billionaire collector les wexner jeffrey epstein deposition 1234773967

Billionaire retail magnate and prominent art collector Les Wexner provided a closed-door deposition to the House Oversight Committee regarding his past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. During the testimony, Wexner characterized himself as "naive, foolish, and gullible" for trusting the disgraced financier, whom he labeled a con man. While Wexner denied any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s criminal activities, Democratic lawmakers noted that the 88-year-old offered few new details and frequently cited a lack of memory regarding key events.

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Emails released by the U.S. Department of Justice in January 2026 reveal that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein boasted to associates about securing a private after-hours visit to the Musée d'Orsay in Paris with filmmaker Woody Allen on March 18, 2012. In the correspondence, Epstein wrote to a recipient identified only as 'junkermann' that the French government would open the museum for him and Allen, and later messaged others including former girlfriend Eva Dubin, who responded with a 'King of the castle' quip. Epstein also made crude sexual references in connection with the visit, mentioning Edgar Degas's depictions of nude women.

ronald lauder jeffrey epstein files 1234772151

Ronald Lauder, the billionaire art collector and heir to the Estée Lauder fortune, is named over 900 times in the recently released Jeffrey Epstein court documents. The emails reveal his assistants frequently scheduling meetings and calls with Epstein in 2017, though the substance of their discussions remains largely unclear. One email suggests Epstein sought to review Lauder's tax returns and will, while another indicates Epstein attempted to arrange a dinner involving filmmaker Woody Allen.

swatch guggenheim collaboration pollock degas monet klee 1234769985

Swatch has announced a new collaboration with the Guggenheim, releasing a collection of watches featuring artworks from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. The collection includes designs based on works by Edgar Degas, Paul Klee, Claude Monet, and Jackson Pollock, and is part of Swatch's ongoing Art Journey series, which has previously partnered with institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

documentary pretty dirty marilyn minter art 1234762927

A new documentary titled "Pretty Dirty: The Life and Times of Marilyn Minter" premiered at the DOC NYC film festival at IFC Center, chronicling the artist's four-decade career and personal struggles. Directed by Jennifer Ash Rudick and Amanda Benchley, the film follows Minter's journey from a dysfunctional upbringing in the South—with an emotionally abusive mother and her own battles with addiction—to her eventual rise as a major figure in contemporary art. It highlights her gritty, provocative enamel-on-metal paintings, her commercial work for Tom Ford and Zara, and her cultural impact through projects like Madonna's 2009 tour and the TV show Gossip Girl. The documentary features interviews with celebrities such as Lizzo, Jane Fonda, and Miley Cyrus, as well as art-world peers like Laurie Simmons and Jeff Koons.

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At Design Miami 2025, artist Nicole Cherubini presented monumental ceramic sculptures at Friedman Benda's booth, alongside Molly Hatch's installation of 288 ceramic plates at Todd Merrill's booth. The fair, curated under the theme "Make.Believe" by Glenn Adamson, saw 15 previous exhibitors drop out due to President Trump's tariffs—including a 50 percent tariff on steel and aluminum—while eight more booths appeared overall, dominated by younger, emerging talent and organic, pastel-hued designs. Established galleries like Donzello, Patrick Seguin, and Sarah Myerscough did not return, while first-time exhibitors included Arte y Ritual and Mass Modern Design.

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A new museum dedicated to the legendary art collection of dealer Ileana Sonnabend opened in Mantua, Italy, this past weekend. Housed in the 13th-century Palazzo della Ragione, the Sonnabend Collection Mantova displays nearly 100 artworks valued at $270 million, including masterpieces by Pop artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, Arte Povera sculptors such as Michelangelo Pistoletto, and contemporary figures like Bruce Nauman. The project is a partnership between the Municipality of Mantua, the Sonnabend Collection Foundation, and Marsilio Arte, with a six-year renewable loan agreement.

christies london to sell third part of sam josefowitzs rembrandt print collection in december 1234764043

Christie’s London will auction the third and final part of Sam Josefowitz’s Rembrandt print collection on December 3, featuring 101 etchings by the Dutch master. The sale, titled “The Sam Josefowitz Collection: Graphic Masterpieces by Rembrandt van Rijn – Part III,” follows two previous installments that together brought £13.5 million. A highlight is the rare portrait *Arnout Tholinx, Inspector* (circa 1656), estimated at up to £2.5 million, described as the last impression in private hands. The collection was amassed by Josefowitz, a Lithuanian-born entrepreneur who built a mail-order business before his death in 2015.

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The article recounts the author's experience at the 2025 Performa biennial in New York, beginning on November 4 with the death of Dick Cheney and the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor. The author attended Diane Severin Nguyen's performance "War Songs," which restaged historical protest concerts from the Vietnam War era, blending anti-war anthems with pop music. The piece also highlights missing performances by Lina Lapelytė and Ayoung Kim, and expresses anticipation for Aria Dean's play "The Color Scheme."

future of the art world andras szanto review 1234757915

András Szántó has published the third volume of his trilogy on the future of museums and the art world, titled "The Future of the Art World." The book compiles 38 interviews conducted between April 2024 and June 2025 with a wide range of art-world stakeholders, including artists, curators, collectors, dealers, auctioneers, art fair directors, sociologists, philosophers, and policymakers. Unlike his previous books, which focused on museum directors and architects, this volume gives significant voice to artists, who offer provocative critiques and predictions about the future of museums, art education, and digital art.

future of the art world andras szanto review 1234757915

Cultural consultant András Szántó has published the third volume of his museum-focused trilogy, *The Future of the Art World*, based on 38 interviews conducted between April 2024 and June 2025 with artists, curators, collectors, dealers, auctioneers, sociologists, philosophers, and policymakers. The book follows his earlier works *The Future of the Museum* (2021) and *Imagining the Future Museum* (2022), and this time includes more artist voices who offer critical and speculative visions for the art world's evolution.

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Frank Lloyd Wright's Kalil House, a 1957 Usonian Automatic home in Manchester, New Hampshire, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Commissioned by Dr. Toufic and Mildred Kalil, the house was built using 2,580 concrete blocks and retains nearly all of its original Wright-designed furnishings. It is one of only seven such Usonian Automatic homes ever constructed and was purchased by the Currier Museum of Art in 2019.

frank lloyd wright kalil house national historic places 1234757302

Frank Lloyd Wright's Kalil House, a 1957 Usonian Automatic home in Manchester, New Hampshire, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Designed for Dr. Toufic and Mildred Kalil, the house was built using 2,580 concrete blocks and retains nearly all of its original Wright-designed furnishings. It is one of only seven Usonian Automatic homes ever constructed. The Currier Museum of Art purchased the property in 2019 and now offers tours of both Kalil House and Wright's nearby Zimmerman House.

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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.

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.

ken jacobs film artist dead 1234755856

Ken Jacobs, a pioneering experimental filmmaker who blurred the boundaries between cinema and visual art, died at 92 in New York from kidney failure, according to his son, filmmaker Azazel Jacobs. A key figure in the postwar New York underground alongside Jack Smith and Jonas Mekas, Jacobs challenged conventional filmmaking through works like "Blonde Cobra" (1963) and "Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son" (1969), using techniques such as live radio accompaniment, slow motion, and looping to deconstruct the medium. He studied painting under Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann and described his own work as "Abstract Expressionist cinema," often drawing direct comparisons between film and painting.

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.

Proposed Loan of Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ Sparks Clash Between Spanish Authorities

A heated political dispute has emerged between the Spanish central government and the Basque regional government over a proposed loan of Pablo Picasso’s 'Guernica' to the Guggenheim Bilbao. The Basque government requested the masterpiece for a 2027 exhibition marking the 90th anniversary of the bombing of Guernica, but the Reina Sofia Museum and Spain’s Ministry of Culture have blocked the move. Officials cite a recent technical report warning that the painting’s massive scale and fragile condition make it too vulnerable to survive the vibrations of transport.

How an Overlooked Printmaker Became a Hero of Mexican Cultural Identity

The article profiles the life and work of José Guadalupe Posada, a prolific Mexican printmaker who died in relative obscurity in 1913. It details his career from his early work in lithography and political cartoons to his later, defining collaboration with publisher Antonio Vanegas Arroyo in Mexico City, where he produced sensationalist broadsides and his iconic calaveras (skeletons).

Masterpieces From London’s National Gallery, Now on Display at Home With LG Gallery+

The National Gallery in London has partnered with LG Electronics to make over 4,000 images from its collection available on the LG Gallery+ digital platform. Users can now display high-quality digital reproductions of masterpieces by artists like Monet, Gauguin, and Seurat on their LG OLED screens at home, using a curated, playlist-like interface called LG Gallery+ Shelves.

This Masterpiece by Rembrandt’s Star Pupil Has a New Owner

This Masterpiece by Rembrandt’s Star Pupil Has a New Owner

Willem Drost's 1654 painting *Man With a Plumed Red Beret* has been acquired by the Leiden Collection, a private museum focused on Dutch Golden Age art. The sale was conducted privately through Agnews Gallery at the TEFAF Maastricht fair for an undisclosed sum, with the collection's founder calling it a "capstone acquisition."

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A high-profile fundraising campaign led by the Art Fund is underway to save Prospect Cottage, the former home of artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman. Supported by figures like Tilda Swinton and Jeremy Deller, the initiative seeks to raise £3.5 million to preserve the site and its archive for public tours and artist residencies. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Museum of Art's CEO, Timothy Rub, has issued an apology regarding the institution's handling of sexual harassment allegations against former manager Joshua Helmer.

It's Time to Give Annibale Carracci Some of Rembrandt's Spotlight

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This article advocates for a critical re-evaluation of the Italian Baroque painter Annibale Carracci, arguing that his historical significance and artistic influence rival that of the more widely celebrated Rembrandt van Rijn. While Rembrandt has dominated recent museum headlines and auction records, the author highlights Carracci’s foundational role in establishing the Accademia degli Incamminati in Bologna, which revolutionized art education by prioritizing life drawing and elevating the social status of artists from mere craftsmen to intellectual creators.

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Billionaire Ari Emanuel, whose company Endeavor recently acquired the Frieze art fairs, kicked off the VIP opening of Frieze Los Angeles by acquiring three works by 86-year-old Black quiltmaker Yvonne Wells. Emanuel entered the Santa Monica Airport venue ahead of the general VIP crowd, purchasing textile portraits of Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley from New York gallery Fort Gansevoort. The transaction, facilitated by Emanuel's long-time advisor Jeffrey Deitch, set a high-energy tone for an opening day that saw brisk sales, including a $3.75 million Ed Ruscha painting at Gagosian.

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The Museum of Modern Art in New York is presenting the exhibition "Wifredo Lam: When I Don't Sleep, I Dream," featuring the iconic Cuban Surrealist painter. The show includes his seminal work *The Jungle*, acquired by MoMA in 1946, and explores his complex artistic identity.

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Taschen has released a monumental two-volume monograph titled "Art Sin Fin" (2026) dedicated to the 96-year-old Chilean filmmaker and polymath Alejandro Jodorowsky. The book, priced at $1,500 and packaged in a Plexiglass box, spans over 2,000 pages and includes film stills, collages, drawings, photographs, comic strips, and performance images curated by Jodorowsky himself in collaboration with Donatien Grau, head of contemporary programs at the Louvre Museum. It covers his entire career, from his surrealist films "El Topo" (1970) and "The Holy Mountain" (1973) to his failed "Dune" adaptation, his comic series like "The Incal" and "The Metabarons," his psychomagic therapy practice, and recent collaborations with his wife Pascale Montandon.

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The article explores the enduring appeal of James McNeill Whistler's 1871 painting commonly known as "Whistler’s Mother," officially titled "Arrangement in Grey and Black, No.1." It recounts how the painting was acquired by the French state in 1891 and became the first American painting in the Louvre, now housed at the Musée d'Orsay. The piece also reveals little-known facts: the sitter's full name was Anna Matilda McNeill Whistler, who wore mourning clothes for 31 years after being widowed and moved in with her son in London, displacing his mistress. The article includes her recipe for a dessert called Floating Island and notes that Whistler incorporated his earlier etching "Black Lion Wharf" into the portrait.

‘A fresh look at contemporary culture’: Gus Casely-Hayford, director of V&A East, takes us inside the new London museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum is expanding its footprint with the opening of V&A East Museum in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on April 18. Led by Director Gus Casely-Hayford, the new five-story institution joins the recently opened V&A East Storehouse as part of the East Bank cultural quarter. The museum will debut with the "Why We Make" galleries, featuring over 500 objects and new commissions by artists such as Tania Bruguera, Carrie Mae Weems, and Thomas J. Price, whose 18-foot bronze sculpture anchors the museum's entrance.

Spanish culture ministry denies loan of Picasso's Guernica to Bilbao

Spain’s Ministry of Culture has officially rejected a request from the Basque government to loan Pablo Picasso’s 'Guernica' to the Guggenheim Bilbao for an exhibition in 2026. The proposed loan was intended to commemorate the 90th anniversary of both the first Basque government and the 1937 bombing of Gernika. However, Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun cited a conservation report from the Reina Sofía museum warning that the fragile state of the canvas, which suffers from micro-cracks and paint loss, makes any transport a significant risk to its preservation.

A Brush With... Lorna Simpson—podcast

Artist Lorna Simpson joins the 'A Brush With...' podcast to discuss the vast array of cultural influences that have shaped her conceptual practice. From her early photo-text works to her recent large-scale paintings, Simpson details how she subverts conventional framing of identity and navigates the boundaries between reality, fiction, and historical archives. She highlights the specific impact of figures such as David Hammons, Francisco de Zurbarán, and filmmaker Chantal Akerman on her evolving visual language.