Remembering Frank Gehry, legendary architect of Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Frank Gehry, the legendary architect who transformed the global architectural landscape with his deconstructivist style, has died in Santa Monica on 5 December. The article traces his career from his early days remodeling his own Santa Monica home—a controversial project that used corrugated metal, plywood, and chain-link fencing—to his rise as a Pritzker Prize winner and the creator of the iconic Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (1997). Gehry, born Ephraim Goldberg in Toronto in 1929, studied at the University of Southern California and Harvard before founding Frank O. Gehry & Associates in 1962, and spent over six decades championing buildings that embraced emotion and movement over cold minimalism.

Record $236.3m Klimt leads Sotheby’s first night of auctions in Breuer Building

Sotheby's first evening auctions in its new Manhattan headquarters, the former Whitney Museum building designed by Marcel Breuer, achieved a record total of $605.1 million ($706 million with fees) on November 18. The night was headlined by the sale of 24 works from the collection of the late billionaire Leonard Lauder, which alone brought in $456.2 million. The standout lot was Gustav Klimt's 'Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer (Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, 1914-16)', which sold for $205 million ($236.3 million with fees) after a nearly 20-minute bidding war, becoming the second-most-expensive painting ever sold at auction. A subsequent contemporary art auction added $148.8 million ($178.5 million with fees) across 44 lots.

Christie’s $700M Night, Trump’s $7.25M Rockwell & Bonhams’ Big Names

The article reports on major auction results from Christie's, Bonhams, and other houses, including a $700 million evening sale at Christie's and a Norman Rockwell painting sold for $7.25 million linked to former President Donald Trump. It also highlights notable consignments and bidding activity from high-profile collectors and estates.

Kicking off New York November sales, Christie's nets healthy $690m from double-header 20th-century auction

Christie's kicked off New York's November auction season with a double-header 20th-century evening sale on November 17, generating $574.7 million before fees and $690 million with fees. The sale featured 80 lots, including 18 from the collection of supermarket magnate Robert Weis and his wife Patricia Ross Weis, with highlights such as Pablo Picasso's *La Lecture (Marie-Thérèse)* selling for $45.4 million and Mark Rothko's *No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)* achieving $62.1 million. Two artist records were set, including for Leonor Fini, and the sale achieved a 94% sell-through rate, with 59 lots backed by third-party or house guarantees.

Kim Whan-Ki's 19-VI-71 #206 to be Auctioned at Christie's New York 20th Century Evening Sale - Christie's

Christie's New York will auction Kim Whan-Ki's 1971 painting *19-VI-71 #206* (estimate $7.5–10 million) on 17 November 2025 as part of its prestigious 20th Century Evening Sale. This marks the first time a Korean artwork has been included in this marquee sale, placing the piece alongside works by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Joan Mitchell, and David Hockney. The painting, from the artist's New York period, is one of only 30 large-scale 'dot paintings' exceeding 200 cm and was created in the same year as his record-setting *05-IV-71 #200 (Universe)*, which sold at Christie's Hong Kong in 2019 for over HK$100 million.

New York Galleries: Openings and Closings of the Week (11/11—11/16)

The Best Art Exhibits to See in New York City Right Now

New York City's autumn art scene features a diverse array of exhibitions across major museums. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Man Ray: When Objects Dream" showcases 60 rayographs alongside 100 paintings and prints, exploring the artist's camera-less photography technique. The Brooklyn Museum presents "Monet and Venice," placing 19 of Monet's Venetian paintings in dialogue with works by John Singer Sargent and others, while also hosting "Breaking the Mold: Brooklyn Museum at 200," a retrospective on the institution's two-century history. The New York Historical Society offers "The Gay Harlem Renaissance," highlighting queer Black artists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance, and "The New York Sari," examining South Asian women's fashion influence since the Gilded Age.

Princeton University Art Museum graduates to expansive new home

The Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) is opening a new 146,000-square-foot facility on October 31, doubling its previous exhibition and education spaces. The original 1880s building, which underwent multiple additions before being demolished in 2021, could only display about 2% of Princeton's 117,000-object collection. Designed by Adjaye Associates with executive architect Cooper Robertson, the new three-story museum features nine interlocking pavilions, 80,000 square feet of exhibition space, classrooms, and a grand hall. Curators have rethought the installation to move away from rigid geographic and chronological categories, instead emphasizing cross-cultural and cross-media pairings, such as placing Andy Warhol's Blue Marilyn (1962) alongside a 14th-century Italian Virgin and Child.

Ten essential works of art to see in Dresden

The article presents a curated guide to ten essential artworks in Dresden, Germany, highlighting the city's recovery from World War II devastation to reclaim its status as a Kunststadt (city of art). It focuses on masterpieces housed in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD), including Raphael's *Sistine Madonna* (1512/13) at the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Caspar David Friedrich's *The Great Enclosure* (1832) at the Albertinum, and a tiny cherry pit with 185 carved heads from the Grünes Gewölbe. The piece traces Dresden's golden age under rulers Augustus the Strong and Frederick Augustus II, whose acquisitions built one of Europe's most celebrated art collections.

Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson built an unforgettable collection defined by humanity and humour

Christie's will auction over 40 works from the collection of the late Stefan Edlis and his wife Gael Neeson, beginning with the 21st Century Evening Sale on 19 November and the Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sale on 20 November in New York, with additional offerings continuing through 2026. The collection, housed in the couple's Chicago residence, includes iconic pieces by artists such as Ed Ruscha, Urs Fischer, Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, and Diego Giacometti, reflecting a blend of avant-garde, Pop, and Art Deco design.

Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris opens epic Gerhard Richter retrospective

The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris is opening a massive retrospective of Gerhard Richter's work, featuring 275 pieces spanning his entire career from the 1960s to recent ink-cloud drawings. Curated by Dieter Schwarz and Nicholas Serota at Richter's own suggestion, the exhibition is strictly chronological and occupies over 3,000 square meters of Frank Gehry-designed gallery space. It includes iconic works like *Uncle Rudi* (1965) and *Table* (1962), alongside very recent small-scale drawings, and draws from both public and private collections.

Freedom of expression: Tate exhibition offers an overdue showcase of Nigeria’s Modernist artists

Tate Modern's exhibition "Nigerian Modernism" showcases over 300 works by 59 Nigerian modernist artists, curated by Osei Bonsu and Bilal Akkouche. The show follows the 2018 record sale of Ben Enwonwu's portrait "Tutu" at Bonham's for £1.2 million, which highlighted the neglect of modern African artists in art history. It features pioneers like Aina Onabolu, the first African student at an English art school, and Uche Okeke of the Zaria Art Society, whose work blends Western techniques with Nigerian traditions, Islamic aesthetics, and uli mural painting.

'I want to show the real deal': property developer Rajan Bijlani on his Modernist design collection

Property developer Rajan Bijlani, based in north London, has turned his home Fonthill Pottery—formerly the residence and studio of ceramicist Emmanuel Cooper—into a showcase for his collection of 20th-century design, sculpture, and paintings. His focus is Modernist furniture, particularly works by Pierre Jeanneret, one of the architects of Chandigarh, India. Bijlani owns over 500 pieces, including Jeanneret's 1960 Dining Table and Easy Chairs (1956), as well as works by Le Corbusier and George Nakashima. He staged his first home exhibition last year featuring South Asian diaspora artists, and this year presents 'Electric Kiln,' pairing Jeanneret and Le Corbusier pieces with works by Cooper, Lucie Rie, and Frank Auerbach. Some works are for sale to fund future shows, including a Japan-themed exhibition and one timed to London Gallery Weekend.

Christie's Paris Art Week - Christie's

Christie's will hold a series of modern and contemporary art auctions and events in Paris during late October 2025, coinciding with the fourth edition of Art Basel Paris. The sales feature major works including a monumental Yves Klein monochrome (estimate on request), Alberto Giacometti's 'Femme debout' (€5-7M), Paul Signac's 'La Passerelle Debilly' (€4-6M), and pieces by Pierre Soulages, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and others. The week opens on October 23 with 'Moderne(s), une collection particulière européenne,' a private collection of 40 European avant-garde works, followed by the flagship 'Avant-Garde(s) including Thinking Italian' sale.

Christie's presents its 20/21 Marquee Week - Christie's

Christie's will host its 20/21 Marquee Week in London from October 8, 2025, featuring six live and online sales of Impressionist, Modern, Post-War, and Contemporary art during Frieze Week. Highlights include works by Lucian Freud, Peter Doig, Paula Rego, Yoshitomo Nara, Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne, Louise Bourgeois, Chris Ofili, Paul Signac, Gerhard Richter, and Pablo Picasso, along with the Ole Faarup Collection. The event also includes a philanthropic initiative called Architects for the Birds, with birdhouses designed by architects including Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, and David Chipperfield, benefiting the Tessa Jowell Foundation; an exhibition of wearable sculptures and an installation by artist Natasha Wightman; and a continued partnership with the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair.

Agnes Gund, collector and philanthropist who helped transform MoMA, has died, aged 87

Agnes Gund, the influential American arts philanthropist and collector, has died at age 87. Gund was a transformative figure at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, serving on its board from 1976, as president from 1991 to 2002, and later as president emerita. She helped raise funds for MoMA's $858m expansion, donated around 100 works to the museum, and pushed for acquisitions of women and artists of color. Beyond MoMA, she founded Studio in a School in 1977 to bring art education to New York City public schools and co-chaired a Sotheby's auction to support Miss Porter's School. Her death was first reported by The New York Times; she is survived by four children.

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.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Announces Historic Expansion Opening

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, has announced a historic expansion, increasing its size by 50 percent to 114,000 square feet, with a grand opening scheduled for June 6 and 7, 2026. The expansion, designed by Safdie Architects, includes fully reimagined galleries and is celebrated by two landmark gifts: 18 major works by women artists donated by chairperson Olivia Walton and her husband Tom Walton, and 200 artworks by over 100 artists donated by collectors Candace and Michael Humphreys. The Walton gift features artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Alice Neel, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, while the Humphreys gift introduces many new artists to the museum's holdings.

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.

Christie's to offer the Collection of visionary Danish collector Ole Faarup as a key highlight of its October 20/21 Marquee Week - Christie's

Christie's will auction the collection of Danish collector Ole Faarup during its October 2025 Marquee Week, featuring around 140 lots with an overall estimate of £16–22 million. Highlights include major works by Peter Doig, Chris Ofili, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, alongside Danish and international artists. Proceeds from the sale will benefit The Ole Faarup Art Foundation, which supports emerging artists and cultural institutions.

The 7 Best Art Shows to See This Fall, From N.Y.C. to San Francisco

The article previews seven major art exhibitions opening across the United States this fall, from New York City to San Francisco. Highlights include a rare U.S. retrospective of Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the first comprehensive U.S. survey of Afro-Cuban surrealist Wifredo Lam at the Museum of Modern Art, and a long-overdue museum retrospective for multimedia artist Suzanne Jackson at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Other featured shows include Yoko Ono's traveling retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

Inside Pauline Karpidas’s Legendary Surrealist Collection Bound for Auction

The legendary Surrealist collection of the late Pauline Karpidas, a renowned art patron and collector, will be auctioned at Sotheby's London in September 2025. The sale spans approximately 250 lots from her eccentric London home, featuring masterworks by René Magritte, Leonora Carrington, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, and Les Lalannes. The collection is expected to fetch over £60 million ($81 million), the highest estimate ever placed on a single collection at Sotheby's Europe. Highlights include Magritte's 'La Statue volante' (1940–41), estimated at £9–12 million, and works acquired directly from the estates of Surrealist figures like André Breton and Paul Éluard.

The Big Review | David Hockney 25 at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris ★★★★

The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris has opened "David Hockney 25," a major retrospective billed as focusing on the past quarter-century of the British artist's work but actually spanning his entire career, from a 1955 portrait of his father to recent Yorkshire landscapes. The exhibition, curated by Norman Rosenthal and supported by the foundation's substantial budget, features loans from institutions worldwide and private collections, including the striking "Berlin: A Souvenir" (1962). It is the largest Hockney show ever staged, filling the Frank Gehry-designed museum with iconic swimming pool scenes, double portraits, vibrant landscapes, and densely hung salon-style galleries of family and friends.

Remembering Thomas Neurath, who brought single-minded energy and intellectual bravura to leading the publishers Thames & Hudson

Thomas Neurath, who led the independent publishing house Thames & Hudson for nearly sixty years, has died. The son of founder Walter Neurath, Thomas took over the company in 1967 after his father's early death and built it into one of the most respected imprints for illustrated art books. Known for his single-minded energy and intellectual bravura, he forged close relationships with artists including David Hockney and Barbara Hepworth, and maintained the firm's independence as a family business. His personal collection included works by Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele, and he was an avid book collector who combined business travel with museum visits.

A blockbuster Gerhard Richter retrospective, co-organised by Nicholas Serota, is coming to Paris

A major retrospective of German artist Gerhard Richter, co-curated by former Tate director Nicholas Serota, will open at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris from 17 October 2025 to 2 March 2026. The exhibition features 270 works spanning 1962 to 2024, including paintings, drawings, watercolours, overpainted photographs, glass works, and digitally generated Strip images. It is organized chronologically, with sections devoted to Richter's early photo-based works, his 1972 Venice Biennale pieces, abstract explorations, sombre reflections including the October 18, 1977 series, and his later experiments beyond painting. Key loans come from the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate, the Hirshhorn Museum, and Museum Ludwig, Cologne, alongside works from the Fondation's own collection.

A first glimpse (and listen) inside Lacma’s $720m new building

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma) opened its new $720 million David Geffen Galleries building to 2,000 members and guests for previews on June 27, 2025, before its official opening in April 2026. Designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the elevated concrete structure spans Wilshire Boulevard with 110,000 square feet of gallery space, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a 300-seat theater. Musician Kamasi Washington organized a "sonic preview" with 100 jazz musicians performing his six-part suite *Harmony of Difference* throughout the empty space. The building sits adjacent to the preserved Japanese Pavilion (designed by Bruce Goff, 1988) and features Tony Smith's sculpture *Smoke* (1967) in a courtyard.

Lacma will plant towering, flowering Jeff Koons sculpture outside new building

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma) has acquired Jeff Koons's monumental floral sculpture *Split-Rocker* (2000), a 37-foot-tall work featuring two halves of children's rocking toys embedded with over 50,000 flowering plants. Donated by collectors Lynda and Stewart Resnick through their foundation, the sculpture will be installed outdoors later this year, ahead of the museum's $715 million David Geffen Galleries opening in 2025. The work has previously been displayed at the Palais des Papes in Avignon, Château de Versailles, Fondation Beyeler, Glenstone, and Rockefeller Center.

Koons lobster snapped up amid day two sales at Art Basel

On the second day of the Art Basel VIP preview, sales continued at a slower pace. White Cube sold Michael Armitage's 2015 painting *In the garden* for $3.2 million, while Gagosian placed a large lobster sculpture by Jeff Koons for a seven-figure sum. Pace Gallery reported that a Pablo Picasso painting *Homme à la pipe assis et amour* (1969), priced at $30 million, remains on reserve, though it did sell a 1964 bronze by Louise Nevelson for $850,000. Berlin's Galeria Plan B sold an untitled 2025 Adrian Ghenie painting for €1 million, and Hauser & Wirth sold Frank Bowling's *Iceni* (1975) for $1.8 million, with Felix Gonzalez-Torres's *"Untitled" (Go-Go Dancing Platform)* (1991), priced at $16 million, placed on serious hold for an institution.

US National Gallery of Art receives trove of Modern and contemporary drawings

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, has received a gift of more than 60 Modern and contemporary works on paper from longtime benefactors Lenore and Bernard Greenberg. The donation includes the first Bruce Nauman drawing to enter the collection, along with works by Susan Rothenberg, Philip Guston, Ed Ruscha, Vija Celmins, Alberto Giacometti, Franz Kline, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Willem de Kooning, Shahzia Sikander, Cy Twombly, and others. Photographs by Roni Horn, John Baldessari, Uta Barth, and Hiroshi Sugimoto, as well as a wire sculpture by Alexander Calder, are also included.

The best museum shows to see alongside Art Basel in Basel 2025

This article highlights the best museum shows to see alongside Art Basel in Basel 2025, covering exhibitions at Fondation Beyeler, Schaulager, Kunsthalle Basel, Kunsthaus Baselland, and Kunstmuseum Basel. Featured artists include Vija Celmins, Jordan Wolfson, Steve McQueen, Ser Serpas, Dala Nasser, and Medardo Rosso, with works ranging from VR installations and immersive light-and-sound pieces to textile art and historical retrospectives.