Crystal Bridges Museum's expansion will open in June 2026

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, announced its expansion will open on June 6, 2026, adding 114,000 square feet—a 50% increase in size. Designed by Safdie Architects, the project began in 2022 and includes hundreds of newly donated works, the largest gift in the museum's history: over 200 pieces from Dallas-based collectors Candace and Michael Humphreys. Additional donations from board chair Olivia Walton and her husband Tom include 18 works by women artists, honoring her late mother, gallerist Monique Knowlton.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Announces Historic Expansion Opening

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, has announced a historic expansion, increasing its size by 50 percent to 114,000 square feet, with a grand opening scheduled for June 6 and 7, 2026. The expansion, designed by Safdie Architects, includes fully reimagined galleries and is celebrated by two landmark gifts: 18 major works by women artists donated by chairperson Olivia Walton and her husband Tom Walton, and 200 artworks by over 100 artists donated by collectors Candace and Michael Humphreys. The Walton gift features artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Alice Neel, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, while the Humphreys gift introduces many new artists to the museum's holdings.

Inside Pauline Karpidas’s Legendary Surrealist Collection Bound for Auction

The legendary Surrealist collection of the late Pauline Karpidas, a renowned art patron and collector, will be auctioned at Sotheby's London in September 2025. The sale spans approximately 250 lots from her eccentric London home, featuring masterworks by René Magritte, Leonora Carrington, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, and Les Lalannes. The collection is expected to fetch over £60 million ($81 million), the highest estimate ever placed on a single collection at Sotheby's Europe. Highlights include Magritte's 'La Statue volante' (1940–41), estimated at £9–12 million, and works acquired directly from the estates of Surrealist figures like André Breton and Paul Éluard.

These Are the 44 Best Art Museums in the U.S. Right Now

Time Out has published a list of the 44 best art museums in the U.S., ranking institutions like the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) at the top. The article highlights each museum's collection highlights, architectural features, and visitor tips, with prices and recommendations for immersive experiences.

“Berthe Weill, Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-garde” in Montreal

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) has opened a major exhibition titled "Berthe Weill, Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-garde," showcasing over 100 works that Weill exhibited in her Paris galleries between 1901 and 1940. The show highlights her role in launching the careers of artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, and Suzanne Valadon, and includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, and archival materials. Weill, born to a poor Jewish family, opened her first gallery at age 36 using her mother's dowry, never charged for exhibitions, and often sold her own possessions to keep her spaces afloat. Despite her immense contributions, she died in poverty and has been largely omitted from art history.

Marina Abramović and Peter Doig win £77,000 Praemium Imperiale prizes

Marina Abramović and Peter Doig have been awarded the 2025 Praemium Imperiale prizes for sculpture and painting, respectively, each receiving a 15 million yen (£77,000) honorarium. The awards, presented by the Japan Art Association under honorary patron Prince Hitachi, also recognized Belgian filmmaker Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (theatre/film), Hungarian pianist András Schiff (music), and Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto De Moura (architecture). The National Youth Theatre received the 2025 Grant for Young Artists.

A blockbuster Gerhard Richter retrospective, co-organised by Nicholas Serota, is coming to Paris

A major retrospective of German artist Gerhard Richter, co-curated by former Tate director Nicholas Serota, will open at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris from 17 October 2025 to 2 March 2026. The exhibition features 270 works spanning 1962 to 2024, including paintings, drawings, watercolours, overpainted photographs, glass works, and digitally generated Strip images. It is organized chronologically, with sections devoted to Richter's early photo-based works, his 1972 Venice Biennale pieces, abstract explorations, sombre reflections including the October 18, 1977 series, and his later experiments beyond painting. Key loans come from the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate, the Hirshhorn Museum, and Museum Ludwig, Cologne, alongside works from the Fondation's own collection.

A first glimpse (and listen) inside Lacma’s $720m new building

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma) opened its new $720 million David Geffen Galleries building to 2,000 members and guests for previews on June 27, 2025, before its official opening in April 2026. Designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the elevated concrete structure spans Wilshire Boulevard with 110,000 square feet of gallery space, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a 300-seat theater. Musician Kamasi Washington organized a "sonic preview" with 100 jazz musicians performing his six-part suite *Harmony of Difference* throughout the empty space. The building sits adjacent to the preserved Japanese Pavilion (designed by Bruce Goff, 1988) and features Tony Smith's sculpture *Smoke* (1967) in a courtyard.

Column: The new LACMA is sleek, splotchy, powerful, jarring, monotonous, appealing and absurd

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is nearing completion of its new Brutalist building designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, known as the David Geffen Galleries. Museum members will get a sneak peek at the empty interior spaces starting July 3, though the fully finished project with art installed won't open until April 2026. The poured-in-place concrete structure spans 347,500 square feet, including 110,000 square feet of exhibition space across 90 galleries, elevated 30 feet above ground on seven massive piers crossing Wilshire Boulevard. The article offers a critical preview of the building's aesthetics, noting the overwhelming monotony of concrete across floors, walls, and ceilings, while acknowledging some appealing views and powerful visual impact.

LACMA opens its new building for a sneak peek: Photos from the first preview

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) held its first public event inside the new Peter Zumthor-designed David Geffen Galleries on Thursday evening, offering a sneak peek before art is installed. The preview featured a site-specific concert by composer Kamasi Washington, with multiple bands and a choir performing throughout the empty concrete galleries. The building, which has been under construction for five years, is targeted to open in April 2026, though some construction details remain unfinished and landscaping is still settling.

US National Gallery of Art receives trove of Modern and contemporary drawings

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, has received a gift of more than 60 Modern and contemporary works on paper from longtime benefactors Lenore and Bernard Greenberg. The donation includes the first Bruce Nauman drawing to enter the collection, along with works by Susan Rothenberg, Philip Guston, Ed Ruscha, Vija Celmins, Alberto Giacometti, Franz Kline, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Willem de Kooning, Shahzia Sikander, Cy Twombly, and others. Photographs by Roni Horn, John Baldessari, Uta Barth, and Hiroshi Sugimoto, as well as a wire sculpture by Alexander Calder, are also included.

Japan’s art islands gain a new attraction with museum designed by Tadao Ando

The Benesse Art Site Naoshima, a globally acclaimed art destination across three Japanese islands, will open the Naoshima New Museum of Art (NNMA) on May 31. Designed by architect Tadao Ando, the one-story building with two underground floors sits on a hilltop near Honmura village. Its opening exhibition, centered on wellbeing, features works by 12 artists including Takashi Murakami, Aida Makoto, Do Ho Suh, Cai Guo-Qiang, and Martha Atienza. The museum shifts focus to contemporary art from Asia with rotating exhibitions, according to director Akiko Miki.

‘The First Homosexuals’ showcases 300 queer artworks amid ‘rise of homophobic politics’

A major new exhibition, “The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869–1939,” has opened at Chicago’s Wrightwood 659, featuring over 300 queer artworks from 125 artists across 40 countries. Curated by Jonathan D. Katz and Johnny Willis, the show includes early photographs of drag, a painting of a late-1700s trans pioneer, and what is believed to be the first same-sex wedding depicted in art, alongside works by iconic figures like Gertrude Stein and James Baldwin. The exhibition, eight years in the making, draws loans from institutions such as the Tate and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as private collections, and runs through July 26.

After a failed export block by the UK, Nicolas Poussin masterpiece goes on show at Louvre Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) will make its vast, previously inaccessible art and artifact holdings public over the coming year, including publishing an online catalogue and offering research opportunities. To mark this shift, DCT is presenting Nicolas Poussin’s *Confirmation* at Louvre Abu Dhabi—a masterpiece that had been held in Britain for 240 years and was blocked from export by the UK government in 2022 when it failed to raise £19m to match the buyer’s offer, now presumed to be DCT. The painting goes on show alongside Poussin’s *Self-portrait* from the Musée du Louvre.

Hamnet-era mourning jewel from celebrated painting rediscovered after 400 years

A rare 17th-century mourning jewel, depicted in the celebrated 1635 painting 'Sir Thomas Aston at the Deathbed of His Wife' by John Souch, has been rediscovered after 400 years. The heart-shaped pendant, which contains a tassel of hair from Aston’s deceased son Robert, was identified by its current owners during a chance visit to an exhibition featuring the portrait. Valued at £650,000, the gold and enamel memento mori features intricate Latin inscriptions that were previously illegible in the painting.

mcny tyger shipwreck research

The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is launching a new research project to re-examine a 17th-century shipwreck discovered during a 1916 subway dig in Lower Manhattan. The wreck, long believed to be the Dutch ship *Tyger*—one of the earliest European vessels to anchor in New York Harbor—was excavated by subway foreman James A. Kelly and later donated to MCNY in the 1940s. In partnership with the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE), the museum will apply advanced scientific techniques, including dendrochronology and wood species analysis, to the ship's timbers to confirm their origins and better understand the vessel's history.

parties cult100 cultured magazine guggenheim

CULTURED magazine hosted its second annual CULT100 party at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, in exclusive partnership with Valentino and Valentino Beauty. The event celebrated the magazine's spring issue, a 400-page edition honoring 100 luminaries and rising talents across food, film, art, fashion, and more. Guests including Keke Palmer, Lena Dunham, Naomi Watts, Adam Scott, and Anne Imhof gathered in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda for cocktails, a Valentino Beauty lounge, and a program that coincided with artist Carol Bove's ongoing museum survey exhibition at the Guggenheim.

art june leaf grey art museum

The Grey Art Museum at New York University is hosting "Shooting from the Heart," the most comprehensive retrospective to date of the late artist June Leaf, who died last summer at 94. The exhibition, on view through December 13, features her drawings, paintings, and sculptures spanning 75 years, including her theatrical puppet show "Street Dreams" (1968). Originated by the Addison Gallery of American Art, the show will travel to the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Ohio in January 2026. A catalogue co-published by Rizzoli Electa includes contributions from artists Kara Walker and Joan Jonas, and film screenings at Anthology Film Archives explore her New York studio and her life with photographer Robert Frank in Nova Scotia.

Le Louvre choisit son entrée côté colonnade

Le Louvre has selected a joint proposal by Studios Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects for its new entrance via the Perrault colonnade, part of the 'Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance' plan. The project, announced by Emmanuel Macron on January 28, 2025, aims to create a new eastern access to relieve overcrowding at the Pyramid, with two underground entrances, vegetated moats, new services, and a dedicated space for the Mona Lisa. The selection was announced by Culture Minister Catherine Pégard on May 18, despite controversies over funding, heritage constraints, a theft in the Galerie d'Apollon on October 19, 2025, and the departure of museum president Laurence des Cars.

I'm a Chicana Curator. This Is Why I Removed Cesar Chavez From My Show

Curator Karen Mary Davalos removed a 1969 portrait of Cesar Chavez by George Rodriguez from the exhibition "Chicano Camera Culture: A Photographic History, 1966 to 2026" at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture in Riverside, California. The decision came after news reports on March 17 revealed that Chavez had assaulted multiple women and girls associated with the United Farm Workers, including allegations of rape against co-founder Dolores Huerta. Davalos, who curated the show, acted swiftly after a call from interim director Valerie Found, removing the photograph to avoid honoring a figure now seen as an abuser.

Director of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum to depart in October

Janne Sirén, director of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, will step down in October after 13 years leading the institution. The museum announced his departure on April 29, noting that the board will begin a search for a new director this summer. Sirén oversaw a transformative period including a $230 million campus expansion completed in 2023, designed by OMA and Shohei Shigematsu, which added a new building and reconnected the grounds. During his tenure, the museum's collection grew, staff expanded from 62 to nearly 200, the endowment rose from $31.3 million to $79.3 million, and annual visitors reached 340,000. He also launched a public art department, the Innovation Lab, and the AKG Nordic Art and Culture Initiative.

Required Reading

This week's Required Reading from Hyperallergic features a photo by Saber Nuraldin, a finalist for the World Press Photo of the Year, depicting Palestinians climbing an aid truck in Gaza during famine caused by Israel's blockade. The article also includes Elena Megalos's essay on the American Museum of Natural History as a site of motherhood, and reports on Meenu Batra, a legal interpreter arrested by ICE, and the New York Times blocking the Internet Archive from crawling its site.

Required Reading

Required Reading

Thousands marched in Buenos Aires on March 9 for a 24-hour women's strike, with one group staging a symbolic artwork by wrapping a continuous blindfold across their faces to protest patriarchal control. This followed a UN report urging Argentina's government to address gender-based violence. Separately, a *Guardian* investigation revealed UK museums hold over 260,000 human remains, many taken from former colonies, which MPs have condemned as a barbaric legacy of imperialism.

ancient egyptian relief disappears saqqara necropolis

A 4,000-year-old limestone relief depicting the three seasons of the ancient Egyptian calendar has been stolen from the Saqqara necropolis near Cairo. The relief, measuring 16 by 24 inches, was cut from the wall of a Fifth Dynasty tomb belonging to high-ranking official Khenti Ka using an electric saw. Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities reported the theft on Sunday, and an archaeological committee has been formed to inventory the tomb's contents while the matter is under investigation by the Public Prosecution.

art criticism lynne tillman paying attention book

Lynne Tillman celebrated the publication of her new collection, *Paying Attention: Essays on Art and Culture*, from David Zwirner Books, at an event hosted by Coco’s at Colette. The article features a conversation between Tillman and the author, in which she discusses her origin story as a critic, her background in fiction writing, and her unconventional entry into art criticism through an invitation from Craig Owens at *Art in America*. She recounts writing a Madame Realism story about a Renoir exhibition after eavesdropping on museum tours, a piece that angered some art historians.

Billionaire Collector Fred Eychaner Sued Over Chicago Museum Expansion

Billionaire philanthropist Fred Eychaner, founder of the private exhibition space Wrightwood 659 in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, is being sued by Lisa Berron, a condo owner who claims the museum's planned expansion will block natural light and skyline views from her top-floor home. Berron filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court in March, alleging that the expansion would rise above her roofline and sit just feet from her windows. Eychaner's team has already purchased two of the three units in her building and argues the project complies with existing zoning laws, while Berron reportedly rejected settlement offers and demanded nearly $4 million for her condo, which was appraised at around $1.2 million.

michael joo space zero one venice biennale

Artist Michael Joo has unveiled a major survey exhibition, "Sweat Models 1991–2026," at Space ZeroOne, a new institutional initiative by the Hanwha Foundation of Culture in Tribeca. The show features career-spanning works including "Concatenations," a massive architectural installation composed of century-old aluminum baking trays and personal ephemera, and salt-block sculptures that reference his background in biology and his family's history in cattle ranching.

margaret keane obituary

Margaret Keane, the American painter known for her iconic "Big Eyed Waif" portraits, died on June 26 at age 94 in her Napa Valley home due to heart failure. For years, her second husband Walter Keane fraudulently claimed credit for her work, a deception that unraveled in the 1970s when she challenged him to a public paint-off and later won a courtroom showdown in 1986. Her story gained renewed attention with Tim Burton's 2014 film *Big Eyes*, starring Amy Adams.

Lu Yang at Kunsthalle zu Kiel

Lu Yang's solo exhibition "Electromagnetic Brainology" opened at Kunsthalle zu Kiel, running from January 30 to March 15, 2026. Curated by Muriel Meyer, the show features a new body of work from the Shanghai-based multimedia artist, known for immersive installations blending digital avatars, neuroscience, and pop culture iconography.

Tourmaline at Australian Centre for Contemporary Art

A major solo exhibition of work by the celebrated artist and activist Tourmaline has opened at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne. Titled "Transcendent," the show is curated by Sophie Prince and runs from December 12, 2025, through March 15, 2026. It features new and existing works, including film, photography, and archival installations that explore themes of Black trans history, joy, and liberation.