Art News. Vasari Codex

article news schedule Aug 22, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists

Mickalene Thomas’s ex-fiancée accuses the artist of sexual harassment and stealing millions of dollars from her

Mickalene Thomas’s former fiancée, curator and model Racquel Chevremont, has filed a summons against the artist, accusing her of sexual harassment and claiming she owes at least $10 million in damages. The summons, signed in Manhattan on 8 August, cites breach of contract, unjust enrichment, conversion, and retaliation, alleging that Thomas created a hostile working environment and improperly diverted funds from their jointly-owned entity. Chevremont, who collaborated with Thomas for a decade and appeared in several of her works, claims she was underpaid despite a written agreement and that Thomas terminated her employment after she refused to resume their romantic relationship.

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trending_up market schedule Aug 20, 2025 visibility 17 link 3 artists, 2 galleries

How Banksy’s Stenciled Satire Took the Aughts by Storm

Four screenprints by Banksy from the 2000s are featured in Artnet Auctions’s Contemporary Editions sale, running through August 28, 2025. The lots include 'Bomb Love (Bomb Hugger)' (est. $25,000–$35,000), 'Welcome to Hell (Pink)' (est. $30,000–$50,000), and 'Morons (Sepia)' (est. $25,000–$35,000), tracing the artist’s rise from Bristol street graffiti to international fame. The article highlights key milestones: his 2002 Los Angeles show 'Existencilism,' his counterfeit £10 notes featuring Princess Diana, and the Oscar-nominated documentary 'Exit Through the Gift Shop.'

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trending_up market schedule Aug 20, 2025 visibility 18 link 6 artists

From PBS to Priceless: Bob Ross Paintings Smash Auction Records

Bob Ross paintings shattered auction records at Bonhams New York's American Art Online auction (July 28–August 7, 2025). Two mountain landscapes by the beloved "The Joy of Painting" host sold for $95,750 and $114,800, with the latter more than doubling its high presale estimate. The previous record of $69,300 had been set just weeks earlier at Eldred's auction house for a painting originally purchased for $250 at a PBS auction in the 1980s.

newspaper Antique Trader open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Aug 19, 2025 visibility 14 link 2 artists

Arts of Life Showcases 25 Years of Creativity and Opportunity for Artists With Disabilities

Arts of Life, a Chicago-based organization supporting artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities, celebrates its 25th anniversary with the exhibition “Community on the Make: Arts of Life 2000-2025” at the Design Museum of Chicago. The show features vibrant works by 80 artists from five studios across Chicago and the North Shore, with pieces available for sale at affordable prices. Co-founded by executive director Denise Fisher and the late Veronica Cuculich, the organization provides artists with studio space, professional support, and income through stipends and sales bonuses.

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trending_up market schedule Aug 15, 2025 visibility 16 link 8 artists

Iranian artworks sold at Bonhams' online auction of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art

Two works by Iranian artists were sold at Bonhams London's online auction of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art on August 14, 2025. The auction featured 45 pieces from Middle Eastern artists, including 10 by Iranian artists such as Sirak Melkonian, Ebrahim Olfat, Babak Kazemi, Marcos Grigorian, and YZ Kami. Only two works found buyers: an untitled 2020 oil on canvas by the late Sirak Melkonian (1930-2024) sold for $13,888, and Ebrahim Olfat's calligraphy painting "Eshgh (Hafez Poem)" (2012) sold for $5,207. The article provides extensive background on Melkonian, an Iranian-Armenian modernist pioneer and co-founder of the Azad Art Group, and on Olfat, a calligraphy specialist with a medical degree.

newspaper Tehran Times open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Aug 6, 2025 visibility 14 link 2 artists

Ancient marble bust returned to Italy following seven-year legal battle

A first-century CE marble bust, known as the "Head of Alexander," was returned to the Italian government on August 5, ending a seven-year legal battle. The bust, believed stolen from an Italian museum decades ago, was seized in 2018 by the Manhattan District Attorney's Antiquities Trafficking Unit from Safani Gallery in New York. The gallery filed multiple lawsuits against Italy and the Italian Ministry of Culture, claiming unlawful taking and seeking compensation, but all claims were dismissed. The bust, excavated in the early 1900s along Rome's Via Sacra, had passed through multiple cities and auctions, including sales at Sotheby Park Bernet and later for $150,000 by Safani Gallery in 2017.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jul 18, 2025 visibility 15 link 17 artists

Arts of Life Celebrates 25 Years

Arts of Life, a Chicago-based nonprofit supporting artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with its first museum exhibition, "Community on the Make | Arts of Life 2000 – 2025," at the Design Museum of Chicago from August 11 to September 30, 2025. The retrospective features works by over 50 artists, staff, and volunteers, including founding member Veronica "Ronnie" Cuculich, and highlights collaborative pieces such as David Krueger and Ben Marcus's Love Man series. Related programs include a public reception on August 21 and artist residency hours throughout September.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 18, 2025 visibility 17 link 9 artists

“She’s a Real 20th Century Figure”: Thelma Golden on the ICA’s Mavis Pusey Retrospective

The Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, in collaboration with the Studio Museum in Harlem, has opened "Mavis Pusey: Mobile Images," a retrospective of the Jamaican-born abstract artist Mavis Pusey (1928–2019). The exhibition spans two floors of Pusey's paintings and archival materials, showcasing her geometric abstractions that translate urban construction and gentrification into fractured planes and rhythmic blocks of color. The show was sparked by Studio Museum director Thelma Golden's discovery of Pusey's work in an online auction catalog a decade ago, leading to a collaboration with curator Hallie Ringle.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 17, 2025 visibility 17 link 4 artists

Phillips Sues Wealthy Scion for Failure to Come Through on Pollock Purchase

Phillips auction house has filed a lawsuit against film producer David Mimran, alleging he failed to pay $14.5 million for a Jackson Pollock painting after serving as a third-party guarantor. The untitled ca. 1948 white-on-black drip painting, which had appeared in a 1998 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, received no bids at a November auction in New York, leaving Mimran legally obligated to purchase it. Mimran missed two payment deadlines and later claimed he could not meet a third, prompting Phillips to file a complaint with the Supreme Court of New York.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 15, 2025 visibility 17 link 6 artists

Appreciation and demand for Minnesota artist's work surges as The Met opens solo exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will open "The Magical City: George Morrison’s New York" on July 17, the first solo exhibition for the late Minnesota-born Ojibwe artist. The show features over 30 works by Morrison, an abstract expressionist who painted alongside Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Franz Kline, and whose large wood-and-granite collages, totems, and paintings are widely installed across Minnesota and internationally. The exhibition coincides with a surge in demand for his work, driven by recent high-profile gallery shows and a 2022 USPS Forever Stamp series.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 15, 2025 visibility 18 link 7 artists

Christie’s celebrates the late Syrian artist Marwan with non-selling London show

Christie’s is presenting a non-selling exhibition titled "Marwan: A Soul in Exile" at its London headquarters this summer, featuring over 150 works by the late Syrian artist Marwan (1934-2016). The show draws from major private and institutional collections including the Barjeel Art Foundation, the Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, the Pinault Collection, and the Berlinische Galerie. This marks Christie’s third such non-selling exhibition of Arab art in London over the past three summers, following shows focused on Arab artists from the Barjeel collection and Saudi artist Ahmed Mater. The exhibition coincides with Christie’s 25th anniversary in the UAE and a broader surge in the Middle Eastern art market, including a recent white-glove sale for its online Modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art auction in Dubai.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Jul 9, 2025 visibility 19 link 13 artists

Your weekly dose of wonder: introducing The Specialist, a new podcast by Sotheby's

Sotheby's has launched a new podcast series titled "The Specialist," featuring its global specialists who share behind-the-scenes stories about extraordinary artworks and objects. Each episode focuses on a specific narrative, such as the restitution of a Kandinsky painting lost in Nazi-era Germany, the rediscovery of Rubens' "The Massacre of the Innocents," the story of the shredded Banksy artwork "Love is in the Bin," and the decade-long attribution project for a Vermeer painting. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 4, 2025 visibility 15 link 16 artists

Turner painting bought last year for £500 sells for almost £2m at Sotheby's

At Sotheby's Old Master paintings evening sale in London on July 2, a Turner painting purchased last year for £500 sold for nearly £2 million, highlighting the sector's resilience. The auction achieved £11.5 million hammer total (£14.5m with fees), with 81% of lots sold, including a rediscovered 14th-century Byzantine icon that far exceeded estimates and three new artist records for Lorenzo di Credi, Corneille de Lyon, and others. The sale contrasted with Christie's previous evening's £46.2 million total driven by a record Canaletto.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 1, 2025 visibility 16 link 10 artists, 1 gallery

New world record for Canaletto as view of Venice sells for £31.9m

A Canaletto painting, *Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day* (circa 1732), sold for £27.5 million (£31.9 million with fees) at Christie’s in London on July 1, setting a new auction record for the artist. The work, once owned by Britain’s first prime minister Robert Walpole, exceeded its $20 million estimate and was purchased by an anonymous phone bidder. The sale drew five bidders from Asia, Europe, and North America, and the painting was backed by a third-party guarantor.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 29, 2025 visibility 16 link 8 artists

Whiteley showcase reveals struggles with addiction and pursuit of beauty

A touring exhibition from the Brett Whiteley studio in New South Wales, titled *Inside The Studio*, has arrived at the Shepparton Art Museum in Victoria—its final stop and only Victorian venue. The show features drawings, ceramics, sketchbooks, photographs, Whiteley's iconic Sydney Harbour painting, and his 1976 Archibald Prize-winning self-portrait. Wendy Whiteley, the artist's former wife and an artist herself, shares memories of their turbulent marriage, including his struggles with addiction and his intense dedication to his craft. She has also repurchased several of her favorite sketches of her in the bathtub, which had been auctioned off over the years.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 28, 2025 visibility 24 link 8 artists

Small Format Painting at 56 Henry Gallery

56 Henry Gallery has partnered with artist Josh Smith and art dealer Leo Fitzpatrick to curate an exhibition focused on small format paintings, all measuring 8 x 10 inches. The show brings together established artists and skaters, featuring works by Nicole Eisenman, Rita Ackermann, Wade Guyton, and Fred Tomaselli, among others. Smith contributed a painting of the film credits rather than his signature motifs, and the exhibition's spray-painted sign signals a deliberate departure from conventional gallery presentation.

newspaper Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jun 25, 2025 visibility 17 link 13 artists

$10 million Tamara de Lempicka leads sales at Sotheby’s London modern and contemporary evening auction.

Sotheby’s modern and contemporary evening sale in London on June 25, 2025, achieved £62.43 million ($83.97 million), led by Tamara de Lempicka’s *La Belle Rafaëla* (1927) which sold for £7.47 million ($10.05 million). Other top lots included works by Pablo Picasso, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Claude Monet, Jenny Saville, and Elizabeth Peyton, with Saville setting a new auction record for a drawing. Eight lots failed to sell, including pieces by Egon Schiele and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 25, 2025 visibility 21 link 15 artists

Nudes by Tamara de Lempicka and Jenny Saville lead quiet Sotheby’s Modern and contemporary sale

Sotheby’s June Modern and contemporary art evening sale in London netted £50.8m (£62.5m with fees) from 48 lots, with an 87% sell-through rate, falling below the pre-sale estimate of £55.2m to £81.1m and marking a 25% decrease from last year’s equivalent sale. The top lot was Tamara de Lempicka’s *La Belle Rafaëla* (1927), which sold for £6.1m (£7.4m with fees), while a Jenny Saville drawing *Mirror* (2011-12) achieved an auction record for the artist at £1.7m (£2.1m with fees). Several high-profile works were passed, including Egon Schiele’s *Portrait Study (Head of a Girl, Hilde Ziegler)* and Barbara Hepworth’s *Vertical Forms*, reflecting cautious bidding in a bearish market.

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article culture schedule Jun 20, 2025 visibility 16 link 7 artists

Van Gogh's suicide: Ten reasons why the murder story is a myth

The article argues against the theory that Vincent van Gogh was murdered, asserting that he died by suicide on July 27, 1890. The murder theory, popularized by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith's 2011 biography "Van Gogh: The Life," claims that 16-year-old René Secrétan shot the artist, and that van Gogh protected him by claiming suicide. The author counters this with ten reasons, including that van Gogh's doctor Paul Gachet, his brother Theo, friends like Emile Bernard, and Paul Gauguin all believed it was suicide, and that police records support this conclusion.

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person people schedule Jun 16, 2025 visibility 24 link 7 artists

‘The works I add to my collection need to give me goosebumps’: Nicola Erni on the art she collects and why

Swiss collector Nicola Erni discusses her private art collection built over 25 years, focusing on photography from the 1960s and 70s, fashion photography by Helmut Newton, Mario Testino, and Annie Leibovitz, and contemporary works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. She recounts acquiring Warhol's 'Sixty Last Suppers' (1986), now on loan to Fondation Beyeler, and reveals her emotional decision-making process for purchases, as well as a regret over missing a Basquiat-Warhol collaboration at auction.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 13, 2025 visibility 17 link 4 artists

‘Very beautiful’ portrait of Gallagher brothers to go to auction for £1.5m

Sotheby's will auction a 1996 portrait of Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher by American artist Elizabeth Peyton at its June contemporary art sale in London, with an estimate of £1.5m to £2m. The painting, based on a 1995 photograph by Stefan De Batselier, captures the siblings at the height of Britpop fame, shortly after Noel allegedly hit Liam with a cricket bat. Sotheby's specialist Antonia Gardner notes the "quiet tension" in the work and Peyton's tendency to feminize macho pop stars.

newspaper The Guardian open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 6, 2025 visibility 13 link 1 artist

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner painting thought to be lost for decades goes on display in Basel

A long-lost Ernst Ludwig Kirchner painting, *Tanz im Varieté* (Dance at the Varieté, 1911), has gone on display at the Kunstmuseum Basel after being rediscovered and purchased at auction. The work, previously known only through photographs, was sold at Ketterer Kunst in Munich for around €7 million to the Im Obersteg Foundation, which loans its collection to the museum. The painting depicts a cakewalk dance and had not been exhibited since 1923 in Berlin. Its provenance includes ownership by a German collector during the Nazi era, when Kirchner's art was deemed 'degenerate,' and damage by French soldiers who discovered it in a crate after World War II.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 5, 2025 visibility 21 link 10 artists, 1 gallery

Put Community First and Other Lessons On Institutional Sustainability From MCA Chicago

MCA Chicago director Madeleine Grynsztejn outlines the museum's guiding principles of championing revelatory art, fostering social belonging, and aligning internal practices with community ethics. The museum's collection is treated as a living resource rather than a static treasure, with exhibitions like "Descending the Staircase" and "City in a Garden: Queer Art Activism in Chicago" reflecting evolving narratives. The MCA Art Auction, held every five years, is highlighted as a values-driven fundraiser; the 2025 edition honors Ed Ruscha with a new commission and features works by artists including Rashid Johnson, Sanford Biggers, and Sarah Sze.

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trending_up market schedule May 23, 2025 visibility 19 link 14 artists

Lawren Harris leads the way in Heffel’s all-Canadian marquee spring auctions in Toronto

Heffel Fine Art Auction House held its spring sales in Toronto on May 22, featuring an all-Canadian lineup of 85 lots with an estimated value of C$18m to C$22m. Despite rain and economic concerns, the two-session sale achieved C$22m total, led by Lawren Harris's *Northern Lake* (1926) at C$3.1m. Other highlights included record-breaking prices for Franklin Carmichael, Arthur Lismer, and A.Y. Jackson, plus strong results for Emily Carr and Tom Thomson works.

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trending_up market schedule May 23, 2025 visibility 15 link 2 artists

Kimbell Art Museum acquires Chardin still life after record-breaking auction sale falls through

The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, has acquired Jean Siméon Chardin's still life *The Cut Melon* (1760) from the Rothschild family after a record-breaking auction sale at Christie's Paris in June 2024 fell through. The winning bidder, Italian real estate promoter Nanni Bassani Antivari, never paid, leading Christie's to sue him for compensation. The Rothschilds then sold the painting directly to the Kimbell, which had been the underbidder at auction. The work, which retains its original frame from its 1761 Salon debut, went on view at the museum on 22 May in the French still life gallery.

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trending_up market schedule May 22, 2025 visibility 15 link 3 artists

Lionel Messi names his favourite ever goal

Lionel Messi has revealed his favorite goal from his 860 career scores—a 2009 UEFA Champions League final goal for Barcelona against Manchester United—as part of a collaboration with media artist Refik Anadol. Anadol will transform the goal into an AI-powered data sculpture, which will be auctioned online at Christie's New York from June 11 to July 25, with proceeds supporting educational charities in Latin America and the Caribbean through the Inter Miami CF Foundation and Unicef.

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trending_up market schedule May 20, 2025 visibility 16 link 7 artists

Aboriginal art returns to Sotheby’s New York two years after pioneering dealer Tim Klingender's death

Two years after the death of pioneering Aboriginal art dealer Tim Klingender in a boating accident, his widow Skye McCardle-Klingender is organizing a multi-owner auction at Sotheby’s New York on 20 May. The sale includes 65 lots from Klingender's personal collection and other owners, featuring works by leading Aboriginal artists such as Emily Kam Kngwarray, Ginger Riley Munduwalawala, Rover Thomas, Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri, and Richard Bell. McCardle-Klingender is working with former National Gallery of Australia curator Wally Caruana to assemble the auction, which aims to continue Klingender's legacy of elevating Indigenous Australian art on the global stage.

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trending_up market schedule May 17, 2025 visibility 23 link 20 artists, 4 galleries

11 New Artist Auction Records Set in May 2025

During New York's spring auction week starting May 12, 2025, major houses Sotheby's, Christie's, Phillips, and Bonhams collectively brought in $1.27 billion, slightly above the estimated $1.25 billion but down 17% from the previous year. The top lot was Piet Mondrian's *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue* (1922) at $47.56 million, but the mood was tense as trophy works like Andy Warhol's *Big Electric Chair* (1967–68) were withdrawn and several top lots, including Alberto Giacometti's *Grande tête mince* (1955), failed to sell. Amid this volatility, 11 new artist auction records were set, five of which were for women artists, notably Marlene Dumas's *Miss January* (1999) selling for $13.65 million—the most expensive work by a living woman artist at auction.

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trending_up market schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 27 link 15 artists, 1 gallery

‘Halo effect’ of powerful art dealers’ collections boosts Sotheby’s sale

Sotheby's held a successful three-part evening auction in New York on May 15, 2025, achieving a total of $154.2 million in hammer sales ($186.1 million with fees), within its pre-sale estimate. The sale included 12 lots from the estate of late dealer Barbara Gladstone, which sold 100% for $15.1 million, and 15 works from the collection of Daniella Luxembourg, which brought $33.6 million. The main event, Sotheby's The Now and Contemporary evening auction, featured 41 lots—including works from the Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein collection and three deaccessioned by US museums—and achieved a 93% sell-through rate, hammering $105.4 million. A standout was Andy Warhol's 'Flowers' (1964) from the Gladstone estate, which sold for $3.1 million hammer, more than double its high estimate.

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trending_up market schedule May 14, 2025 visibility 24 link 29 artists

$70m Giacometti bombs at patchy Sotheby’s Modern art auction

Sotheby's Modern evening sale in New York on May 13 brought in $152 million ($186.4 million with fees), falling short of its presale estimate of $170 million to $248 million. Four lots were withdrawn before bidding began, including works by Winslow Homer, Wassily Kandinsky, Candido Portinari, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The sale's star lot, Alberto Giacometti's bronze bust 'Grande tête mince' (1954/55), estimated at over $70 million, failed to sell when bidding stalled around $64 million. Other notable results included strong sales for Jean Arp, František Kupka, and Robert Delaunay, but several high-profile works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, Pierre Soulages, and David Smith also failed to find buyers.

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