Vasari Art Codex

article news schedule Oct 20, 2025 visibility 3 link 3 artists

amy sherald talks canceled smithsonian show 60 minutes 1234757994

Painter Amy Sherald has publicly explained her decision to withdraw from a solo exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, citing censorship concerns. In an interview with Anderson Cooper on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Sherald revealed that the museum considered removing her painting *Trans Forming Liberty*, which depicts a Black transgender Statue of Liberty, from the show “American Sublime.” Smithsonian secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III proposed replacing the painting with a video contextualizing trans issues, which Sherald feared would include anti-trans views. She stated that any such contextualization would deviate from her original artistic vision, leaving her “only choice” to cancel the show. The controversy unfolded amid reports that the White House had ordered a review of Smithsonian exhibitions for alleged “anti-American ideology.”

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Oct 20, 2025 visibility 2 link 3 artists

amy sherald talks canceled smithsonian show 60 minutes 1234757994

Painter Amy Sherald has revealed in a "60 Minutes" interview with Anderson Cooper that she pulled out of her solo exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery because the museum considered removing her painting of a Black transgender Statue of Liberty, titled "Trans Forming Liberty." Sherald stated that the Smithsonian secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch III, proposed replacing the painting with a video discussing trans issues that would include anti-trans views, which she deemed unacceptable censorship. The exhibition, "American Sublime," was originally organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and last shown at the Whitney Museum; it is now expected to open at the Baltimore Museum of Art on November 2.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Oct 20, 2025 visibility 7 link 2 artists

british museum fundraising gala interrupted by protestor 1234757948

The British Museum's inaugural fundraising gala on October 18 was interrupted by a protester from the group Energy Embargo for Palestine. The woman, who gained access to the Great Court by working as a waitress, took the stage next to board chair George Osborne holding a sign reading 'DROP BP NOW.' She criticized the museum for accepting a £50 million sponsorship from BP, an oil and gas company she accused of causing climate collapse and enabling genocide in Gaza. The gala, co-chaired by Isha Ambani of Reliance Industries, raised over $2 million from ticket sales and featured a silent auction, including a pet portrait by Tracey Emin and a private tour of Coco Chanel's Paris apartment.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Oct 20, 2025 visibility 5 link 2 artists

british museum fundraising gala interrupted by protestor 1234757948

The British Museum’s inaugural fundraising gala on October 18 was disrupted by a protester from the group Energy Embargo for Palestine. The woman, who gained access to the Great Court by working as a waitress, took the stage next to board chair George Osborne holding a sign reading “DROP BP NOW,” criticizing the museum’s £50 million sponsorship from BP and calling out the Ambani family, whose Reliance Industries also sponsored the gala and an associated exhibition. The event raised over $2 million from ticket sales, with a silent auction including lots like a pet portrait by Tracey Emin.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Oct 16, 2025 visibility 6 link 15 artists, 2 galleries

phillips london evening sale frieze results 1234757669

Phillips’s Frieze Week evening sale in London totaled £10.33 million ($13.88 million) across 22 lots, a 32% decline from last year’s £15.1 million on 31 lots. The sale was 82% sold by lot and 84% by value. Highlights included a new world auction record for Emma McIntyre, whose painting *Seven Types of Ambiguity* (2021) sold for £167,700, and strong results for Martha Jungwirth and Flora Yukhnovich. However, major lots by Banksy, Andy Warhol, and Jean-Michel Basquiat underperformed or failed to sell, and four lots went unsold, including works by Andreas Gursky and Sigmar Polke.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Oct 16, 2025 visibility 4 link 1 artist, 2 galleries

gagosian first to announce it sold out at frieze london 1234757231

Gagosian became the first exhibitor at Frieze London to announce a complete sellout of its booth, featuring a solo presentation of works by Los Angeles artist Lauren Halsey. The booth included pieces from Halsey's 2025 untitled series of polymer-modified gypsum and stain on wood, as well as a six-foot-tall plaza sign sculpture titled 'LODA PLAZA (2025)'. Gagosian director Antwaun Sargent confirmed that the works were placed with both institutions and serious long-term collectors in the U.S. and Europe.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Oct 16, 2025 visibility 4 link 1 artist, 2 galleries

gagosian first to announce it sold out at frieze london 1234757231

Gagosian became the first exhibitor at Frieze London to announce a complete sellout of its booth, featuring a solo presentation of works by Los Angeles artist Lauren Halsey. The booth displayed pieces from Halsey's 2025 untitled series of polymer-modified gypsum and stain on wood, alongside a six-foot-tall plaza sign sculpture titled 'LODA PLAZA (2025)'. Gagosian director Antwaun Sargent confirmed that the works were placed with institutions and serious long-term collectors in the U.S. and Europe.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 6 link 5 artists

leading artists call for nationwide resistance against authoritarian forces 1234757308

Visual artist Dread Scott, playwright Lynn Nottage, and dozens of cultural figures have launched "Fall of Freedom," a nationwide weekend of creative demonstrations scheduled for November 21–22, 2025, to protest rising authoritarianism under the Trump administration. The project invites arts communities to organize independent actions—such as storefront readings, pop-up performances, exhibitions, and workshops—at museums, galleries, classrooms, comedy clubs, or any community gathering space. Participating institutions include the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, which will host a "Wear Your Rights" silk-screening workshop, and New York's Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, which will turn a gallery into a library of queer art activism books. Other notable participants include artists Marilyn Minter, Robert Longo, and Amy Sherald, who recently canceled a Smithsonian exhibition after concerns over her painting of a Black transgender Statue of Liberty.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

candle obituary schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 8 link 2 artists

dara birnbaum lynn hershman leeson tribute 1234757303

This tribute article recounts the profound impact of artist Dara Birnbaum's work on the author, describing a chance meeting with Birnbaum at MoMA's café and the subsequent friendship that developed. It highlights Birnbaum's pioneering role in video art, including her manipulation of single video frames and use of color bars, and cites key works like "Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman" (1978–79), "Local TV News Analysis" (1980), and "MTV: Artbreak" (1987) that deconstructed mass media and gender representation.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 4 link 5 artists

art heist that inspired the mastermind 1234757268

Kelly Reichardt's new film *The Mastermind*, starring Josh O'Connor, centers on a bumbling art heist at the fictional Framingham Museum of Art, where thieves steal paintings by American modernist Arthur Dove. Set in the early 1970s against the backdrop of Vietnam War protests, the film is deliberately slow-paced, drawing criticism from some early viewers who called it boring. Reichardt based the story on a real 1972 theft at the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts, where robbers took four paintings by Rembrandt, Picasso, and Gauguin, worth about $7.72 million today. Two high school girls accidentally witnessed the heist, and a guard was shot, though all paintings were recovered within weeks.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 4 link 5 artists

art heist that inspired the mastermind 1234757268

Kelly Reichardt's new film *The Mastermind*, starring Josh O'Connor, depicts a low-stakes art heist at the fictional Framingham Museum of Art, inspired by a real 1972 theft at the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts. In the actual heist, two robbers stole four paintings by Rembrandt, Picasso, and Gauguin, worth about $7.72 million today, and shot an unarmed guard. The film, set in the early '70s, draws on details like two schoolgirls who witnessed the crime, but Reichardt deliberately makes the cinematic version less thrilling than the real event.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 4 link 4 artists

morning links october 15 2025 1234757199

Taylor Swift's music video for her song 'The Fate of Ophelia' has been found to closely reference Friedrich Heyser's painting 'Ophelia' (ca. 1900), held at the Wiesbaden State Museum in Hamburg. Swifties have flocked to the museum by the hundreds to see the Art Nouveau work, surprising and delighting museum director Andreas Henning. Separately, a street mural reading 'Black Artists Matter' and a rainbow crosswalk in Austin, Texas, face removal under President Trump's directive against DEI initiatives, as ordered by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. In other news, Art Basel has renamed its VIP section to 'collector and institutional relations,' five stolen 18th-century snuffboxes have been recovered from the Cognacq-Jay Museum in Paris, and Chiara Camoni will represent Italy at the upcoming Venice Biennale.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 3 link 4 artists

morning links october 15 2025 1234757199

Taylor Swift's new album and music video for "The Fate of Ophelia" has sparked a surge of visitors to the Wiesbaden State Museum in Hamburg, where Friedrich Heyser's painting "Ophelia" (ca. 1900) is held. Swifties identified the painting as the inspiration for the video's opening scene, leading hundreds of fans to view the Art Nouveau work. Separately, a street mural reading "Black Artists Matter" and a rainbow crosswalk in Austin, Texas, face potential removal under President Trump's directive against DEI initiatives, though the city's mayor has proposed relocating them to city-owned property. Art Basel has renamed its VIP section to "collector and institutional relations," and five of seven stolen 18th-century snuffboxes from the Cognacq-Jay Museum in Paris have been recovered. Chiara Camoni will represent Italy at the Venice Biennale, and a trend of Chinese collectors failing to pay for auction purchases is raising concerns.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Oct 13, 2025 visibility 2 link 1 artist

climate activists deface christopher columbus painting on day marking his arrival to americas 1234756823

Two activists from the climate group Futuro Vegetal were arrested on October 12 after throwing biodegradable red paint on José Garnelo's 1892 painting *First Tribute to Christopher Columbus* at the Naval Museum in Madrid. The act occurred on Spain's National Day, which commemorates Columbus's arrival in the Americas. The activists unfurled a banner reading 'October 12, nothing to celebrate. Ecosocial justice' and were charged with crimes against cultural heritage. Separately, 20 activists from Marea Palestina staged a sit-in around Picasso's *Guernica* at the Reina Sofía Museum, demanding an end to 'the genocide against the Palestinian people.'

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Oct 12, 2025 visibility 3 link 3 artists

smithsonian closes museums government shutdown 1234756500

The Smithsonian Institution has been forced to close all 21 of its museums in Washington, D.C., due to an ongoing U.S. government shutdown that began on October 1. The National Gallery of Art had already closed the previous weekend. The Smithsonian had initially used its own funds to remain open, first planning to close on October 6 and then extending operations through October 11, but ultimately could not continue. The shutdown stems from a dispute between Democrats and Republicans over health care policy. This closure follows a year of repeated attacks on the Smithsonian by the Trump administration, including an executive order denouncing the institution for promoting a "race-centered ideology" and the release of a list of condemned artworks related to migration and transgender identity.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Oct 9, 2025 visibility 8 link 14 artists, 3 galleries

jean michel basquiat work phillips frieze week sales london 1234755733

Phillips has announced the lineup for its October London sales during Frieze Week, headlined by Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1982 work on paper *Untitled (Pestus)*, estimated at £3 million ($4 million). The 26-lot evening auction on October 16 also features Andy Warhol's diamond dust portrait of Giorgio Armani, Banksy's *Kate Moss* (2005), and works by Jadé Fadojutimi, Flora Yukhnovich, Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, Sasha Gordon, and Emma McIntyre. A day sale on October 18 will include pieces by Keith Haring, Warhol, Basquiat, Anselm Kiefer, and Yoshitomo Nara.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Oct 8, 2025 visibility 2 link 1 artist

admiral nelsons sexuality in spotlight once again after war hero branded queer by british museum 1234755997

The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, UK, has included British naval hero Horatio Nelson in a "Queer relationships" collection, citing his contested final words "Kiss me, Hardy" as evidence. The museum added Daniel Maclise's *The Death of Nelson* (1859-1864) and Benjamin West's 1806 painting of the same name to an online article about LGBTQ+ love. This follows a similar move by London's National Maritime Museum, which examined Nelson through a "queer lens" during a "Queer History Night" event last year.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Oct 8, 2025 visibility 5 link 10 artists

louvre jacques louis david museum retrospective 1234755977

The Louvre in Paris is presenting a major retrospective of Jacques-Louis David, featuring 100 works by the celebrated French artist, to mark the bicentenary of his death in 1825. Curated by Sébastien Allard, the exhibition opens October 15 and runs through January, drawing on the Louvre's own collection and prestigious loans from institutions including the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. The show includes works not seen in the previous David retrospective in 1989, such as *Cupid and Psyche* (1817), and is accompanied by a comprehensive catalog in French.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Oct 7, 2025 visibility 5 link 3 artists, 3 galleries

hauser amp wirths uk profits drop 1234755773

Hauser & Wirth's UK subsidiary reported an 87% decline in pretax profit for 2024, falling to $1.6 million from $12.5 million the previous year, as revenue dropped by more than half to $91.4 million. The gallery attributed the downturn primarily to a sharp fall in secondary-market sales, which can fluctuate significantly based on a few high-value transactions. The UK entity represents only a small portion of the gallery's global business, which the founders said remained aligned with the previous year's successful performance. Meanwhile, the gallery's hospitality arm, Artfarm Group, posted a wider pretax loss of $24 million despite a 16% rise in turnover.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Oct 7, 2025 visibility 6 link 18 artists, 3 galleries

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 custom-built 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 wildfires that swept through Los Angeles County beginning January 7, 2025. The fires, fueled by powerful winds and dry conditions, consumed approximately 60,718 acres and 17,291 structures, with 30 fatalities. Other artists and arts professionals, including Beatriz Cortez, Amir Nikravan, Salomón Huerta, and curator Paul Schimmel, also reported losing homes and artworks. The loss to Rivlin's collection alone is estimated at $15 million.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Oct 6, 2025 visibility 4 link 5 artists

exhibition canceled by trump dei ban opens 1234755467

An exhibition titled "Before the Americas," originally canceled by the Trump administration's ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, has opened at the Gillespie Gallery at George Mason University School of Art in Fairfax, Virginia. The show surveys the work of Afro-Latino, Caribbean, and African American artists from the Greater Washington area, featuring 39 artists including Amy Sherald, Renee Stout, Alma Thomas, Elizabeth Catlett, and Alonzo Davis. It was initially slated for the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C., but funding was cut after it was labeled a DEI program. Curator Cheryl Edwards secured support from about 50 to 60 donors to mount the exhibition at George Mason.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Oct 1, 2025 visibility 4 link 2 artists

bacon rodin works sothebys frieze week sale 1234754682

Four works by Francis Bacon and Auguste Rodin will headline Sotheby’s Frieze Week contemporary evening auction in London on October 16. The lots include Bacon’s paintings *Portrait of a Dwarf* (estimated up to £9 million) and *Study for Self-Portrait* (up to £6 million), alongside Rodin’s final bronze iterations of *Pierre de Wissant* and *Jean de Fiennes* (each estimated at £600,000–£900,000). The works come from an important private collection; the Bacons were acquired directly from the artist and kept for over 40 years, while the Rodins were purchased from the Musée Rodin. Sotheby’s chairman Alex Branczik highlighted the unexpected connection between the two artists, both known for their transformative depictions of the human form.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Oct 1, 2025 visibility 1 link 3 artists

steve mcqueen soundtrack bottega veneta milan fashion week 1234755069

Steve McQueen, the Turner Prize-winning artist and Oscar-winning filmmaker, created the soundtrack for Louise Trotter's debut collection as creative director of Bottega Veneta at Milan Fashion Week. The show took place at Fabbrica Orobia, a former zinc factory in Milan, and featured McQueen's sound piece '66 – '76, which pairs vocal recordings by David Bowie and Nina Simone of the song "Wild is the Wind." McQueen attended the event with his daughter Alex, both wearing the brand's signature leather Intrecciato.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Oct 1, 2025 visibility 2 link 3 artists

steve mcqueen soundtrack bottega veneta milan fashion week 1234755069

Steve McQueen, the Turner Prize-winning artist and Oscar-winning film director, created the soundtrack for Bottega Veneta's spring/summer 2026 runway show during Milan Fashion Week. The show, held at Fabbrica Orobia in Milan, featured McQueen's sound piece '66 – '76, which pairs vocal recordings by David Bowie and Nina Simone of the song "Wild is the Wind." This was the debut collection for new creative director Louise Trotter, who joined the Italian fashion house in December 2024.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Oct 1, 2025 visibility 4 link 9 artists

mika rottenberg says trumps smithsonian situation is fucked up 1234754705

Artist Mika Rottenberg, whose work is included in an upcoming exhibition at the Smithsonian-run Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, called the Trump administration's interference with the Smithsonian "fucked up" in a Vanity Fair article. She praised Amy Sherald's decision to cancel a Smithsonian show as "amazing," while British artist Richard Long also expressed concern about the administration "strangling everything" at the institution. The article notes that many other artists with upcoming Smithsonian shows—including Nick Cave, Paul Chan, Olafur Eliasson, Spencer Finch, and Rashid Johnson—declined to speak to Vanity Fair, reflecting a cautious environment. Paul Chan denied to ARTnews that he was contacted. Dread Scott, who has been vocal, called for driving the regime from power and urged art institutions to support dissenting artists.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Oct 1, 2025 visibility 3 link 9 artists

mika rottenberg says trumps smithsonian situation is fucked up 1234754705

Artist Mika Rottenberg, whose work is included in an upcoming show at the Smithsonian-run Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, called the Trump administration's interference with the Smithsonian "fucked up" in a Vanity Fair article. She praised Amy Sherald for canceling a Smithsonian show, calling it "amazing." British artist Richard Long also expressed concern about the administration "strangling everything" at the institution. The article notes that many other artists with works slated for Smithsonian presentations—including Nick Cave, Paul Chan, Olafur Eliasson, Spencer Finch, and Rashid Johnson—declined to speak to Vanity Fair, reflecting a cautious environment. Dread Scott, however, has been vocal, calling for the regime to be driven from power and urging art institutions to support dissenting artists.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Oct 1, 2025 visibility 5 link 4 artists

british museum ball international partnerships 1234755018

The British Museum in London has announced a new fundraising event called the British Museum Ball, scheduled for October 18, with a pink theme inspired by the colors and light of India, tied to its exhibition 'Ancient India: Living Traditions.' The gala will be co-chaired by Isha Ambani, a patron of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai, and will feature a silent auction, music by Anoushka Shankar and Jules Buckley, and a guest list including Zadie Smith, Naomi Campbell, Idris Elba, Miuccia Prada, and others. Proceeds will support the museum's international partnerships and its goal of making its collection more accessible worldwide.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

person people schedule Sep 30, 2025 visibility 1 link 3 artists

bana kattan selected as curator for uae venice biennale pavilion 1234754341

The National Pavilion UAE has selected Bana Kattan, curator and associate head of exhibitions at the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, to curate the United Arab Emirates' presentation at the 61st International Venice Biennale in 2026. Born in Abu Dhabi and raised in the UAE, Kattan previously served as a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, where she organized shows for artists including Wafaa Bilal, Maryam Taghavi, and Mona Hatoum. A dedicated publication will accompany her pavilion presentation.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

person people schedule Sep 27, 2025 visibility 4 link 15 artists, 4 galleries

ebony l haynes zwirner global head of curatorial projects 1234753820

Ebony L. Haynes, a director at David Zwirner since 2020 and founder of the gallery's affiliated space 52 Walker in 2021, has been promoted to the newly created position of global head of curatorial projects. In this role, she will oversee special exhibitions, projects, and collaborations with Zwirner's artists globally, while continuing to direct 52 Walker in New York's Tribeca neighborhood. The space has hosted 16 shows since opening in October 2021, featuring artists such as Kandis Williams, Nikita Gale, Nora Turato, and Raymond Pettibon, whose wrestling-themed drawings and live matches open tonight.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Sep 27, 2025 visibility 2 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

warhol photographer billy names estate under dispute 1234753814

A jury trial is underway in Kingston, New York, to determine who will control the estate of Billy Name, the artist and photographer who lived with Andy Warhol in the 1960s and documented the Factory scene. Name died in 2016, and two competing wills have emerged: one from 2011 naming his niece Suzette Linich as executor, and another from 2015 naming his agent Dagon James. Linich argues Name lacked mental capacity when signing the later will, while James insists Name was lucid and fit.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original