What does winning an arts prize really mean?

The article examines the history and impact of major art prizes, including the Turner Prize (established 1984), the John Moores Painting Prize (nearly 70 years old), and the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize (annual award). It traces the origins of art prizes back to 19th-century Paris salons and highlights how these awards provide cash, recognition, and career acceleration for artists. Specific examples include Rose Wylie, who won the John Moores Prize at age 80 and later joined David Zwirner and secured a Royal Academy solo show, and Samuel Ross, who used his Hublot Design Prize winnings to start his own company.

Art Basel Miami Beach 2025

Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 is set to take place, bringing together leading galleries, artists, and collectors from around the world for its annual edition in Miami. The fair will feature a curated selection of modern and contemporary art, with special sections dedicated to emerging artists and large-scale installations.

In the Studio With 33 of the Hottest Art Stars on the Planet

Vanity Fair profiles 33 emerging art stars who have broken into the upper echelon of the art world within the last five years, despite a contracting art market. The feature, written by Nate Freeman and photographed by Jeff Henrikson, highlights artists like Jadé Fadojutimi, Anna Weyant, and Chase Hall, whose work commands high prices and long waiting lists from top collectors. The selection was based on research including gallerist interviews, museum acquisitions, auction results, and dealer insights.

Jenny Saville: ‘You are having a conversation with the paint, as well as with the sitter’

British artist Jenny Saville, known for her monumental paintings of the female form, is the subject of a major survey exhibition titled "The Anatomy of Painting" at the National Portrait Gallery in London, which opened in June. The show traces her practice from the 1990s to the present day, featuring portrait heads and figures that push the boundaries of portraiture. Saville, who broke the auction record for a living female artist in 2018 when her self-portrait "Propped" (1992) sold for £9.5m at Sotheby's, discusses her influences—including Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, and Frank Auerbach—and her ongoing exploration of corporeality and painterliness in an interview with The Art Newspaper.

The 10 Best Booths at Art Basel 2025

Art Basel 2025 opened on June 17 with its VIP preview at Messeplatz in Basel, Switzerland, under intense heat. The 55th edition of the fair features 289 galleries from 42 countries, including 19 newcomers, and introduces a new Premiere section for mid-sized galleries showing recent works. Despite a challenging art market, the VIP day saw packed booths, international crowds, and strong sales of six- and seven-figure works, with dealers expressing optimism. The fair also includes returning sections like Statements and Feature, plus Art Basel Unlimited for monumental works, alongside concurrent events such as Liste Art Fair and museum shows by Jordan Wolfson and Steve McQueen.

Art Transport Hobbled and Prices Surging in Asia Amid US and Israel’s War in Iran

The ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran has severely disrupted the global art logistics network, particularly in Asia. A report in the Art Newspaper details soaring costs and shipping delays, with international air freight for fine art spiking up to 300% due to increased oil prices. Some exhibitions, like a Per Kirkeby show in China, have opened with fewer works, and shipments for Art Basel Hong Kong were stuck at sea for over a month. Shippers are now considering alternative routes, such as the China-Europe Railway Express, to mitigate delays and costs.

Old Masters Records: Gentileschi, Michelangelo, Rembrandt

old masters records gentileschi michelangelo rembrandt

Old Masters Week in New York saw a resurgence in the sector, highlighted by the Italian Ministry of Culture's $14.9 million private acquisition of a rare two-sided panel by Antonello da Messina from Sotheby’s. The week featured high-profile sales at both Sotheby’s and Christie’s, resulting in new auction records for major figures including Artemisia Gentileschi and Michelangelo, as well as a record price for a Rembrandt drawing. The success was attributed to a high level of museum participation and more realistic pricing strategies compared to previous seasons.

titian top 10 works ranked

Artnet News ranks the top 10 works of Renaissance master Titian, using criteria of suggestiveness, mystery, and pop culture relevance. The list includes paintings such as "Pietà" (1575–76), "Danaë" (1544–46), "Assumption of the Virgin" (1516–18), and "The Rape of Europa" (1560–61), with commentary on their composition, history, and cultural impact.

popular artists march 2025

Artnet News published its quarterly analysis of the most exhibited living artists at over 250 U.S. museums in March 2025, identifying more than 3,700 artists. The top artist is photographer Cara Romero, who appears in multiple museum shows including a major retrospective at the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College. Three of the six most featured artists have Native American backgrounds, reflecting a surge in exhibitions celebrating Indigenous art. The list excludes the late Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, a Native painter and curator who died in January 2025 at age 85 and would have ranked highly.

The Incredible Story of Edmonia Lewis, America’s First Black and Indigenous International Art Star

The Peabody Essex Museum has launched "Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone," the first-ever retrospective dedicated to the 19th-century sculptor who was the first Black and Indigenous American artist to achieve international fame. Curated by Shawnya L. Harris and Jeffrey Richmond-Moll, the exhibition is the culmination of seven years of research and detective work to locate surviving marble sculptures and archival fragments. The show tracks her journey from her early life as "Wildfire" to her education at Oberlin College and her eventual professional success in Boston and Rome.

basquiat museum security sothebys

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s monumental 1983 painting, 'Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)', is set to headline Sotheby’s marquee contemporary evening auction this May with an estimate of $45 million. The seven-foot canvas was created during the artist's pivotal year in Los Angeles and features his signature blend of text and symbols, including wry commentaries on the institutionalization and commercial value of art. The work previously sold at Christie’s in 2013 for $14.5 million.

Klara Lidén “Kunstwerke” at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin

Swedish artist Klara Lidén has opened a major solo exhibition, "Kunstwerke," at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin. The show features a new, site-specific architectural installation that reconfigures the gallery's main hall, alongside a selection of her existing video and sculptural works that explore urban space and the body's relationship to it.

lucia di luciano painter dead

Lucia Di Luciano, an Italian painter associated with the 1960s Arte Programmata movement, has died at age 93. Her death was announced by her Milan gallery, 10 A.M. Art, without specifying a cause. Di Luciano was known for her hand-painted, gridded black-and-white abstractions that mimicked computer-generated patterns, made with house paint and acrylic. Despite painting for nearly eight decades, she only gained wider international recognition in 2022 when her work was included in the main exhibition of the Venice Biennale, curated by Cecilia Alemani. Her career saw a late surge, with appearances at Tate Modern's "Electric Dreams" exhibition, art fairs like Frieze Masters and Independent 20th Century, and a solo show at Herald St. in London. The Maxxi museum in Rome is organizing a retrospective set to open in 2027.

art collector advice beginner collecting

Cultured magazine asked several seasoned art collectors—Will Bennett, Laurent Asscher, Geoff Snack, Amélie du Chalard, Allison Sarofim, and Pamela Joyner with Fred Giuffrida—to share their most important advice for novice collectors. Their responses range from building relationships with dealers and scouring unexpected sources like eBay and street-side book boxes (Snack) to focusing on an artist's conceptual approach, technical mastery, and aesthetic result (du Chalard). Others emphasize training the eye through constant exposure, buying what you love rather than what is trendy, and developing a focused area of interest to guide acquisitions.

art best most iconic photos of the 21st century

Cultured magazine asked 25 photographers to each select a single image for a time capsule representing the first quarter of the 21st century. The resulting portfolio includes works by Juergen Teller (a Balenciaga ad featuring Putin, Trump, and climate imagery), Sinna Nasseri (a cat amid a California wildfire), Naima Green (a domestic scene mediated by smartphones), Lele Saveri (a critique of property ownership), and Trevor Paglen (a CIA black site in Kabul), among others.

parties badass art women awards project for empty space

Project for Empty Space celebrated its 15th anniversary with the annual Badass Art Woman Awards at the Angel Orensanz Foundation in Manhattan. The event honored Dr. Deborah Willis, Ebony L. Haynes, and Helen Toomer, and featured performances by Mia X, Marcy De Pina, and Armana Khan, with a crowd of artists, curators, and scholars including Mickalene Thomas, Derrick Adams, and Legacy Russell.

larry gagosian bookhampton summer reading

Larry Gagosian, the world-renowned art dealer, has purchased BookHampton, an independent bookstore in East Hampton, after its original owner put it up for sale last fall. In an interview for CULTURED's new column "Required Reading," Gagosian discusses his reading habits, his plans to maintain the store as a community hub while expanding its art and design offerings, and shares his personal summer reading list, which includes biographies of Douglas Cooper and Albert Barnes.

shows worth traveling for summer

This article from Cultured magazine highlights several art exhibitions and museum openings around the world that are worth traveling for in summer 2025. Featured shows include Andra Ursuța's "Apocalypse Now And Then" at the Deste Foundation in Hydra, Greece; Wangechi Mutu's "Black Soil Poems" at Galleria Borghese in Rome; Ha Chong-Hyun's "Light Into Color" at Château La Coste in France; Cindy Sherman's "The Women" at Hauser & Wirth in Menorca; the 12th Site Santa Fe International in New Mexico; and the opening of the Naoshima New Museum of Art in Japan, designed by Tadao Ando. Each entry includes a brief description of the artist's work and practical tips for visitors.

Sotheby’s May Auctions: Rothko’s $100M Masterpiece Headlines

Sotheby's is holding its most ambitious May auction series in New York, headlined by Mark Rothko's monumental painting *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957), estimated at $70–100 million. The sales include a dedicated auction for the collection of legendary dealer and collector Robert Mnuchin, valued at over $130 million, featuring works by Rothko, Franz Kline, and Jeff Koons. Other highlights include Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)* (1983), estimated at over $45 million, and Willem de Kooning's *Untitled III* (1975), making its auction debut with a $25–35 million estimate. The series spans Modern and Contemporary art, with additional works by Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh.

Sotheby’s Opens the London Spring Marquee Sales With a £131M White-Glove Night

Sotheby’s London kicked off the spring auction season with a "white-glove" Modern & Contemporary Evening Sale, totaling £131 million ($176 million). Despite significant geopolitical instability and market anxiety following recent escalations in the Middle East, the auction achieved a 100 percent sell-through rate across 54 lots. Key highlights included works by Andy Warhol, a Claude Monet landscape once owned by John Singer Sargent, and a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting that sold for £3.7 million after a mid-sale renegotiation.

Spurs owner Joe Lewis to sell US$25m of School of London works at Sotheby’s

Billionaire Joe Lewis, the former owner of Tottenham Hotspur, is set to auction four significant works from the School of London at Sotheby’s London on March 4. The selection is headlined by a 1972 Francis Bacon self-portrait estimated at £8 million, alongside major paintings by Lucian Freud and Leon Kossoff. This marks the first time Lewis has publicly sold works from his renowned collection, which is estimated to be worth approximately $1 billion and is famously housed in part on his superyacht.

5 Artists on Our Radar in December 2025

Artsy's December 2025 edition of "Artists on Our Radar" highlights five emerging visual artists who have gained attention through new gallery representation, exhibitions, auctions, or art fairs. Featured artists include British painter Imogen Allen, known for gauzy, nature-inspired works with a Gerhard Richter-like blur effect; Brazilian painter Elian Almeida, who reimagines marginalized figures in Brazilian visual culture through vibrant, narrative paintings; and nomadic American artist ektor garcia, who works with unconventional materials like wire, clay, and leather. The article details their recent exhibitions, gallery affiliations, and career milestones.

20th and 21st Century auctions in New York total $965 million

Christie’s New York concluded its 20th and 21st Century Art sales week on November 21, 2025, generating a total of $964.5 million, the auction house’s highest in three years. The sales included the Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis, which alone brought in $218 million, led by Mark Rothko’s *No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)* at $62.1 million. Other top lots included works by Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and David Hockney, each exceeding $40 million. Fifteen artist records were broken, including for Beauford Delaney, Leonor Fini, Firelei Báez, and Olga de Amaral. Bidding was active across all platforms, with the highest online bid ever placed at a live Christie’s auction.

Christie’s Holds Its Nerve Mid-Marathon as the 21st Century Evening Sale Secures a Steady $123.6 Million

Christie's 21st Century Evening Sale on November 20 achieved $123.6 million across 45 lots, with a 98% sell-through rate. The top lot was Andy Warhol's *The Last Supper*, selling for $8.1 million with fees, while works from the collection of Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson brought in $49.2 million. The sale included strong results for Christopher Wool, Cindy Sherman, and Diego Giacometti, though it lacked the record-breaking fireworks of earlier sessions.

What to Look for at Frieze New York 2025

Frieze New York 2025, its 13th edition, opens May 7 at The Shed in Hudson Yards with over 65 international galleries. The fair features solo, group, and themed presentations, including the Focus section curated by Lumi Tan showcasing 12 emerging galleries. Highlights include the Artist Plate Project (a collaboration with Coalition for the Homeless featuring limited-edition plates by Cindy Sherman, Rashid Johnson, and Takashi Murakami), performances by Pilvi Takala, Asad Raza, and Carlos Reyes, and notable presentations by Christine Sun Kim at François Ghebaly and Jennie C. Jones at Alexander Gray Associates. Frieze’s director of Americas, Christine Messineo, shares her top picks.

Winston Churchill: The Painter review – We will daub them on the beaches

The Guardian reviews "Winston Churchill: The Painter," an exhibition of nearly 60 paintings by the former British prime minister, curated by Xavier Bray and Lucy Davis. The show assembles works from across the UK and private collections, depicting scenes from Churchill's travels, stately homes, and leisure moments, painted as an amateur Sunday painter for stress relief rather than artistic acclaim. The review notes Churchill's use of techniques borrowed from Walter Sickert, including projectors and monochrome underlayers, and describes his style as charmingly amateurish with a vivacity in seascapes but weakness in figures and architectural luminosity.

Inside TEFAF New York’s Annual Wealth Pageant

The 12th annual TEFAF New York fair took place at the Park Avenue Armory from May 15 to 19, attracting wealthy collectors with a mix of blue-chip art, design objects, and jewelry. Highlights included Kathleen Ryan's bejeweled 'Bad Fruit' sculptures at Gagosian, Cai Guo-Qiang's gunpowder paintings at White Cube (which sold 11 of 12 works), Sheila Hicks's textiles at Demisch Danant, and a new David Hockney painting at Annely Juda Fine Art. The fair featured 88 galleries from 14 countries, with VIP previews drawing art advisors and high-net-worth clients.

Market Outlook for New York’s May Sales

New York's May sales season is underway with over $1.8 billion worth of art heading to auction at major houses including Sotheby's, where a monumental Rothko consigned by Robert Mnuchin is expected to fetch $70–100 million. Frieze New York opens at the Shed with 68 galleries, half of them local. Other notable developments include a major Banksy work hitting the auction block with one of its highest estimates ever, and the estate of sculptor Robert Therrien leaving Gagosian after nearly 30 years to join David Zwirner.

A Vienna Theater Opens Its Prized Klimt Ceiling Paintings to Tours During Restoration

The Burgtheater in Vienna has opened guided tours allowing the public to view Gustav Klimt's ceiling paintings up close for the first time, during a restoration of the works. The 10 paintings, created in the late 1880s by Klimt, his brother Ernst, and Franz Matsch, hang 60 feet above the staircases and were recently cleaned with cotton swabs and purified water after water damage. The tours, which require sturdy footwear, are currently sold out due to high demand.

Claude Monet’s Market Triumph: 12 Record‑Smashing Paintings That Define an Era

Claude Monet's market dominance is analyzed through twelve record-breaking paintings sold at auction over the past decade, led by *Meules (Haystacks)* (1890), which achieved $110.7 million at Sotheby's New York in 2019—a record for any Impressionist work. The article highlights key sales including *Le Bassin aux Nymphéas* (1919) at $80.45 million, *Nymphéas* (1906) at $54 million, and *Le Pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil* (1873–74) at $41.4 million, tracing how Monet's serene yet radical landscapes have consistently commanded top prices across Christie's and Sotheby's.