suda, the former director and CEO of the Philadelphia Art Museum, gave her first extensive interview since her firing last November to Philadelphia Magazine, alleging that the board attempted to strip her of the CEO title. She claims former board chair Leslie Anne Miller initially offered both roles but later tried to separate them, only allowing her to hold both temporarily. Suda says she rejected the revised offer, leading the board to backpedal. The article also reveals that Suda placed chief curator Carlos Basualdo on administrative leave in 2024, a decision that upset some trustees and may have contributed to tensions. Suda was abruptly fired on Election Day via email citing "cause," and she and the board have traded allegations over misuse of funds and unfair investigations.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 9, 2026 visibility 18 link 7 artists

columbia museum new collection galleries renovation

The Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, South Carolina, is unveiling newly reconfigured collection galleries to cap its 75th anniversary and culminate a yearlong renovation. The museum will reopen its collection galleries following a gala on January 16, presenting a newly conceived display across 20 galleries. The reinstalled galleries draw from the museum’s American, Asian, European, and modern and contemporary holdings, including Italian Renaissance works from the Kress Collection, an Asian gallery anchored by Chinese art from the Tang dynasty, and thematic galleries focused on landscape, still life, and art and architecture. The renovation, which began in January 2025, included new lighting and ceilings, reinforced walls, and conservation work on pieces by Sam Gilliam, Teiji Takai, and Benjamin Wilson.

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article policy schedule Jan 9, 2026 visibility 28 link 22 artists

antwerp contemporary art museum controvery

Belgium plans to revoke the museum status of Antwerp's Museum of Contemporary Art (M HKA) and transfer its 8,000-work collection to Ghent's Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art (Smak), canceling a promised $93 million new building. The proposal by Flemish culture minister Caroline Gennez has sparked resignations, legal challenges, and backlash from artists including Luc Tuymans and Anish Kapoor, who call it unlawful and a threat to cultural independence. A parliamentary hearing is expected in January 2026.

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candle obituary schedule Jan 8, 2026 visibility 20 link 13 artists

yoshiko mori former chair mori art museum died 85

Yoshiko Mori, the founding chairperson of Tokyo's Mori Art Museum, died on December 23 from pneumonia at age 85. Alongside her husband, real estate developer Minoru Mori, she opened the museum in 2003, which has since become one of Japan's premier contemporary art institutions. Mori served as chairperson from 2003 to 2024, then as chairperson emerita until her death. She also founded the Mori Contemporary Art Foundation in 2025 and held numerous international board positions, including trustee at the Royal Academy of Arts and member of the International Council at MoMA and Tate.

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trending_up market schedule Jan 7, 2026 visibility 18 link 11 artists

kenny schachter 2026 predictions van gogh private sale

Kenny Schachter offers his predictions for the art world in 2026, set against a backdrop of political chaos and rapid AI development. He forecasts only a marginal uptick in global art sales, which he estimates will exceed $57.5 billion, and warns that luxury goods—bags, watches, fossils—are increasingly encroaching on art fairs, auctions, and exhibitions. Schachter criticizes Sotheby's for blurring the lines between auction house, museum, and gallery, citing its traveling "Icon" show as a spectacle of price tags rather than art scholarship.

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article news schedule Dec 22, 2025 visibility 16 link 17 artists

jeffrey epstein art world connections

The article details the ongoing release of documents related to disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, revealing his extensive ties to prominent art world figures. Key connections include former MoMA chairman Leon Black, who paid Epstein tens of millions for tax advice and engaged in art transactions involving a Giacometti sculpture and a Cézanne watercolor; retail mogul and art collector Leslie Wexner; and artist Andres Serrano. It also highlights the story of artist Maria Farmer, who was assaulted by Epstein and Maxwell and faced threats against her art career when she tried to report them in the 1990s.

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article news schedule Dec 12, 2025 visibility 18 link 21 artists

gulf museums consultants

A wave of museum openings has swept the Gulf region in recent weeks, including the Zayed National Museum and the Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi, as well as new institutions in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. These projects are part of an ambitious cultural building drive fueled by oil wealth, with Western partners such as the Louvre, the British Museum, and consultancies like Cultural Innovations providing expertise in planning, governance, and exhibition design. The Zayed National Museum, designed by Foster + Partners, features objects on loan from the British Museum, while the Natural History Museum displays a T-rex skeleton bought at Christie's.

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article news schedule Dec 9, 2025 visibility 21 link 4 artists

asia society muhammad artwork censorship

New York's Asia Society and Museum has been accused of censorship by Islamic art scholars after a virtual tour of its exhibition "Comparative Hell: Arts of Asian Underworlds" blurred two artworks depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The museum acknowledged the error, blaming an outside contractor and insufficient oversight, and announced plans to restore the images to the online tour. The blurred works include a folio from the Falnama (ca. 1555) on loan from the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard and a manuscript page from the David Collection in Copenhagen showing Muhammad ascending to heaven. The controversy follows a similar incident at Hamline University, where an adjunct professor lost her contract after showing images of Muhammad in an art history class.

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candle obituary schedule Dec 9, 2025 visibility 17 link 12 artists

frank gehry architect obituary

Frank Gehry, the renowned American architect, has died at age 96 in his Santa Monica home after a brief respiratory illness. He is survived by his wife, three children, and a vast portfolio of iconic buildings including the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and the 8 Spruce skyscraper in New York. The article traces his life from his birth in Toronto in 1929, his education at USC and Harvard, his early career at Gruen Associates, and his rise to fame through innovative, sculptural designs that transformed modern architecture.

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article news schedule Dec 1, 2025 visibility 25 link 13 artists

romare bearden digital catalogue raisonne

The Wildenstein Plattner Institute (WPI) and the Romare Bearden Foundation have launched the first installment of a digital catalogue raisonné for the artist Romare Bearden, covering his work from 1964 to 1969. The project, which began in earnest in 2017, has so far documented 3,000 artworks, including 210 in this initial chapter, and has uncovered previously unknown works such as a portrait of artist Edmonia Lewis. The research builds on three decades of archival work by the foundation, which digitized Bearden's ephemera to aid in tracking down works he often gave away informally.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 24, 2025 visibility 21 link 12 artists, 3 galleries

art basel miami lineup change ross kramer

Art Basel Miami Beach has undergone a last-minute lineup change, with gallery Ross + Kramer being replaced by Ross + Co. following an unexplained split between principals Todd Kramer and Ryan Ross. Ryan Ross, who has been in the art business for decades and runs Arcature Fine Art in Palm Beach, will now show under the new name at the fair, which opens to VIPs next week. The change was reported by ARTnews, which noted that the fair's 2025 participant list still links to Ross + Kramer's website, and Ross + Co.'s page features outdated branding.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 24, 2025 visibility 27 link 19 artists

princeton university art museum reopening

The Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) reopened after nearly six years, replacing its 1969 building with a 146,000-square-foot complex designed by Adjaye Associates. The new structure features nine interlocking modernist pavilions, a 40-foot mosaic by Nick Cave, and flexible spaces like a central hall convertible into a lecture hall. The museum's collection of 117,000 objects is installed with ahistorical juxtapositions, pairing works such as Andy Warhol's Blue Marilyn (1962) with a 14th-century Virgin and Child, and Titus Kaphar's To Be Sold (2018) with a George Washington portrait. The reopening follows controversy: David Adjaye stepped back from the project in 2023 after allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denied.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 21, 2025 visibility 20 link 14 artists

sfmoma fisher collection galleries reinstallation

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has announced a major reinstallation of its Fisher Collection galleries, titled “Reimagined: The Fisher Collection at 10,” opening April 18, 2026. The overhaul will feature 250 artworks by 35 modern and contemporary artists across 60,000 square feet of gallery space, organized by thematic and monographic floors. The project is led by curator Ted Mann and chief education officer Gamynne Guillotte. The Fisher Collection, a 100-year loan from the Fisher Art Foundation, includes blue-chip works by Alexander Calder, Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol, and others, assembled by Gap Inc. founders Donald and Doris Fisher.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 21, 2025 visibility 23 link 9 artists

christies edlis neeson collection 21st century art stats

Christie’s evening sale of 21st-century art on Wednesday achieved $123.6 million in total sales, including 19 lots from the collection of the late Stefan Edlis and his widow Gael Neeson. The top lot was Christopher Wool’s *Untitled (RIOT)* (1990), which sold for $19.8 million. The sale had a 97 percent sell-through rate, with 36 of 45 lots guaranteed, and the hammer total of $99.7 million exceeded the presale low estimate of $87.5 million. A notable moment was a seven-minute bidding war for a Diego Giacometti coffee table owned by Edlis and Neeson, which sold for $3.65 million against a $1.5–2.5 million estimate.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 21, 2025 visibility 17 link 22 artists

magritte bucksbaum collection sothebys sale

At Sotheby’s Modern evening auction, René Magritte’s 1942 painting *Le Jockey perdu*—which the artist considered a turning point in his career—sold for over $12.3 million, exceeding its high estimate. The work was part of a group of ten consignments from the estate of shopping mall magnate Matthew Bucksbaum and his wife Carolyn “Kay” Bucksbaum, influential collectors and philanthropists who met on a blind date in 1952. Alongside works by Salvador Dalí, Jean Dubuffet, Paul Klee, and Joan Miró, the evening sale netted more than $25 million, with remaining pieces appearing in subsequent day sales.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 20, 2025 visibility 18 link 8 artists

sothebys leonard lauder contemporary by the numbers

Sotheby's held a marathon evening sale in New York on Tuesday night, achieving $706 million in total sales—the highest single-evening total in the auction house's history. The standout was the collection of Leonard A. Lauder, which alone brought $527.5 million, led by Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* (1914-16) that sold for $236.4 million after a 20-minute bidding war. A second sale of contemporary and ultra-contemporary works added $178.5 million, with Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Crowns (Peso Neto)* (1981) topping that session at $48.3 million. Notably, no lots were withdrawn across both sales, and Asian collectors drove bidding on many high-value lots. Maurizio Cattelan's gold toilet *America* (2016) sold for $12.1 million, drawing only one bid.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 20, 2025 visibility 24 link 19 artists

christies edlis neeson sale 124 million

Christie's 21st-century evening sale in New York on Wednesday night achieved $123.6 million, just below its $126 million high estimate and 16% above last year's sale. The sale featured 19 lots from the collection of the late Stefan Edlis and his widow Gael Neeson, which brought in $49.2 million against a $30 million estimate. The top lot was Christopher Wool's "Untitled (RIOT)" (1990), selling for $19.8 million. New auction records were set for Firelei Báez ($1.1 million) and Olga de Amaral ($3.1 million). Only one of 45 lots failed to sell—a Cecily Brown painting estimated at $4–6 million. The sale was characterized by careful use of third-party guarantees and lowered reserves, with art advisor Aileen Agopian noting bidding was "deep and robust" despite a flat atmosphere.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 14 link 16 artists

november marquee auction sales midpoint analysis

Christie's and Sotheby's November marquee auctions in New York generated a combined $1.4 billion, with Sotheby's achieving a record $706 million from a double-header sale. The highlight was Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" (1914–16), sold for $236.4 million from the collection of late cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder, becoming the most expensive modern artwork ever sold at auction. Christie's Monday sale brought in $690 million, falling short of its $731.5 million high estimate but still marking a 42% increase over its equivalent sale last November.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 24 link 18 artists, 1 gallery

the art market has lost its grip on price

Former Sotheby's rainmaker Brooke Lampley, now a director at Gagosian, discusses the art market's loss of control over pricing, citing a failed $70 million Alberto Giacometti bust at auction as a symptom of deeper market confidence issues. The article traces the evolution of art pricing from opaque, dealer-driven norms to a data-rich system enabled by Artnet's Price Database in 1989, which fueled a price spiral and attracted speculators. Now, in 2025, the market faces a correction with auction sales down 27.3 percent to $10.2 billion, and buyers are pausing as traditional pricing signals become scrambled.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 17 link 17 artists

records fall during 706 million night at sothebys turbocharged by blue chip lauder trove

Sotheby's achieved a record-breaking $706 million auction night at its new global headquarters in the Breuer Building, New York, the highest total in the auction house's 281-year history. The sale was propelled by the collection of late art patron Leonard A. Lauder, whose 24 pieces sold for $527.5 million, led by Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* (1914–16) which fetched $236.4 million, becoming the second-priciest artwork ever sold at auction. A subsequent contemporary and ultra-contemporary art sale added $178.5 million.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 18, 2025 visibility 30 link 21 artists, 8 galleries

shanghai art021 west bund art recap

Shanghai's West Bund Art & Design fair and Art021 opened last week with unexpectedly strong sales, despite economic headwinds and regional competition. Many galleries reported brisk first-day sales, with Thaddaeus Ropac placing five works including a Martha Jungwirth painting for €500,000, and Hauser & Worth selling two works for over $1 million. However, major blue-chip galleries like Gagosian and Pace opted out entirely, while others like Almine Rech, White Cube, and David Zwirner scaled back their participation. The fairs took place against a backdrop of China's ongoing property slump and the overlapping Art Collaboration Kyoto, which siphoned attention from international collectors.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 18, 2025 visibility 22 link 10 artists

art gallery of ontario major gift

The late Toronto collectors Morton and Carol Rapp have donated over 450 artworks by 203 artists to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) from their estates. The gift includes major Pop art works: 13 screen prints by Andy Warhol, including four Marilyn Monroe portraits (1967); works by Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Claes Oldenburg (including the sculptural print 'Teabag' from 1966), David Hockney, and Roy Lichtenstein; plus Barnett Newman's 1964 lithograph 'CANTO XVIII', marking the Abstract Expressionist's debut in the collection. The donation also features photography by Yinka Shonibare and Kara Walker. The couple, who began supporting the AGO in 1966, had previously donated 474 works, bringing their total contribution to nearly 1,000 pieces.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 14, 2025 visibility 17 link 11 artists

sothebys charles stewart supply and demand

Sotheby's CEO Charles Stewart told CNBC that the art market has entered a new phase this fall, with supply finally catching up with demand after months of strong bidder activity. New York's marquee auction houses are preparing for sales expected to total more than $1.4 billion, a roughly 50% jump from last year, driven by major consignments including the estate of Leonard Lauder (55 works valued at over $400 million, led by Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer) and collections from Jay and Cindy Pritzker. Christie's highlights include a Monet Nymphéas, a David Hockney portrait, and a Mark Rothko, each estimated at $40–60 million.

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article news schedule Nov 14, 2025 visibility 24 link 18 artists

trustees bolt palm springs art museum director hire

Trustee Patsy Marino resigned from the Palm Springs Art Museum board just one week after Christine Vendredi was appointed director on September 29, 2024. In a resignation letter reported by the Los Angeles Times, Marino alleged that the hiring committee failed to interview any outside candidates, despite two "exceptional" candidates being considered, and cited "inappropriate interference" by the executive committee, individual trustees, and museum staff. Two other board members also left the 22-member body, though the museum claims their departures were unrelated. Vendredi, previously chief curator and interim CEO, has a background in luxury brand management at Louis Vuitton and holds multiple advanced degrees but no prior museum directorship experience.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 10, 2025 visibility 29 link 29 artists

ex christies chief jussi pylkkanen works trends watch auction season

Jussi Pylkkanen, former Christie's chairman, analyzes the upcoming New York 20th and 21st Century Art sales, noting a return to market confidence after strong European auctions in London and Paris aligned with Frieze and Art Basel Paris fairs. Christie's London posted its best October sales since 2018, Sotheby's had its most valuable Paris season, and a Picasso portrait sold for $37 million at Hôtel Drouot. The season shows a shift from speculative buying toward established artists like Bacon, Freud, Picasso, and Klimt, with 27 works valued over $10 million, led by Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elizabeth Lederer* from the Leonard Lauder collection, estimated to exceed $150 million at Sotheby's.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 23, 2025 visibility 15 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

gen z art collecting continuum 2025

The Art Basel & UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2025 reveals that Gen Z collectors are reshaping the art market by treating art, sneakers, digital assets, and luxury goods as a single continuum of collectibles. Gen Z allocates 26% of their total wealth to art and collectibles—the highest of any generation—and spends 56% of that on non-traditional items like limited-edition sneakers, handbags, and digital artworks. Digital art ownership has rebounded sharply, with 23% of collectors planning to buy digital works, up from 19% in 2024, and Gen Z shows the strongest appetite for sculpture.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 22, 2025 visibility 27 link 31 artists, 13 galleries

art basel paris vip preview sales report

Art Basel Paris opened its VIP preview on Wednesday, following a new invite-only preview called Avant Première on Tuesday. Major galleries reported strong sales, including Hauser & Wirth's $23 million Gerhard Richter abstract, the highest reported sale at the fair. Other notable sales included Julie Mehretu's $11.5 million painting at White Cube, a $4.7 million Bruce Nauman neon at Hauser & Wirth, and a $2.5 million Marlene Dumas painting at David Zwirner. Dealers noted that the staggered two-day opening helped spread out crowds and allowed collectors to return for the official VIP day, with many describing the fair as the most successful edition in Paris to date.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 22, 2025 visibility 30 link 29 artists, 14 galleries

art basel paris avant premiere vip sales report

Art Basel Paris launched a new ultra-exclusive invitation-only preview called Avant Première, held one day before the official VIP preview. The four-hour event on Tuesday afternoon saw strong sales, with Thaddaeus Ropac selling works including a 1953 Alberto Burri for €4.2 million and two George Baselitz pieces, while Hauser & Wirth sold Gerhard Richter's 1987 *Abstraktes Bild* for $23 million, the highest reported sale. The fair limited each gallery to six invites with plus-ones, resulting in an estimated 3,000 attendees compared to 6,000 for the regular First Choice preview, creating a more manageable and urgent atmosphere.

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rate_review review schedule Oct 22, 2025 visibility 20 link 6 artists, 4 galleries

future of the art world andras szanto review

András Szántó has published the third volume of his trilogy on the future of museums and the art world, titled "The Future of the Art World." The book compiles 38 interviews conducted between April 2024 and June 2025 with a wide range of art-world stakeholders, including artists, curators, collectors, dealers, auctioneers, art fair directors, sociologists, philosophers, and policymakers. Unlike his previous books, which focused on museum directors and architects, this volume gives significant voice to artists, who offer provocative critiques and predictions about the future of museums, art education, and digital art.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 17, 2025 visibility 20 link 2 artists

david hockneys ipad drawings sell for 8 3 m at sothebys london doubling sales high estimate

A group of 17 iPad drawings by David Hockney, titled 'The Arrival of Spring,' sold for a combined £6.2 million ($8.3 million) at Sotheby’s London on Friday, more than doubling their high estimate. Fifteen of the 17 works achieved record prices for the subject, with the top lot, 'The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 – 19 February (2011),' selling for £762,000 ($1 million), breaking the artist's print record three times. The sale was a white-glove result, with 40 percent of the drawings going to American collectors and 65 percent bought online.

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