America’s First National Art Museum Honors the Country’s 250th

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has announced a comprehensive suite of exhibitions and programs to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. The programming centers on the museum's unique history as America’s first national art museum, founded through the 1906 bequest of Charles Lang Freer. Key highlights include the exhibition "A Museum in the Making," which examines the institution's Detroit origins, and three major shows dedicated to the collections of American women philanthropists featuring Indian paintings, Chinese textiles, and Japanese lacquerware.

This Tokyo exhibition explores the process of curating art for an entire nation

The National Art Center, Tokyo, has opened a major exhibition titled "Curating the Nation: Japanese Art from the 1950s to the Present." The show examines the complex and often contentious process of how Japanese art has been selected, presented, and defined for both domestic and international audiences over the past seven decades.

Today in History March 17 | Opening of the National Gallery of Art

On March 17, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially dedicated the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The museum was established through the massive bequest of industrialist Andrew Mellon, who donated his world-class art collection, the funds for the building's construction, and a significant endowment. The opening marked a milestone in American cultural history, providing the public with access to a premier national collection of Old Master paintings.

The Big Review | The Woman Question 1550-2025 ★★★★½

The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw has launched "The Woman Question 1550-2025," a massive survey featuring nearly 200 works by 140 women artists spanning five centuries. Curated by Alison M. Gingeras, the exhibition uses the medieval concept of "la querelle des femmes" to explore how women have asserted their status as "citizen artists" against patriarchal structures. The show juxtaposes historical masterpieces by figures like Artemisia Gentileschi and Sofonisba Anguissola with contemporary provocations by Miriam Cahn and Lubaina Himid, focusing heavily on figurative painting and sculpture.

Towering cost: Tracey Emin hit with £160,000 bill to fix Margate flats

Tracey Emin is facing a £160,000 bill to address structural defects at Arlington House, a landmark Brutalist tower block in Margate. The artist, who owns four properties in the building, is among 142 leaseholders required to pay £40,000 per flat to replace cladding following an assessment by the UK government’s building safety regulator. Emin has publicly criticized the charges, questioning why recent buyers are being held financially responsible for decades of alleged maintenance neglect by the building's owner, Freshwater.

Is it finally time for the Guerrilla Girls to remove their masks?

The Getty Research Institute is hosting "How to Be a Guerrilla Girl," its first major exhibition drawn from the extensive archives of the anonymous feminist activist collective. The show features early drafts, posters, and archival materials that trace the group's 40-year history of using humor and data to combat misogyny and racism in the art world. Despite the institutional spotlight, the Getty has chosen to maintain the group's secrecy, even redacting names from public documents and keeping boxes of unmasked photographs sealed until the members' deaths.

Comment | Time for a rethink: women artists were never meant to merely be canon fodder

Comment | Time for a rethink: women artists were never meant to merely be canon fodder

The art world is increasingly moving beyond simply adding women to the existing art historical canon, a practice long criticized by feminist historians like Griselda Pollock. Instead of merely 'expanding' the canon, new institutional approaches aim to 'difference' it by using the work of women to fundamentally re-evaluate and subvert established narratives. This shift suggests that the inclusion of previously marginalized artists should change how we perceive the masters they are often compared to.

Museum of Modern Art of Bogotá dismisses longtime artistic director

Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá dismisses longtime artistic director

The Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá (Mambo) has dismissed its artistic director, Eugenio Viola, after more than seven years. The museum's board announced the termination as part of a "comprehensive review," stating Viola will remain until May 2026 while a search for a successor begins. Viola contends his dismissal followed his raising of concerns about deteriorating working conditions, which the board dismissed.

Exhibition of Black artists reinterpreting the US flag opens without key Dread Scott work

An exhibition titled 'America Will Be!' opened at the University of Maryland's David C. Driskell Center, exploring how Black artists have reinterpreted the US flag. However, the show opened without a key work by artist Dread Scott, 'What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag? (1988)', after the loan request was rescinded by the curators citing logistical and safety concerns.

UNT cancels prominent street artist's exhibit on campus featuring ICE-related work

The University of North Texas (UNT) abruptly canceled and removed the exhibition 'Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá' by street artist Victor 'Marka27' Quiñonez from its College of Visual Arts and Design gallery. The university terminated its loan agreement with Boston University Art Galleries, which organized the show, and covered the gallery windows with brown paper without providing a public reason for the cancellation.

A brush with… Louis Fratino—podcast

The article is a transcript or description of a podcast episode featuring an interview with painter Louis Fratino. He discusses his artistic practice, which focuses on memory, daily life, and queer identity, and cites influences from Henri Matisse to Bhupen Khakhar. He also reveals details about his studio life and answers philosophical questions about art's purpose.

Chicago’s Intuit Art Museum gifted 61 works by self-taught artists

The Intuit Art Museum in Chicago has received two major gifts totaling 61 works, significantly expanding its collection of art by self-taught artists. The first gift is a bequest of 47 works from the late collector and early museum supporter Jan Petry, featuring pieces by artists like Emery Blagdon, James Castle, and Martín Ramírez. The second gift comprises 14 works from the collection of scholar Gordon W. Bailey, focusing on African American artists such as Sam Doyle and Mose Tolliver.

Frist Art Museum opens “In Her Place” a group exhibition featuring 28 women artists; Vanderbilt Art faculty among the exhibitors

The Frist Art Museum in Nashville opened a major group exhibition titled "In Her Place" to mark its 25th anniversary. The show features nearly one hundred works by 28 women artists with strong ties to the Nashville community, including painting, sculpture, textile, and installation. The artists, such as María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Alicia Henry, and Marilyn Murphy, represent an intergenerational group whose practices have significantly impacted the local art scene.

Read the Room: Dallas Museum of Art’s “International Surrealism” Misses the Mark

The Dallas Museum of Art's exhibition "International Surrealism" is critiqued as a missed opportunity during the centennial of the surrealist movement. The author argues that while the show presents a broad survey of mixed-media works from around the world, divided into six thematic subgroups, it lacks the political urgency and revolutionary context that defined surrealism's origins in 1925. The exhibition, initially curated by Matthew Gale from the Tate Modern collection and presented locally by Sue Canterbury, is described as whimsical and decorous, reducing the movement's subversive power to quirky categories and gift-shop fodder.

France’s ex-culture minister Jack Lang resigns from L’Institut du Monde Arabe amid Epstein revelations

Jack Lang, France's former culture minister, resigned as president of the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) on February 7 following revelations in the Epstein files that his name appeared 673 times. Lang, 86, denies any wrongdoing, acknowledging a long "cordial relationship" with Jeffrey Epstein but claiming ignorance of his sex crimes. The Paris prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation into Lang and his daughter Caroline for "laundering of aggravated tax fraud," and Lang stepped down after being summoned by the French foreign ministry at the request of President Macron and Prime Minister Lecornu.

Art Basel Qatar, Dürer portrait debate, Paula Modersohn-Becker and Edvard Munch—podcast

The Art Newspaper's podcast covers the inaugural Art Basel Qatar art fair in Doha, discussing its impact on Qatar and the Middle East art scene. It also examines a debate over a Dürer portrait in London's National Gallery, long considered a copy but now argued to be an autograph work by a new catalogue raisonné author. The episode features a double-header exhibition at the Albertinum in Dresden pairing Paula Modersohn-Becker and Edvard Munch, with co-curator Andreas Dehmer discussing key works.

M.F. Husain in Qatar: bridging Asia and the Arab world

The article examines the life and legacy of Indian modernist painter M.F. Husain, focusing on his final years as a citizen of Qatar. It details his rise as a leading figure of the Progressive Artists' Group, his embodiment of a secular, post-independence Indian identity through his art, and the controversy that forced him into exile after 1996 due to accusations of blasphemy for depicting Hindu deities. He ultimately accepted Qatari citizenship in 2010 and died in London in 2011.

What happens to the art market when humanity stops mattering?

The article examines the resilience of the high-end art market amid rising geopolitical tensions and shrinking public funding for culture. It notes that while sales at major auction houses like Sotheby's and Christie's have rebounded, political forces in the US and Europe are increasingly prioritizing military spending and exerting pressure on cultural institutions, drawing parallels to the rise of fascism in the early 20th century.

Museum wall texts are an art in their own right—but will they survive the digital age?

The article explores the debate over museum wall texts, examining whether they enhance or hinder the visitor experience. It highlights contrasting approaches: Calder Gardens in Philadelphia has eliminated wall text entirely, branding itself as "open to interpretation," while institutions like the Frick Pittsburgh and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) continue to use carefully crafted labels, often with strict word limits and multiple languages. The Frick Pittsburgh invites guest "labelists" from the local community to write labels, and the ROM focuses on making text shorter and more scannable to hold visitors' limited attention.

US National Portrait Gallery reveals winner of its triennial portraiture award

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, has announced Brooklyn-based artist Kameron Neal as the winner of its 2025 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Neal was honored for his two-channel video installation *Down the Barrel (of a Lens)* (2023), which incorporates surveillance footage from the 1960s and 70s obtained during his residency at New York City’s Department of Records. The work explores the relationship between police and protesters, displaying footage of Vietnam War protesters, the Black Panthers, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy alongside images of police filming. Neal receives $25,000 and a commission to create a portrait for the museum’s permanent collection. Second prize went to photographer Jared Soares, and third prize to painter David Antonio Cruz; the exhibition featuring all 35 finalists runs from January 24 to August 30, 2025.

Self-portraits, Surrealism and sanitary pads: what to expect from Tate Modern's Frida Kahlo show

Tate Modern has announced details for its upcoming blockbuster exhibition "Frida: the Making of an Icon" (25 June–3 January 2027), featuring more than 30 works by Frida Kahlo alongside photographs and personal artefacts. Co-curator Tobias Ostrander revealed that the show highlights Kahlo's impact on women artists across Mexico, the Americas, and Europe from 1970 to today, including highly personal works reflecting her suffering after a miscarriage and her complex relationship with the United States. The exhibition includes paintings such as "My Dress Hangs There" (1933-38), "Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird" (1940), and "The Frame" (1938), and examines Kahlo's links to Surrealism following her 1939 Paris exhibition. The show also features portraits of contemporary artists who have imitated Kahlo, such as Tracey Emin and Yasumasa Morimura, and a final section on "Fridamania" exploring how her image dominates popular culture on toys, dolls, and even branded sanitary pads by Saba.

Philip Tinari appointed as deputy director and head of art at Hong Kong’s Tai Kwun cultural complex

Philip Tinari, the longtime director and CEO of Beijing's UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, has announced he will leave to become deputy director and head of art at Hong Kong's Tai Kwun cultural complex. He will oversee programming at Tai Kwun Contemporary and shape strategy for the entire complex, which includes performing arts, galleries, and restaurants. Tinari replaces Pi Li, who previously worked at M+ and co-founded Boers-Li gallery. The appointment is backed by The Hong Kong Jockey Club, whose director Chin Chin Teoh and Tai Kwun Arts director Timothy Calnin cited a 2018 collaboration with Tinari on a Cao Fei exhibition as influential. Tinari's departure follows reports of financial difficulties at UCCA, which the institution denied. UCCA has appointed Lingyi Kong as new CEO and Xi Guo as deputy director, effective February 2026.

Trump administration puts renewed pressure on Smithsonian to turn over materials for review

The Trump administration has given the Smithsonian Institution a deadline of January 13 to turn over materials related to a review of programming at eight of its museums, as outlined in a December 18 letter from White House officials Vince Haley and Russell Vought. The review stems from a March 2025 executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," which accused the Smithsonian of promoting a "divisive, race-centered ideology." Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch noted that some requested materials are not readily available and will require significant effort to compile, while the American Alliance of Museums and the Association of Art Museum Directors have expressed confidence in the Smithsonian's commitment to professional standards.

In a ‘K-shaped’ economy, the art market's recovery could rely on the super-rich

Sotheby's and Christie's held a series of high-profile auctions in New York in late 2025, generating a combined $2.2 billion from major collections including the Leonard A. Lauder collection, the Cindy and Jay Pritzker collection, and the Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis collection. Star lots included Gustav Klimt's portrait of Elisabeth Lederer ($236.4m), a Vincent van Gogh still life ($62.7m), a Frida Kahlo self-portrait ($54.7m), and a Mark Rothko abstract ($62.2m). Despite these strong results, the total was still 30% below the equivalent sales in 2022, and the article notes a growing number of contemporary gallery closures in 2025.

Remembering Erik Bulatov, the Soviet artist who reframed propaganda

Erik Bulatov, the Soviet-born artist known for overlaying Communist Party slogans onto luminous landscapes, died in Paris on 9 November. A key figure in the underground art movement of the 1970s and 80s, he was part of the Sretensky Group alongside Ilya Kabakov and others, navigating state censorship by illustrating children's books. His most famous work, *Glory to the CPSU* (1975), sold for $2.1m in 2008, and in 2025 he was ranked the most expensive living Russian artist by The Art Newspaper Russia.

How much should art cost? The pitfalls and paradoxes of pricing works

The article examines the current state of the art market, which is in its third consecutive year of contraction. It traces how low interest rates fueled speculative price inflation, leading to a boom in ultra-contemporary art that has now burst, with collectors shifting toward Old Masters. Dealers like Larry Gagosian are now advocating for lowering primary market prices, while private sales stall due to sellers' 'anchoring' to peak valuations. The piece highlights the disconnect between high prices and long-term value, using examples such as auction records being manipulated (e.g., Patrick Drahi's anonymous bidding on a Francis Bacon triptych) and the reality that most artworks in even celebrated collections depreciate.

Highs and Lows at Princeton’s New Art Museum

Brian T. Allen reviews the newly opened Princeton University Art Museum, praising its architectural design while questioning the curatorial direction. He contrasts the new building's impressive appearance with his concerns about the museum's exhibition choices, recalling past successful shows like the Berlin Painter exhibition and a Clarence White photography show that he found more intellectually rigorous.

Order and chaos in contemporary Israeli art

Basia Monka profiles three contemporary Israeli artists—Ariel Hacohen, Jessica Moritz, and others—who, despite diverse backgrounds and mediums, share a common drive to explore order and chaos through repetition in their work. Hacohen, a 2024 Rappaport Prize laureate, uses photography, video, and sculpture to blend archaeology, history, and memory, with current exhibitions at the Haifa Museum of Art and Tel Aviv Museum of Art. The article presents each artist's answers to three questions about inspiration, the definition of art, and what makes their work unique.

Collection of 61 Matisse works—mostly portraying his daughter Marguerite—donated to Paris museum

Barbara Dauphin Duthuit, the wife of Henri Matisse’s late grandson Claude Duthuit, has donated 61 works by Matisse to the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris. The donation includes seven paintings, one sculpture, 28 drawings, and eight etchings, most of which depict Matisse’s eldest daughter Marguerite. Many of the works were featured earlier this year in the museum’s exhibition *Matisse and Marguerite: Through Her Father’s Eyes*. The pieces span the first half of the 20th century, from early childhood portraits to moving works created in 1945 after Marguerite survived deportation for her role in the French Resistance.

Edinburgh City Art Centre reveals 2026 exhibitions programme

Edinburgh's City Art Centre has announced its 2026 exhibition programme, featuring five distinct shows. Highlights include a multimedia installation by Edinburgh-based Mona Yoo exploring the building's history as a former newspaper production site; a retrospective of Jean F. Watson's bequest showcasing over 1,000 acquired Scottish artworks; a photography exhibition by Sandra George, a black female photographer and community worker; a new moving-image commission by Rachel McBrinn and Jonathan Webb responding to the North Bridge restoration; and a display of recent acquisitions to the city's fine art collection.