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.

rowena chiu appointed gallery director of perrotins new london operation ahead of frieze week 1234755248

Rowena Chiu has been appointed gallery director of Perrotin's new London operation, which opened in March at Claridge's hotel in Mayfair. Chiu previously served as director of museum and institutional relations at Stephen Friedman Gallery for four years and spent six years at Hauser & Wirth across London, Zurich, and New York. Her first exhibition at Perrotin London will be a solo show by Laurent Grasso, winner of the 2008 Marcel Duchamp Prize, opening October 14.

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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, with the Bacons acquired directly from the artist and held for over 40 years, and the Rodins purchased from the Musée Rodin. Sotheby’s shared previously unpublished audio featuring art historian Eddy Batache, a close friend of Bacon, who noted that *Portrait of a Dwarf* is the only painting Bacon ever kept for himself.

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Vancouver-based art collector Bob Rennie has donated 61 artworks valued at C$22.8 million ($16.8 million) to the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. The donation includes works by Ai Weiwei, Mona Hatoum, Dan Graham, and Rodney Graham, and the museum has named a space after the Rennie family, with plans for at least one more. In other news, the Orange County Museum of Art is exploring a merger with the University of California, Irvine, and its director Heidi Zickerman will step down in December. Critics are blasting a digital projection of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Wrapped Reichstag onto the German parliament, calling it an 'aesthetic outrage.' Additionally, Iván Argote's pigeon sculpture Dinosaur on the High Line Plinth inspired a Pigeon Fest in New York, and rare copies of Lincoln's 13th Amendment and Emancipation Proclamation are heading to auction at Sotheby's.

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SBI Art Auction is set to host a major two-day auction event in Tokyo this March, coinciding with Art Fair Tokyo. The first sale, "Modern Legacy," features a prestigious single-owner Japanese collection including masterpieces by Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, Edvard Munch, and Egon Schiele. The second sale, "Bloom Now," focuses on contemporary and Pop art, highlighting works by Roy Lichtenstein and Takeda Teppei, with the combined events carrying a low estimate of JPY 1.25 billion ($7.9 million).

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A Banksy painting from his 2005 'Crude Oils' exhibition sold for £4.3 million ($5.5 million) at Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Evening Auction in London. The work, *Crude Oil (Vettriano)*, came from the collection of Mark Hoppus, co-founder of the pop-punk band Blink-182, who acquired it in 2011. The painting reimagines Jack Vettriano’s *The Singing Butler*, replacing the idyllic beach scene with environmental pollution, including hazmat-suited workers and a sinking container ship. The sale occurred shortly after Vettriano’s death at age 73.

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A rare Rembrandt drypoint print, *Arnout Tholinx, Inspector* (ca. 1656), sold for £3.1 million ($4.1 million) at Christie’s London on December 3, setting a new world auction record for an Old Masters print. The work, commissioned by a medical inspector during Rembrandt’s financial struggles, was part of the Sam Josefowitz collection and last appeared at auction 101 years ago. The sale, dedicated to over 100 Rembrandt prints from Josefowitz’s collection, totaled £8.6 million ($11.4 million), with other notable lots including *Christ presented to the People* and *Christ healing the Sick*.

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On Thursday night, Sotheby’s held a three-part sale of Impressionist, Modern, and Surrealist art at the Breuer Building in New York, generating $304.6 million against a cumulative estimate of $218.8 million to $301.2 million. The smallest sale, 13 lots from the collection of Cindy and Jay Pritzker, achieved a “white glove” result with $109.5 million, led by Vincent van Gogh’s *Romans Parisiens (Les Livres jaunes)* (1887) which sold for $62.7 million. The Surrealist offering, “Exquisite Corpus,” from the collection of Nesuhi and Selma Ertegun, featured Frida Kahlo’s *El sueño (La cama)* (1940) which set a record for the artist at $54.7 million, becoming the most expensive work by a woman artist at auction (nominal price).

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A Gustav Klimt painting, *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* (1914), sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby’s in New York, setting a new auction record for the artist and becoming the most expensive work ever sold at Sotheby’s as well as the most expensive Modern artwork at auction. The work was part of a sale dedicated to the collection of the late art patron Leonard Lauder, who died in June at age 92. The bidding lasted about 20 minutes, with Sotheby’s auctioneer Oliver Barker opening at $130 million; the winning bid of $205 million came from Sotheby’s staffer Julian Dawes, representing a phone client. The sale included two dozen works from Lauder’s trove, which also featured three Klimt paintings and six Henri Matisse bronzes.

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Greece is building a cultural coalition with Italy to strengthen its campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum. Italy's culture minister Alessandro Giuli pledged support during a visit to Athens and announced the repatriation of 145 ancient coins. Greek culture minister Lina Mendoni is leading efforts to build international backing, and the two countries have devised joint cultural initiatives, including an exhibition of modern Greco-Italian metaphysical painters. Meanwhile, the U.K.'s Labour government has taken a neutral stance on the issue, departing from the previous Conservative government's opposition, and negotiations between Greece and the U.K. are described as "ongoing and constructive."

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The National Park Service has added the Donald Judd Historic District in Marfa, Texas, to the National Register of Historic Places. The designation covers 15 buildings transformed by artist Donald Judd, including structures on the decommissioned Fort D.A. Russell army base, as well as his outdoor work *15 Untitled Works in Concrete* (1980–84). Judd began acquiring property in Marfa in 1971, creating an artist-centered environment that now draws around 50,000 visitors annually.

‘This scene is alive’: Abidjan art week showcases city as growing cultural hub

The third edition of Abidjan Art Week recently concluded in Côte d’Ivoire, featuring extended gallery hours, bus tours, and exhibitions across diverse neighborhoods from the administrative Plateau district to the working-class area of Abobo. The event saw a significant expansion this year, with the number of participating galleries more than doubling and featuring artists from across the continent, including Cameroon, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

I think I didn't understand many artists

"Ich glaube, ich habe viele Künstler nicht verstanden"

Adrian Searle, the long-standing chief art critic for The Guardian, is stepping down after three decades at the publication and nearly 50 years in art criticism. In a reflective interview, Searle discusses his transition from a practicing painter and educator to a critic, noting that his early interactions with students like Peter Doig and Isaac Julien helped him realize his true strength lay in writing rather than art-making. He recounts his experiences navigating the British art scene, from the decline of Greenbergian abstraction to his encounters with formidable figures like Richard Serra.

Renoir Not Seen in Public for 97 Years Will Go Up for Auction in May

A major portrait by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, "La femme aux lilas (Portrait de Nini Lopez)" (1876–77), will be sold at Christie's on May 18. The painting, which has been held privately by the Whitney Payson family for 97 years, is expected to fetch between $25 and $35 million.

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The Friends Fair in Austin has announced its second edition, scheduled for May 7–9, 2026, at the Loren Hotel Austin. Following a successful debut that drew over 2,000 visitors, the boutique fair is expanding its roster from 10 to 17 exhibitors, occupying an entire floor of the hotel. The lineup features a mix of returning local staples like Martha’s and McLennon Pen Co. alongside new additions from major art hubs including Los Angeles, Miami, and New York, plus non-commercial presentations by Co-Lab Projects and UT Austin MFA students.

frida kahlo auction record broken sothebys el sueno la cama 1234752891

Sotheby's announced the consignment of Frida Kahlo's 1940 self-portrait *El sueño (La cama)*, estimated at $40–60 million, for a November 2025 single-owner sale titled "Exquisite Corpus." The work is expected to break Kahlo's auction record of $34.9 million set in 2021 and potentially surpass the $44.4 million record for a woman artist held by Georgia O'Keeffe. The painting depicts Kahlo lying on a floating bed with a skeleton above, created during a turbulent period following Leon Trotsky's assassination and her divorce from Diego Rivera.

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Sotheby's London sale of British socialite and arts patron Pauline Karpidas's collection shattered its $53 million high estimate, totaling $100 million on Wednesday evening. Nine works by artist-designer couple François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne (known as Les Lalanne) achieved $18.5 million, more than five times their combined high estimate of $3.5 million, contributing nearly 20% of the total. The top result was Claude Lalanne's Structure végétale mirror and wall light, which sold for $4.8 million against a $615,000 high estimate. Additional Lalanne works in a day sale and online auction also performed strongly, with jewelry and furniture pieces far exceeding expectations.

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Di Donna Galleries in New York will present a major exhibition titled “Magritte and Les Lalanne: In the Mind’s Garden,” opening October 8, 2025, in collaboration with London-based Ben Brown Fine Arts. The show features over 50 works—paintings, works on paper, and sculptures—by Belgian Surrealist René Magritte and French sculptors François-Xavier Lalanne and Claude Lalanne, including rare loans from private collectors and the Lalanne estate. Highlights include Magritte’s *L’ami intime* (1958), which sold for £33.66 million at Christie’s, and François-Xavier Lalanne’s *Hippopotame I* (1968/1998) and “Sauterelle” Bar (1970).

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Artist Hito Steyerl has published a new book, *Medium Hot: Images in the Age of Heat*, through Verso, continuing her long-running exploration of how images, technology, and politics intersect. The article traces her intellectual evolution from earlier works like *The Wretched of the Screen* (2013) and *Duty Free Art* (2017), highlighting key essays and video works such as *How Not to Be Seen: A Fucking Didactic Educational .MOV File* (2013), which satirizes surveillance culture. It notes that Steyerl topped ArtReview’s 2017 Power List as the most influential person in the art world, and that her latest book addresses war and violent conflict in the context of Web3, with a more decisive tone.

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Phillips announced a major leadership shakeup on Monday, with global chairwoman Cheyenne Westphal resigning after eight years. Robert Manley was named chairman of modern and contemporary art, and Miety Heiden was appointed chairman of private sales. Additionally, Jean-Paul Engelen, president for the Americas and worldwide co-head of modern and contemporary art, is leaving after over a decade to join Acquavella Galleries as a director. The changes follow a challenging marquee auction season, where the May evening sale matched its pre-sale estimate of $52 million but fell 40% below the previous year's $86 million haul.

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Julian Ehrlich, a 29-year-old auction specialist known for curating Christie's "Post-War to Present" sales, has joined Gladstone Gallery as a director. At Christie's, he generated over $28 million in a single sale, set records for artists like Ana Mendieta and Ed Clark, and championed overlooked figures such as Joe Overstreet and Rick Lowe. He previously worked in Sotheby's postwar and contemporary art department.

The Art Trade Is Taking Calculated Risks With A.I.

The article examines how the art trade is cautiously experimenting with artificial intelligence, noting that while AI tools are being developed to attract newer collectors, the industry remains heavily reliant on trust and personal relationships that technology cannot replicate. It also reports on Fair Warning's new 'No Warning' sealed-bidding auction format, reflecting a rise in private auctions, and highlights a Sotheby's New York sale of the Jean and Terry de Gunzburg collection that set a U.S. record for design auctions at $96 million, led by a set of 15 mirrors by Claude Lalanne for Yves Saint Laurent that sold for $33.5 million.

Two Monet Paintings, Unseen for a Century, Resurface at Auction

Two significant paintings by Claude Monet, unseen by the public for over a century, are being offered at auction by Sotheby's Paris. The works, *Les Îles de Port-Villez* (1883) and *Vétheuil, Effet du Matin* (1901), have been held in private collections for 115 and over 100 years respectively, with the former last exhibited in the early 20th century at Paul Durand-Ruel's New York gallery. Their combined estimates make them the most valuable Monet paintings to appear at auction in France since 2001.

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Gustav Klimt's portrait of Elisabeth Lederer topped the list of the most expensive artworks sold at auction in 2025, achieving $236.3 million at Sotheby's New York on November 18—far exceeding its $150 million estimate and setting a new record for the artist. The painting came from the collection of the late Leonard Lauder, who died in June at age 92. Other top lots included two more Klimts from Lauder's collection, a newly offered Basquiat, and a record-setting Frida Kahlo work, alongside notable sales by van Gogh, Rothko, Mondrian, Monet, and Picasso, with many of the highest prices achieved during the blockbuster November auctions at Sotheby's and Christie's.

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Artist Antonia Showering is making her long-awaited New York solo debut with the exhibition “In Line” at Timothy Taylor in Tribeca, on view from May 8 to June 21, 2025. The show follows her London solo debut “Mixed Emotion” with the same gallery in 2022. Showering, known for dreamy, richly colored figurative oil paintings that blend abstraction and figuration, has seen her works command high prices at auction, including a 2017 painting that sold for nearly $300,000 at Phillips London. She discusses the deeply personal nature of the new work, which reflects major life changes including moving to rural Somerset, becoming a mother, and losing both grandmothers.

Masterpieces by Klimt, Matisse and Freud set for London’s most valuable auction

Sotheby's will auction a major collection of masterpieces by artists including Gustav Klimt, Henri Matisse, Lucian Freud, and Francis Bacon, consigned by Joe Lewis and his daughter Vivienne, whose family owns Tottenham Hotspur. The collection, expected to fetch over £150 million, is projected to become the most valuable ever offered in London, with highlights such as Klimt's 'Bildnis Gertrud Loew' (estimated £20-30m) and Egon Schiele's 'Danaë' (estimated £12-18m, potentially setting a new artist record). The works will be exhibited in New York and London before the June sales.

The Dallas Art Fair: A Balance Of Growth And Consistency

The Dallas Art Fair (DAF), founded in 2009 by developer John T. Sughrue and curator Chris Byrne, concluded its eighteenth edition this past weekend. Director Kelly Cornell, who started as an intern and became director in 2016, has strengthened partnerships with the Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, and Dallas Contemporary, while securing sponsors like Bank of America. The fair has grown from 35 to over 90 galleries, though it still lacks mega-galleries like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, David Zwirner, and Pace. International participation this year included about 20 galleries, with notable names such as Perrotin, Anat Egbi, and Hesse Flatow, while galleries from Germany and China were absent.

Pilar Corrias now represents Alexis Ralaivao

London gallery Pilar Corrias has announced the representation of French painter Alexis Ralaivao in partnership with New York-based Olney Gleason. The announcement coincides with Ralaivao’s debut UK solo exhibition, "Flirter avec l’abstrait," which is currently on view at the gallery’s Conduit Street location in Mayfair. Ralaivao is recognized for his intimate, diaristic oil paintings that blend 17th-century Dutch technical precision with contemporary emotional depth.

The 21 best art galleries to explore in Australia to get lost in

This comprehensive guide highlights the 21 premier art institutions across Australia, ranging from major state museums to specialized private galleries. The selection features iconic venues such as the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, which houses the world’s largest collection of Indigenous art, and David Walsh’s subversive Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Tasmania. The list serves as a roadmap for navigating the country's diverse artistic landscape, including contemporary Chinese art at White Rabbit Gallery and significant Aboriginal works at the Araluen Arts Centre.

Henry Moore's King and Queen leads Christie's 20th/21st Century London sales

Christie’s London evening sales achieved a combined total of £197.5 million ($263.8 million) on March 5, 2026, representing a 52 percent increase year-on-year. The night was headlined by Henry Moore’s monumental bronze sculpture 'King and Queen', which sold for a record-breaking £26.3 million after an eight-minute bidding war. The event also debuted a new auction rostrum designed by Sir Jony Ive’s creative collective, LoveFrom, marking the house's 260th anniversary.