Art News. Vasari Codex

article news schedule Oct 7, 2025 visibility 22 link 22 artists

art insurance los angeles wildfires 1234755619

Ron Rivlin, owner of Revolver Gallery in Los Angeles and a prolific collector of Andy Warhol works, lost his Pacific Palisades home and 340 artworks—including 30 Warhols and pieces by Keith Haring, John Baldessari, Damien Hirst, Alex Katz, and Kenny Scharf—to the January 2025 wildfires that swept through Los Angeles County. The fires, fueled by powerful winds and dry conditions, consumed approximately 60,718 acres and 17,291 structures, killing 30 people. Numerous other artists, collectors, and arts professionals, including Beatriz Cortez, Amir Nikravan, Salomón Huerta, and curator Paul Schimmel, also reported losing homes and artworks.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 3, 2025 visibility 13 link 7 artists

sean combs sentencing art collection 1234755271

Sean Combs, the rapper and record executive known as Diddy, was sentenced on Friday to 50 months in federal prison and fined $500,000 for two counts of transportation for prostitution. He was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges. The sentencing followed a trial that included testimony from his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and an anonymous former employee alleging abuse. Combs apologized in court, calling his behavior "disgusting, shameful and sick." Judge Arun Subramanian noted that Combs's "immense financial resources enabled his crimes."

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trending_up market schedule Oct 3, 2025 visibility 15 link 7 artists

dom perignon takashi murakami limited edition collaboration 1234754986

Dom Pérignon has partnered with artist Takashi Murakami to design limited-edition labels and packaging for its Vintage 2015 and Rosé Vintage 2010 releases. Murakami’s signature smiling floral motifs appear on black backgrounds, and the collaboration is framed as an exploration of time, transformation, and the intersection of historical craftsmanship with contemporary art. Murakami worked with Dom Pérignon’s Chef de Cave Vincent Chaperon, and the project is part of a broader series titled “Creation is an eternal journey,” which also involves actors, musicians, and chefs.

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museum exhibitions schedule Sep 29, 2025 visibility 16 link 11 artists

almaty museum of arts kazakhstan opens 1234753927

The Almaty Museum of Arts (ALMA) opened on September 12 in Kazakhstan's largest city, becoming the country's first private museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Founded by auto and real estate tycoon Nurlan Smagulov, the museum houses his collection of over 700 artworks by Kazakh, Central Asian, and international artists. Led by artistic director Meruyert Kaliyeva and chief curator Inga Lāce, the museum's opening features a retrospective of Almaty-born artist Almagul Menlibayeva and a group show titled "Qonaqtar" that explores Kazakh art history and hospitality.

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candle obituary schedule Sep 24, 2025 visibility 23 link 16 artists

thomas kellein kunsthalle basel chinati foundation dead 1234753427

Thomas Kellein, a curator and art historian known for leading museums in Europe and the US, died in Berlin at age 70 following a serious illness. He directed the Kunsthalle Basel (1988–1995), organizing shows for Cindy Sherman, Mike Kelley, and Rachel Whiteread, and later led the Kunsthalle Bielefield (1996–2010) with exhibitions of Caspar David Friedrich, Jeff Koons, and others. He briefly directed the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas (2010–2012) before resigning, and subsequently led the Written Art Collection in Germany, commissioning text-based works by Lawrence Weiner, Jenny Holzer, and Qiu Zhijie.

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candle obituary schedule Sep 22, 2025 visibility 22 link 25 artists

agnes gund dead moma art collecting 1234752843

Agnes Gund, one of the most influential art patrons in the United States, has died at 87. Her collecting and philanthropy transformed the American art world, particularly at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where she served as president from 1991 to 2002 and remained a life trustee. Gund helped fund MoMA's 2004 expansion, designed by Yoshio Taniguchi, and played a key role in bringing MoMA PS1 under the museum's aegis in 1999. She was a longtime donor of over 250 works to MoMA, including pieces by Jasper Johns, Elizabeth Murray, and Julie Mehretu, and appeared on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list every year from 1990 to 2018.

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article local schedule Sep 15, 2025 visibility 18 link 5 artists

bristol museum repairs 1234751806

The Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, a historic Edwardian Baroque building constructed in 1905, requires nearly £4 million ($5.4 million) for extensive repairs to its roof, windows, doors, and facade. A committee report cited by the BBC describes the museum as being in "poor condition" with "major defects" to its exterior. The Bristol City Council, which owns and operates the museum, plans to apply to the Arts Council England for funding, noting that the financial pressure makes external funding essential.

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candle obituary schedule Sep 8, 2025 visibility 23 link 19 artists

barbara jakobson collector moma trustee dead 1234751166

Barbara Jakobson, a prominent art collector and longtime trustee of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), died at age 92 on August 25 in Manhattan due to pneumonia. Known for her extensive network of relationships with artists, dealers, and curators, she was a central figure in the New York art world for decades. Jakobson served on MoMA's board since 1974, helped found the Studio Museum in Harlem in 1968, and persuaded dealer Leo Castelli to donate Robert Rauschenberg's iconic work "Bed" (1955) to MoMA. Her Upper East Side townhouse, filled with works by artists such as Matthew Barney, Diane Arbus, and Robert Mapplethorpe, was a testament to her lifelong engagement with contemporary art.

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trending_up market schedule Aug 28, 2025 visibility 12 link 5 artists, 3 galleries

jeff koons gagosian representation 1234750064

Gagosian Gallery will once again represent Jeff Koons, the star sculptor who left the mega-gallery to join Pace in 2021. The announcement completes a return that began in May with a solo presentation at Frieze New York, where Koons showed three sculptures from his “Hulk Elvis” series. Koons had also been represented by David Zwirner at the time of his departure from Gagosian, but he does not appear to have rejoined Zwirner. Reports indicate that Koons split with Pace after a costly Meissen-inspired sculpture series required $50–100 million in investor support, which fell through when additional funds were needed.

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trending_up market schedule Aug 15, 2025 visibility 21 link 11 artists

ole faarup collection christies sale doig ofili 1234749450

Christie’s will host a single-owner sale of the contemporary art collection of Danish businessman Ole Faarup in October, featuring works by Peter Doig, Chris Ofili, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and others. The sale, estimated at up to £22 million, is anchored by two major Doig paintings—Country Rock (1998–99) and Ski Jacket (1994)—and Ofili’s Blossom (1997). Proceeds will fund the newly formed Ole Faarup Art Foundation, which aims to promote Danish art internationally and bring international works to Danish museums.

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rate_review review schedule Aug 15, 2025 visibility 18 link 14 artists

alex da corte modern art museum of fort worth review 1234749431

Alex Da Corte's mid-career survey, "The Whale," is on view at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, featuring works that repurpose pop-cultural icons like Disney villains and Mariah Carey to explore themes of erasure and violence. The exhibition includes pieces such as *A Time to Kill* (2016), which obliquely references the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting through an inverted Elsa standee, and *The Great Pretender* (2021), which removes Lily Tomlin from a TIME magazine cover to comment on queer erasure.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 27, 2025 visibility 27 link 29 artists

figurative painting trend boom bust market politics zombie jennifer packer salman toor louis fratino 1234747400

The article examines the narrative that figurative painting died and made a comeback, arguing instead that it never truly disappeared. It traces the art market's pendulum swing from zombie formalism around 2014 to a surge in figurative painting by 2015, fueled by collectors seeking new, affordable works to flip quickly. The piece highlights emerging painters like Gina Beavers, Mira Dancy, Jamian Juliano-Villani, and Greg Parma Smith, and notes that the boom created auction stars whose prices later crashed, as reported in a 2024 New York Times article.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 25, 2025 visibility 25 link 30 artists

america 250th anniversary exhibitions 2662919

Museums across the United States are preparing exhibitions to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026. The New York Historical will present "Democracy Matters," opening June 19, 2026, exploring voting, free speech, and land rights through works by Thomas Cole, Mel Chin, and Lady Pink alongside historic documents. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston will debut "America at 250" on the same date, integrating Native and non-Native art with pieces like Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington and a critique by Mohawk artist Alan Michelson. The National Portrait Gallery had planned "Amy Sherald: American Sublime" for September 2025, but Sherald canceled the show over censorship concerns in July 2025. The Philadelphia Museum of Art will host "A Nation of Artists" from April 2026 through September 2027, featuring Frederic Edwin Church's "Pichincha."

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 24, 2025 visibility 24 link 28 artists

copyists exhibition centre pompidou metz louvre 1234748114

Over 100 contemporary artists, including Jeff Koons, Paul McCarthy, Julie Mehretu, Camille Henrot, Claire Tabouret, and Julien Creuzet, were invited to create copies of masterpieces from the Louvre's collection. Their works are now on view in the exhibition "Copyists" at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, a satellite of the Pompidou in northeastern France. The show features reinterpretations of iconic paintings such as Eugène Delacroix's *Liberty Leading the People* (1830), Giovanni Bellini's *Portrait of a Man* (ca. 1475–1500), and Théodore Géricault's *The Raft of Medusa* (1818–19), among others. Co-curators Donatien Grau and Chiara Parisi emphasize that the exhibition is about the act of copying itself, not just the resulting copies, and that it creates a dialogue between contemporary artists and historical masters.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 24, 2025 visibility 20 link 17 artists

albright college collection sale reading museum 2669929

Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania, has sold its Freedman Gallery collection for $995,000 to address budget deficits, despite immediate pushback from faculty, community members, and the Freedman family. The Reading Public Museum acquired more than 250 works through a pre-sale agreement, selecting pieces that enhance its holdings, include renowned masters, or have local resonance. The remaining works were auctioned online by Pook and Pook on July 16, surpassing presale estimates, with top lots by Salvador Dalí and Leonid Sokov.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 23, 2025 visibility 18 link 10 artists

rauschenberg centenary shows 2571710

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation is launching a global centenary celebration for the artist's 100th birthday, spanning 2025–2026. The program includes major exhibitions at seven institutions across five countries, such as "Five Friends" at Museum Brandhorst in Munich and Museum Ludwig in Cologne, photography shows at the Museum of the City of New York and Fundación Juan March in Madrid, and an exhibition at M+ in Hong Kong focusing on Rauschenberg's ROCI program. The foundation is also initiating grant-making initiatives to highlight Rauschenberg's legacy in art, technology, environmentalism, and social justice.

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article policy schedule Jul 19, 2025 visibility 19 link 7 artists

black arts institutions funding nea cuts 1234747703

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced funding cuts to arts organizations across the U.S. as part of broader government spending reductions under the Trump administration. These cuts disproportionately affect Black-led art institutions, including the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art (MoCADA), Museum Hue, and the Billie Holiday Theatre, which rely heavily on federal grants for programming and operations. While some organizations received final payments or avoided returning funds, they face an uncertain future as critical funding streams are terminated or made ineligible for renewal.

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article news schedule Jul 10, 2025 visibility 18 link 9 artists

albright college is selling its art collection to cut 20 m deficit but donors oppose the move 1234746861

Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania, is selling over 500 works from its art collection via an online auction at Pook & Pook Inc. scheduled for July 16, in an effort to address a $20 million deficit. The sale, titled "Fine Art from an East Coast Educational Institution," includes works by Bridget Riley, Jasper Johns, Romare Bearden, and Jacob Lawrence, and is expected to raise around $200,000. The college has also laid off staff and sold non-contiguous properties to cut costs. Donors, including the daughters of late collector Doris C. Freeman, have opposed the move, arguing it violates the original intent of the gifts.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 10, 2025 visibility 24 link 31 artists, 8 galleries

art dealer provocative solution poaching problem 2655240

Art dealer Wendi Norris of San Francisco has introduced buyout clauses in contracts with her artists, borrowing a strategy from professional sports. If an artist leaves for a mega-gallery like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, or David Zwirner, Norris receives financial compensation—such as the right to purchase works at her original prices for potential resale. This practice aims to address the widespread problem of poaching, where larger galleries lure rising artists away from the smaller dealers who nurtured their careers, often causing financial and emotional strain.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 8, 2025 visibility 10 link 3 artists

mschfs king solomons baby at pioneer 1234747049

MSCHF, the Brooklyn-based art collective known for viral stunts like the Big Red Boot and a Damien Hirst dot-selling ATM, has unveiled a new participatory sculpture titled *King Solomon's Baby* (2025). The work is a large-scale polystyrene foam and paint sculpture that will be progressively dismembered and sold in thin slices as more buyers join. Priced at $100,000 for a single buyer, the cost drops as more participants purchase shares, down to $100 each if 1,000 people buy in. Sales open July 10 at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, with the fully deconstructed work on view July 13.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 8, 2025 visibility 18 link 13 artists

how did van gogh influence matisse 2654811

The Van Gogh Museum has acquired Henri Matisse's 1905 painting *Olive Grove in Collioure* to illustrate Vincent van Gogh's influence on modern art. The work, painted 15 years after Van Gogh's death, shows Matisse's adoption of van Gogh's expressive, anti-naturalistic color and brushwork. The museum pairs it with van Gogh's *Trees in the Garden of the Asylum* (1889) to highlight how Matisse transformed van Gogh's reed-pen drawing techniques into his own Fauvist style. Matisse first encountered van Gogh's work in 1897 through Australian painter John Russell, who gave him a van Gogh drawing that Matisse hung in his Paris apartment alongside works by Cézanne and Gauguin.

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

london summer auctions 2662076 2662076

London's summer auction season saw Sotheby's evening sale bring in $85.7 million, a significant drop from $105 million last year and a 70% decline from $280.1 million in 2015. Christie's opted out of an evening auction entirely, holding only a day sale that netted $12.7 million, while Phillips' combined sales totaled $17.6 million. Highlights included a Tamara de Lempicka painting selling for $10 million, a Jenny Saville drawing setting a new auction record at $2.11 million, and six works from the Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein collection. The sales were described as 'sensible' by advisor Todd Levin, reflecting a cautious market post-Art Basel.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 27, 2025 visibility 38 link 111 artists, 18 galleries

price check art basel basel 2025 2660511

Art Basel in Basel has concluded, with galleries reporting hundreds of sales despite low expectations set by lackluster New York auction results. Dealers shared prices ranging from $1 million to $17 million, with top sales including David Hockney's *Mid November Tunnel* (2006) at Annely Juda Fine Art ($13M–$17M), a Ruth Asawa sculpture at David Zwirner ($9.5M), and a Gerhard Richter painting at David Zwirner ($6.8M). Other notable transactions include works by Keith Haring, Mark Bradford, Georg Baselitz, and George Condo, though many galleries provided only price ranges and withheld exact titles or mediums.

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article culture schedule Jun 25, 2025 visibility 14 link 10 artists

best art books for kids 1612528

This article from Artnet News presents a curated list of the best art books for children, featuring titles such as "Linnea in Monet's Garden," "Grandpa and the Library: How Charles White Learned to Paint," "Action Jackson," "Yayoi Kusama: From Here to Infinity," and "Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos." Each book is described with its age range, a brief synopsis, and why it is recommended for inspiring young readers to engage with art and artists.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 24, 2025 visibility 12 link 5 artists

jeff koons split rocker lacma resnicks 1234746066

Lynda and Stewart Resnick have donated a monumental Jeff Koons sculpture, *Split-Rocker*, to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The 37-foot-tall work, made of a metal skeleton and planted with 50,000 flowers, resembles a hybrid toy head—half rocking horse, half dinosaur. It will be installed near a new group of galleries endowed by trustee David Geffen. The Resnicks listed an unnamed piece given to LACMA on their 2023 tax filings valued at $9.6 million. The donation is part of director Michael Govan’s long-term plan to add another major sculpture to LACMA’s campus, alongside works like Chris Burden’s *Urban Light* and Tony Smith’s *Smoke*.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 20, 2025 visibility 32 link 57 artists, 13 galleries

art basel 2025 sales report 1234745462

Art Basel 2025 in Switzerland, now in its 55th edition, opened with 289 exhibitors amid a soft and unpredictable art market. Major sales included a Ruth Asawa sculpture for $9.5 million at David Zwirner, a Gerhard Richter painting for $6.8 million, and a Keith Haring from 1983 for $3.5 million at Gladstone. The top reported sale was David Hockney's 'Mid November Tunnel' (2006) for $13-17 million at Annely Juda Fine Art. Hauser & Wirth headlined with a moody Mark Rothko from the early 1960s, while galleries adopted strategies of offering wide price ranges and diverse styles to hedge against market uncertainty.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 19, 2025 visibility 24 link 27 artists, 10 galleries

art basel 2025 major works sales 2657176

Art Basel 2025 opened in Basel, Switzerland, with nearly 300 leading galleries showcasing high-value artworks despite a turbulent art market. Major works include a Gerhard Richter abstraction (1987) at David Zwirner, priced around $30 million, a Ruth Asawa hanging sculpture sold for $9.5 million, and Picassos at Pace and Helly Nahmad Gallery, with the latter's *Femme nue couchée jouant avec un chat* (1964) listed at $28 million after fetching $21.2 million at auction two years ago. The fair runs through Sunday, offering rare opportunities to view and purchase blue-chip pieces.

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article news schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 19 link 4 artists

maurizio cattelan gold toilet trial theft video 2613738

A judge has sentenced two men for stealing Maurizio Cattelan's 18-carat gold toilet, titled "America," from Blenheim Palace in England during a 2019 raid. Michael Jones received 27 months in prison for burglary, while James Sheen was sentenced to four years, added to his existing 19-year term for other crimes. The theft took less than five minutes, causing major flooding and water damage when the toilet was ripped from the plumbing. Police arrested four men in November 2023, with evidence including DNA, phone messages, and CCTV footage leading to convictions. Fred Doe received a suspended sentence, and Bora Guccuk was found not guilty. None of the gold has been recovered and is believed to have been chopped up and sold.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 11, 2025 visibility 17 link 13 artists

pauline karpidas collection sothebys 2655090

The private collection of legendary collector and patron Pauline Karpidas, featuring masterworks by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and Les Lalannes, will be auctioned at Sotheby’s London this September. Spanning 250 lots from her eccentric London home, the collection is expected to fetch over £60 million ($81 million), the highest estimate ever placed on a single collection at Sotheby’s Europe. Karpidas, who has collected for 50 years and supported artists like Damien Hirst and Tracy Emin, sees herself as a temporary custodian and is passing the works to a new generation.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 5, 2025 visibility 20 link 11 artists

damien hirsts colorful spin painting of leonardo dicaprio just raised 1 3 million for charity 2311409

An enormous painting of Leonardo DiCaprio by Damien Hirst, titled *Beautiful Leonardo DiCaprio Looking Away Painting* (2016), sold for $1.3 million at the amfAR Gala in Cannes, France, on May 25. The work, a colorful spin painting signed by both the actor and artist, was donated by collector Christian Levett and auctioned by Simon de Pury. The gala raised $17 million total, with the top lot being a $1.6 million Aston Martin DB12, and also featured artworks by Claire Tabouret, Cecily Brown, Andres Valencia, and Robert De Niro.

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