the met returns historic buddhist painting to korea 2715943

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has returned a late-18th century Buddhist painting, *The Tenth King of Hell* (1798), to the Sinheungsa Temple in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, South Korea. The work is believed to have been taken by U.S. troops during the Korean War. The repatriation was celebrated at a ceremony in Seoul attended by Met Director and CEO Max Hollein, Korean government officials, and religious leaders. The painting is part of a larger series of ten scrolls depicting the Ten Kings of the Underworld; three remain abroad, while six others previously at LACMA have already been returned.

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Major art collectors Warren Stephens, Ken Griffin, Paul Singer, and Charles and Helen Schwab were among the top individual donors to President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration fundraising committee, according to data from the Federal Election Commission and Open Secrets. Stephens, a major donor to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art, gave $4 million, the largest individual contribution, while Griffin, Singer, and the Schwabs each donated $1 million or more. The article also details additional political donations from these collectors, including Griffin's $100 million in conservative election spending, and notes that many large corporations like Amazon and BlackRock also contributed.

These Ghosts. Clémentine Bruno  by Michela Ceruti

Clémentine Bruno’s artistic practice explores the tension between presence and absence, treating the canvas as a site of temporal layers rather than a flat surface for representation. Her work emphasizes the preparatory stages of painting—the laying of gesso and the construction of supports—allowing images to emerge reluctantly through processes of sanding, veiling, and partial erasure. Recent exhibitions, such as "Educational Complex" at Tonus and "Vision of Fading" at Mendes Wood DM, highlight her interest in how institutional structures and memory maps dictate what is retained and what is forgotten.

literature salman rushdie laurie anderson the satanic verses

Salman Rushdie and Laurie Anderson, two legendary New York-based artists, engage in an intimate conversation published by Cultured magazine. Rushdie discusses his recent appearance at the Sundance Film Festival for the documentary "Knife," which adapts his memoir about surviving a 2022 stabbing attack, and his travels to literary festivals in New Orleans and Tucson. Anderson shares anecdotes about her own touring show "Republic of Love" with the band Sexmob, and the pair trade lighthearted observations about movie theaters, desert landscapes, and aliens.

art auction new york record breaking

Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* (1914-16) sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby's on November 18, becoming the second-most expensive painting ever sold at auction and the most expensive work ever sold by the house. The sale was part of New York's marquee November auctions, which generated over $2 billion in a single week—more than 50 percent above last year's total—driven by high-profile estates including that of cosmetics heir Leonard A. Lauder. Other notable sales included Mark Rothko's *No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)* for $62.2 million at Christie's, Marc Chagall's *Le songe du Roi David* for $26.5 million, and Frida Kahlo's *El sueño (La cama)* for $55 million, setting a new record for the artist and the highest sum for a work by a female artist at auction. Phillips also sold a juvenile Triceratops skeleton named CERA for $5.4 million.

450 million newhouse trove heads to christies led by 100 million pollock 2750035

Christie’s has secured a prestigious collection of 35 to 40 artworks from the estate of the late media mogul S.I. Newhouse, valued at approximately $450 million. Scheduled for the May auction season, the selection is headlined by Jackson Pollock’s drip painting 'Number 7' (1948) and Constantin Brancusi’s bronze sculpture 'Danaïde' (1913), both estimated at around $100 million. The consignment marks the fourth time Christie’s has handled material from the Newhouse estate, which has previously set records for artists like Jeff Koons.

christies newhouse consignment pollock picasso brancusi masterworks 1234776047

Christie’s New York is set to headline its May marquee sales with a prestigious consignment from the collection of the late media magnate S.I. Newhouse. The offering features approximately 40 masterworks valued at an estimated $450 million, including Jackson Pollock’s drip painting "Number 7" (1948) and Constantin Brancusi’s bronze sculpture "Danaïde" (1913). Both works carry estimates of approximately $100 million, figures that would shatter the existing auction records for both artists if realized.

kenny schachter 2026 predictions van gogh private sale 2734822

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.

rare m c escher works auction 2660493

A cache of M.C. Escher drawings and prints, created during his time in Italy and later, fetched a stunning total of $7.8 million at Christie’s on July 22, quadrupling its low presale estimate. The auction, titled 'The Art of Infinity,' featured 65 lots, with nearly every work on paper surpassing the previous record for an Escher work in the medium. The top lot, *Reptiles* (ca. 1943), sold for $529,200—five times its low estimate—while *Relativity* (ca. 1953) achieved $504,000, ten times its low estimate. The sale largely came from the collection of Robert Owen Lehman Jr., a documentary filmmaker and member of the Lehman banking family.

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Billionaire Citadel CEO and art collector Ken Griffin has announced he will lend his rare copy of the U.S. Constitution to the National Constitution Center (NCC) in Philadelphia for public display through 2026. The loan is accompanied by a $15 million gift—the largest single donation in the NCC’s history—which will fund two new galleries focused on America’s founding principles and the separation of powers, both slated to open in 2026. Griffin will also loan a first printing of the 17 proposed constitutional amendments from 1789, ten of which became the Bill of Rights. In recognition, the NCC will rename its central hall the Kenneth C. Griffin Great Hall.

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The Trump administration has selected Mexico-based sculptor Alma Allen to represent the United States at the 61st Venice Biennale, with the pavilion organized by curator Jeffrey Uslip and sponsored by the newly formed American Arts Conservancy (AAC). The AAC, founded in July 2024 and based in Tampa, is run by executive director Jenni Parido, a pet foods entrepreneur with no prior art-world experience, and its board includes figures from construction, conservative media, and high-end event planning, raising questions about its qualifications for this high-profile role.

These Are the 7 Best Destinations for Pop Culture Exhibits

Chicago's diverse landscape of pop culture and contemporary art is highlighted through a curated list of seven key destinations in the metropolitan area. The selection ranges from the Volo Museum’s collection of Hollywood vehicles and Titanic artifacts to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s extensive permanent collection of over 2,000 modern works and high-tech media displays.

Holiday Shopping at Sotheby's: All I Want for Christmas Is a Shot Marilyn

Sotheby's has opened its new global headquarters in the Breuer Building on Madison Avenue, New York, with an exhibition titled "Icons: Back to Madison" featuring 27 contemporary art masterpieces valued at over $2 billion. Highlights include Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Untitled" (1982), which sold for $110.5 million in 2017, and Andy Warhol's "Shot Orange Marilyn" (1964), reportedly sold privately for $200 million. The show offers a rare public viewing of works typically held in private collections, including pieces owned by billionaire collector Kenneth C. Griffin.

How the Studio Museum in Harlem Reshaped the Art World

The Studio Museum in Harlem, founded in 1968 in a rented loft above a liquor store, will open its first purpose-built 82,000-square-foot building on West 125th Street this fall, following a landmark $300 million capital campaign led by director and chief curator Thelma Golden. Designed by Adjaye Associates with Cooper Robertson, the new facility doubles the exhibition and studio space and includes dedicated areas for performance, education, and public programs. The museum, which has operated without a permanent space since 2018, has been a pioneering platform for artists of African descent, launching the careers of figures like David Hammons, Kerry James Marshall, Glenn Ligon, and Simone Leigh through its groundbreaking exhibitions and artist-in-residence program.

Allen Rosenbaum, former director of Princeton University Art Museum with a keen curatorial eye and astute administrative foresight, dies at 88

Allen Rosenbaum, the former director of the Princeton University Art Museum who led the institution from 1980 to 1999, died on August 3, 2025, at Calvary Hospital in New York City at age 88. Rosenbaum joined Princeton in 1974 as assistant director under Peter Bunnell, and during his 25-year tenure as director, he significantly expanded the museum's collections, adding major works such as Giulio Cesare Procaccini's "The Martyrdom of Saint Justina," Pinturicchio's "Saint Bartholomew," and Pietro da Cortona's "Saint Martina Refuses to Adore the Idols." He also oversaw the 1989 opening of the Mitchell Wolfson Jr. Wing, which added 27,000 square feet of exhibition space.

Jewelry By Picasso, Dalí on Display at Florida Art Museum

A new exhibition titled "Artists’ Jewelry: From Cubism to Pop, the Diane Venet Collection" has opened at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida. It features over 150 pieces of artist-designed jewelry from the personal collection of Diane Venet, including works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Alexander Calder, and Yoko Ono, displayed alongside about sixty companion works from the museum's permanent collection.

The 90 Years of Legendary Italian Artist Giorgio Griffa. All the Exhibitions Celebrating the Master's Birthday

I 90 anni del mitico artista italiano Giorgio Griffa. Tutte le mostre per celebrare il compleanno del maestro

Giorgio Griffa, the Italian painter known for his radical and minimalist approach, turned 90 on March 29, 2026. A comprehensive program of celebrations includes the exhibition "Summer 69" at the Fondazione Giorgio Griffa in Turin (through July 2, 2026), which revisits his breakthrough summer of 1969 with photographs by Paolo Mussat Sartor alongside his early and recent works. The Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea has opened a monographic room with works from its permanent collection, and the Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino will dedicate a similar space in May. The MAXXI – Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI secolo has acquired six monumental works spanning over thirty years of Griffa's career, from the 1970s to the early 2000s.

Everything to know about David Geffen Galleries as a new LACMA emerges

The Los Angeles Times reports on the upcoming David Geffen Galleries, a new building that will become the centerpiece of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as it undergoes a major transformation. Designed by architect Peter Zumthor, the structure is part of a long-delayed, multi-billion-dollar renovation project that aims to modernize the museum's campus and consolidate its collection under one roof. The article details the timeline, design features, and the controversies surrounding the project's cost and scope.

The best exhibitions of 2025, as chosen by curators and museum directors

Curators and museum directors from leading institutions worldwide selected their favorite exhibitions of 2025, highlighting a diverse range of shows. Standouts include Wolfgang Tillmans at Centre Pompidou, Paris, praised for its generous scope and integration of the library space; 'Encounters: Giacometti x Mona Hatoum' at Barbican Art Gallery, London, noted for its dialogue across time; and Ithell Colquhoun's retrospective at Tate St Ives, which repositions the artist from a Surrealist footnote to a major figure. Other acclaimed exhibitions include Noah Davis at Barbican Art Gallery, Linder at Hayward Gallery, Hamad Butt at Whitechapel Gallery, and Caroline Walker at Hepworth Wakefield.

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The Philadelphia Museum of Art is reversing its controversial rebranding decision, abandoning the name "Philadelphia Art Museum" and the acronym "PhAM" after widespread backlash. The museum will retain its new griffin logo but restore the original name, Philadelphia Museum of Art, across all platforms. The rebrand, developed with Brooklyn design studio Gretel at a cost of $1 million, was rolled out less than four months ago but met with public mockery and internal turmoil. The reversal follows the firing of CEO Sasha Suda, who filed a lawsuit over her ouster, and the appointment of Daniel Weiss, former CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as her successor. Chief marketing officer Paul Dien also resigned amid the fallout. The board voted unanimously to undo the name change after a survey commissioned by an interdisciplinary task force.

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The Philadelphia Museum of Art has reversed its controversial rebrand, announced just four months ago, and will return to its original name. The institution will, however, retain the new griffin logo and brand identity introduced in October. The decision followed a unanimous vote by the board of trustees, based on recommendations from a task force that surveyed staff, trustees, members, and the public.

sasha suda philadelphia art museum 2711154

Sasha Suda, the former director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, has filed a lawsuit against the institution less than a week after her abrupt firing. The legal complaint alleges breaches of contract, bad faith, unfair treatment, and abuse. Suda, who served for three years, is seeking two years' severance and damages, represented by high-profile art world attorney Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel. Her ouster came shortly after the museum unveiled a controversial rebranding, changing its name from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the acronym PhAM and introducing an unpopular griffin logo. The museum has stated the lawsuit is without merit. Louis Marchesano, deputy director of curatorial affairs and conservation, is currently serving as interim leader.

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Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III announced an internal review of the museum network's programming in response to an executive order from the Trump administration calling for a review of its content. In a letter to staff, Bunch stated the institution would conduct its own review to ensure programming is nonpartisan and factual, while asserting the Smithsonian's independence from the White House. This follows a March executive order claiming the Smithsonian had adopted a divisive, race-centered ideology, and earlier pressure to end DEI initiatives, which the Smithsonian had already closed in January. Bunch had lunch with President Trump after the White House released a list of artworks it denounced, and the administration previously claimed to have fired National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet over DEI support, though she later resigned.

juvenile ceratosaur dinosaur fossil sothebys auction record 1234747766

A juvenile Ceratosaurus dinosaur fossil sold for $30.5 million at Sotheby’s natural history sale on July 16, far exceeding its high estimate of $6 million. The auction featured a six-minute bidding war among six bidders, making it the third-highest price ever for a dinosaur at auction. Other top lots included a Martian meteorite that sold for $5.3 million, a Pachycephalosaurus skull, and a Tyrannosaurus Rex foot, each fetching $1.758 million. All four top lots accepted cryptocurrency payments.

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A rare juvenile Ceratosaurus fossil sold for $30.5 million at Sotheby's New York, far exceeding its $6 million presale estimate after a six-minute bidding war. The 154-159 million-year-old specimen, discovered in 1996 at Wyoming's Bone Cabin Quarry, contains 139 original bone elements and stands over 6 feet tall. Sotheby's stated the buyer plans to loan the fossil to an institution.

king tuts iconic death mask was intended for someone else researchers say 2564419

Researchers from the University of York have proposed that King Tutankhamun's iconic death mask, discovered in 1925 by Egyptologist Howard Carter, was not originally made for the young pharaoh. The theory, based on the mask's pierced ears—a feature typically found on female rulers and children—suggests it was intended for a regal female burial, possibly Queen Nefertiti. Analysis of the gold used on the face versus the rest of the mask indicates the face was added later, effectively grafted onto a pre-existing mask. This idea, first raised by British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves in 2015, is supported by evidence that Tutankhamun's death at around age 19 was sudden, leading to a hurried burial with repurposed funerary objects.

parties cultured at home anthony roth costanza

Cultured magazine hosted a launch party at opera singer Anthony Roth Costanzo's New York apartment to celebrate the debut issue of its interiors magazine, 'CULTURED at Home.' Guests including artists Cassie Griffin and Francesca DiMattio, curator Jarrett Earnest, fashion designers Jackson Wiederhoeft and Tanner Richie, and other creative figures gathered in Costanzo's historic Chelsea home, a former residence of architect David Webster, for cocktails, snacks, and a striking ice sculpture featuring the magazine.

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The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles held its 20th annual Gala in the Garden on Saturday night, raising $2.4 million for the institution. The event honored artist Lauren Halsey and actor-activist Jane Fonda, with speeches from director Zoë Ryan, Studio Museum director Thelma Golden, and actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. Attendees included LeBron James, Dustin Hoffman, Will Ferrell, Stormzy, Ed Ruscha, Catherine Opie, Mark Bradford, and Andrea Bowers, with a performance by singer Griff.

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The Joan Mitchell Foundation has announced the 31 artists selected for its 2026 residency program at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans. The residencies, lasting six or 14 weeks across three seasons, will host no more than nine artists at a time, beginning February 2. The cohort includes 17 local New Orleans artists and participants from cities such as New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and Atlanta, ranging in age from 27 to 75. Notable participants include Edra Soto, who also won a United States Artists Fellowship, and two leaders of New Orleans’s Black Masking Indian tradition, Kelly Pearson Boles and Efrem Z. Boles. The selection was made by a jury of artists, curators, and academics.

diana ross performance alex prager art basel miami beach 1234765441

Diana Ross performed an intimate 20-minute set at a dinner celebrating Alex Prager's immersive installation 'Mirage Factory' during Art Basel Miami Beach. The event, held in a green room evoking Griffith Park, featured Ross singing hits from her Supremes days and solo career. Prager's installation, located in the old Beach Theatre on Lincoln Road, includes a 1:12 scale miniature of Hollywood Boulevard and was created with Capital One and the Cultivist. A performance based on Prager's photograph 'Beverly Palms Hotel' (2025) also took place, with actors embodying characters from the image.