anne boleyn portrait elizabeth i

New research by Tudor historian Owen Emmerson suggests that the most famous portrait of Anne Boleyn, displayed at London’s National Portrait Gallery, actually depicts her daughter Queen Elizabeth I. Emmerson argues the late-16th-century painting was deliberately made to resemble Elizabeth I, reinforcing a legitimate Tudor succession. The theory is supported by comparisons with another portrait of Elizabeth at Compton Verney and by Lawrence Hendra of Philip Mould gallery. An upcoming exhibition at Hever Castle, "Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn," will present this and other evidence, alongside newly identified contemporaneous images of Boleyn, including a miniature from the British Museum and a drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger.

sothebys hong kong sells 125 works from japans okada museum for 88 m so founder can settle 50 m legal bill

Sotheby's Hong Kong sold 125 works from Japan's Okada Museum of Art in a white-glove auction on Saturday, netting $88 million (plus fees). The sale set auction records for Japanese artists Kitagawa Utamaro and Hokusai, with Utamaro's *Fukagawa in Snow* fetching $7.1 million and Hokusai's *The Great Wave Off the Coast of Kanagawa* selling for $2.8 million. The collection was sold by museum founder Kazuo Okada, an 83-year-old billionaire, to settle a $50 million legal bill stemming from a long-running feud with casino magnate Steve Wynn. Okada's law firm, Bartlit Beck, successfully pursued the fee in binding arbitration after Okada contested the amount.

samurai exhibition british museum

The British Museum has announced a major 2026 exhibition titled "Samurai" that will trace the 1,000-year history of Japan's warrior class. Spanning armor, woodblock prints, paintings, clothing, ceramics, and contemporary media, the show brings together 280 objects from the museum's own collection and international lenders. Highlights include a 17th-century suit of armor recently acquired by the museum, a portrait of envoy Mancio Itō by Domenico Tintoretto, and works by Katsushika Hokusai. The exhibition also examines the modern myth of the samurai as shaped by film, manga, and video games such as Akira Kurosawa's movies and Assassin's Creed: Shadows.

curators museum directors offer support in letter to louvre

Fifty-seven curators and museum directors, including Christophe Cherix of MoMA and Michael Govan of LACMA, signed an open letter published by Le Monde expressing solidarity with Louvre director Laurence des Cars following the theft of the museum's crown jewels. The letter emphasizes that museums are not immune to global violence and that such thefts represent a profound fear for museum professionals, while reaffirming that museums must remain open and accessible despite security risks.

british museum tudor heart henry viii

The British Museum has launched a high-profile fundraising campaign to acquire the Tudor Heart, a gold pendant from the early reign of Henry VIII, discovered by amateur metal detectorist Charlie Clarke in Warwickshire in 2019. The museum needs to raise £3.5 million ($4.6 million) by early next year to secure the piece, which features symbols of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon and is described as the only surviving Tudor jewelry of its kind. Actor Damian Lewis and historian Mary Beard are supporting the appeal, and the museum will host its first British Museum Ball on October 18 to further fundraising efforts.

raphael exhibition 2026 metropolitan museum new york

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will open a landmark exhibition dedicated to Renaissance master Raphael in 2026. Titled "Raphael: Sublime Poetry," the show runs from March 29 to June 28 and will be the first major Raphael retrospective ever mounted in the United States. Curated by Carmen Bambach, the exhibition brings together 200 works including paintings, drawings, tapestries, and decorative arts, with loans from major museums worldwide such as the Louvre, the Uffizi, the Prado, and the Vatican Museums. Key loans include the Louvre's "Portrait of Baldassarre Castiglione" and the Galleria Borghese's "Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn."

tate reports budget deficit critics respond

Tate Modern, the world's most visited modern and contemporary art museum, reported a budget deficit six months ago, prompting critics to blame its programming and curatorial strategies for declining foot traffic. While domestic attendance has recovered to 95% of pre-Covid levels, international visitors have dropped significantly—down 39% at Tate Modern, 32% at Tate Britain, and nearly 40% at Tate St Ives. Tate Liverpool remains closed until 2027. Research from The Art Newspaper's annual visitor report, however, points to external factors such as Brexit, socioeconomic shifts, and the cost-of-living crisis as key drivers of the decline, particularly among young European visitors aged 16 to 24.

uk museums defend corporate funding

A group of officials overseeing major UK cultural institutions, including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the National Gallery, have signed a public letter defending corporate sponsorship. Published in the Financial Times, the letter calls for an end to "relentless negativity" around private sector partnerships and is backed by ten organizations, including the Science Museum Group. It follows protests over Baillie Gifford's sponsorship of literary festivals due to its ties to fossil fuels and Israel, which led nine festivals to end partnerships in 2023.

conclave hidden ritual

On May 8, 2025, white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel signaling the election of Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff. Born in Chicago in 1955, Prevost has strong ties to Peru and was appointed Prefect for the Dicastery for Bishops by Pope Francis in 2023. The article explores the secretive process of the papal conclave, noting that 133 cardinals voted under Michelangelo's famed ceilings, and draws parallels to the 2024 film *Conclave* which some cardinals reportedly used for insight.

Watch: Wallace Chan returns to the Venice Biennale with ‘Vessels of Other Worlds’

Wallace Chan returns to the Venice Biennale for the fourth time with 'Vessels of Other Worlds', a two-city exhibition opening at the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà in Venice on 8 May 2026 and continuing at the Long Museum West Bund in Shanghai from 18 July, coinciding with the artist's 70th birthday. Curated by James Putnam, the project features large-scale titanium sculptures that explore material transformation, perception, and metaphysical space, including a live video link between the two venues and an inhabitable mirrored sculpture at the Long Museum.

Interview with the great sculptor Charles Ray who shows in two different galleries in Los Angeles

Intervista al grande scultore Charles Ray che a Los Angeles si mostra in due diverse gallerie

Charles Ray, the renowned American sculptor, opened two simultaneous solo exhibitions in Los Angeles on April 18, one at Matthew Marks Gallery and the other at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, located about a mile apart. The Matthew Marks show features three new works, including "Junk 2" (2026) and "The Animation of Pandora" (2026), while the Deitch exhibition presents three older iconic pieces such as "Firetruck" (1993), "Pepto-Bismol in a Marble Box" (1988), and "Table" (1990). Ray, who has lived in Los Angeles for four decades, is known for his meticulous, slow-working process and his exploration of the human body and everyday objects at altered scales.

NGV Has Been Named As One Of The Most Visited Art Museums In 2025, Ranking Among Other Notable Sites Like The Louvre And Tate Modern

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has secured its position as Australia’s most visited art museum, ranking 25th globally in The Art Newspaper’s 2025 attendance report. The institution welcomed over 3 million visitors across its two Melbourne locations, bolstered significantly by a record-breaking Yayoi Kusama retrospective that drew 570,537 attendees. This blockbuster exhibition became the most popular ticketed show in the gallery's history, attracting international celebrities and a high percentage of overseas tourists.

‘I like pushing boundaries’: Yinka Shonibare on his landmark art show in Madagascar

British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare has opened his first major solo exhibition in Africa at Fondation H in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The show, which occupies the foundation's 2,200-square-meter historic building, features installations drawn from his catalog, including his signature use of Ankara print fabrics. The exhibition marks a significant milestone for Shonibare, who had previously attempted to mount a large solo show in Lagos but was thwarted by infrastructure limitations.

Record sales and a tax break close out blockbuster year for South Asian Modern market

Two record-breaking auctions closed a blockbuster year for the South Asian Modern art market. On 27 September, Saffronart in New Delhi sold 85 lots for $40.2 million—the largest single sale ever in South Asia—while on 29 September, Sotheby’s in New York sold 54 lots for $25.5 million, a record total for South Asian art in the West. These followed Christie’s March sale of M.F. Husain’s mural *Gram Yatra* (1954) for $13.7 million, the highest price ever for an Indian painting. India also enacted a major tax reform, cutting the Goods and Service Tax (GST) on art from 12% to 5%, further stimulating the market.

Christie’s Situates ‘Sailor Moon’ and ‘Doraemon’ Alongside Hokusai in Its Debut Anime Sale

Christie’s has announced its first-ever auction dedicated to the intersection of anime, manga, and traditional Japanese art. Titled "Anime Starts Here: Japanese Subculture Imagines Tradition," the online sale will debut during Asia Week New York in March, featuring a curated selection that ranges from 19th-century Katsushika Hokusai woodblock prints to original production drawings from iconic series like Sailor Moon and Doraemon. Key highlights include a rare 1953 drawing by the "God of Manga" Tezuka Osamu and a print of Hokusai’s legendary "The Great Wave."

David Hockney to create ten metre-long window installation for Turner Contemporary

Artist David Hockney will create a monumental, ten-meter-long window installation for the Sunley Gallery at Turner Contemporary in Margate, UK. The work, based on a 2020 iPad painting of a Normandy sunrise, will be illuminated at night and installed from April to November as part of the gallery's 15th anniversary celebrations.

Art Basel Qatar is the latest addition to a grand national plan

Art Basel is launching a new fair in Qatar, marking its first foray into the Middle East. This expansion occurs within a landscape already heavily shaped by decades of strategic, state-led cultural investment spearheaded by Qatar Museums and its chairperson, Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani.

‘It’s madness’: David Hockney blasts plans to loan Bayeux Tapestry to UK

British artist David Hockney has publicly criticized plans to loan the Bayeux Tapestry from France to the British Museum in London, calling the move “madness.” Writing in The Independent, Hockney argues that the 11th-century embroidery, which depicts the Norman invasion of England, could be damaged during transport across the English Channel, citing risks to its aged linen backing and wool threads. The tapestry is set to be displayed at the British Museum’s Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery from September 2026 to July 2027 while its home in Normandy undergoes renovations. In response, British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan defended the loan, citing the museum’s expertise in handling ancient artifacts. The UK Treasury will insure the tapestry for an estimated £800 million, and in exchange, British treasures including the Lewis chessmen and Sutton Hoo helmet will travel to Normandy.

14 best art exhibitions to see in Tokyo in 2026

Tokyo's museums have announced their 2026 exhibition schedules, featuring a diverse lineup of international and domestic shows. Highlights include 'YBA & Beyond: British Art in the 90s from the Tate Collection' at the National Art Center, a major retrospective of Hajime Sorayama at the Creative Museum Tokyo, and a solo exhibition of Lithuanian artist M. K. Čiurlionis, alongside shows by Picasso, Ron Mueck, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Minami Tada.

Our pick of the shows to see in the world's great art cities in 2026

The article presents a curated selection of upcoming art exhibitions across major global cities in 2026, highlighting key shows in Paris, New York, and Tokyo. In Paris, notable exhibitions include a Georges de la Tour show at the Musée Jacquemand-André, a Renoir retrospective at the Musée d'Orsay, and a Henri Rousseau exhibition at the Musée de l'Orangerie. New York features solo shows of Egon Schiele at the Neue Galerie, Thomas Gainsborough at the Frick Collection, and Paul Klee at the Jewish Museum, while Tokyo focuses on women artists from the 1950s and 60s at the National Museum of Modern Art and a centennial exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.

The 'Lee Kun-hee Collection' Touring Exhibition Draws 3.5 Million Visitors—Opening the Door for K-Art’s Global Expansion

The Lee Kun-hee Collection touring exhibition, featuring over 330 masterpieces including seven National Treasures, has drawn 3.5 million visitors across South Korea and is now traveling internationally to Washington, Chicago, and London. The exhibition, organized by the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), showcases Korean art from the Three Kingdoms period to the present, and has been widely covered by outlets like The Washington Post, CNN, and Forbes.

museums in crisis takeaways

Artnet News published its 'Museums in Crisis' series, a global investigation into pressures facing cultural institutions. Key takeaways include: Western museums face a funding and political crisis, with U.S. institutions losing hundreds of millions in federal support (including $428 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities) and European museums like those in Berlin facing cuts of €130 million. Corporate sponsorship is increasingly risky due to ethical scrutiny, with the U.K.'s Museums Association urging institutions to avoid ties to fossil fuels or human rights abuses. China's private museums are at risk of downsizing or disappearing due to economic slowdown and lack of public funding.

bayeux tapestry british museum loan

The Bayeux Tapestry, a 230-foot-long medieval textile depicting the Norman Conquest of 1066, will be loaned to the British Museum in London for the first time in 950 years. The historic deal between Britain and France is set to be finalized on July 9, with the tapestry expected to appear in a blockbuster exhibition about the Norman Conquest opening in September 2026. In exchange, treasures from across the U.K.—including artifacts from Sutton Hoo and the Lewis chessmen—will travel to France. The agreement will be announced by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, and signed by British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan.

Interview with the artist of the enchanting New Zealand Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale

Intervista all’artista dell’ammaliante Padiglione Nuova Zelanda alla Biennale Arte 2026

Fiona Pardington, a Māori artist from Devonport (1961), will represent New Zealand at the 2026 Venice Biennale with a deeply spiritual and ecologically conscious installation in the national pavilion. Her project centers on the takahe, a bird long thought extinct, using photography, sound, and immersive space to evoke loss, memory, and transformation. Pardington’s work draws on Ngāi Tahu culture, colonial history, and natural history, featuring a taxidermied takahe specimen from the British Museum that she re-photographed and chromatically restored.

In Spain, art becomes popular thanks to this expert influencer. We interviewed him

In Spagna l’arte diventa popolare grazie a questo esperto influencer. Lo abbiamo intervistato

Miguel Ángel Cajigal, known as 'El Barroquista,' is a Spanish art historian and popularizer who has brought art history to prime-time television, radio, and social media. In an interview with Artribune, he discusses his books, including 'Otra historia del arte' (2021), his approach to making art accessible without dumbing it down, and his critique of the cult of the individual genius in art historiography. He emphasizes the collective nature of art production and reception, challenging the traditional focus on masterpieces and authorship.

LIVING LEGENDS LAXMA GOUD & THOTA VAIKUNTAM Film Screenings & Art Exhibition

Laasya Art is hosting a special exhibition in Palo Alto featuring the works of two of India’s most prominent contemporary artists, Laxma Goud and Thota Vaikuntam. The event includes the premiere of two original short films produced by the gallery, "Zauq: The World of Laxma Goud" and "Thota Vaikuntam: The Making of the Telangana Woman," which explore the personal histories and creative processes of these masters.

Christie’s Third Arab Art Summer Exhibition Marwan: A Soul in Exile 16 July – 22 August - Christie's

Christie’s will host its third annual Arab Art Exhibition, titled "Marwan: A Soul in Exile," at its London headquarters from 16 July to 22 August 2025. The non-selling retrospective features over 150 works on loan from museums, institutions, and private collections across Europe and the Middle East, spanning paintings, drawings, works on paper, and editions. Curated by Dr. Ridha Moumni, Chairman of Christie’s Middle East & Africa, the exhibition traces the six-decade career of Syrian-born artist Marwan Kassab Bachi (1934–2016), known for his facial landscapes that blend German expressionism with Syrian identity and Arab political themes.

United States

The Art Newspaper has launched a digital newsletter offering a daily digest of essential news, views, and analysis from the international art world, delivered directly to subscribers' inboxes. The announcement, published under the title "United States," invites readers to subscribe for curated coverage of the global art scene.

British Museum Unveils Elaborate Display for Bayeux Tapestry

The British Museum has revealed its plans for displaying the nearly 1,000-year-old Bayeux Tapestry when it arrives on loan from France later this year. For the first time in recent history, the 230-foot-long embroidered narrative of the Norman Conquest will be laid flat in a bespoke case, allowing visitors to view all 58 scenes in a single unbroken display. The exhibition, supported by a £5 million pledge from WorldQuant CEO Igor Tulchinsky, will also feature loans including the Junius II manuscript from Oxford's Bodleian Libraries and silver coins from the Chew Valley Hoard. Tickets for the ten-month show, opening September 10, cost £25–£33.

UK’s Palestinian Ambassador Calls on Government to Have British Museum Reinstate the Word ‘Palestinian’

The Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, has called on the British government to intervene in a dispute with the British Museum over the removal of the word “Palestinian” from wall texts in its Middle East galleries. Zomlot raised the complaint with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office after reports that the museum had stripped the term from maps and didactics, following lobbying by UK Lawyers for Israel. The museum denies removing the word entirely, stating it still appears elsewhere, but photographic evidence suggests otherwise. Zomlot declined a tour with director Nicholas Cullinan, calling the issue “existential.”