bob ross second bonhams auction

A trio of Bob Ross paintings sold for over $1 million at Bonhams' “Americana” auction on January 27, 2026, with proceeds benefiting American Public Television (APT). The top lot, *Change of Seasons* (1990), fetched $787,900—more than 13 times its high estimate—followed by *Babbling Brook* (1993) at $279,900 and *Valley View* (1990) at $203,700. The sale follows APT's record-breaking November auction and is part of a series of 24 Ross paintings to be offered throughout the year.

jeffrey epstein musee dorsay woody allen visit

Emails released by the U.S. Department of Justice in January 2026 reveal that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein boasted to associates about securing a private after-hours visit to the Musée d'Orsay in Paris with filmmaker Woody Allen on March 18, 2012. In the correspondence, Epstein wrote to a recipient identified only as 'junkermann' that the French government would open the museum for him and Allen, and later messaged others including former girlfriend Eva Dubin, who responded with a 'King of the castle' quip. Epstein also made crude sexual references in connection with the visit, mentioning Edgar Degas's depictions of nude women.

martin puryear mfa boston review

Martin Puryear's 1978 sculpture *Self* opens a survey of his work at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, titled “Martin Puryear: Nexus,” which runs through Sunday before traveling to the Cleveland Museum of Art in April. Curated by Emily Liebert, Reto Thüring, and Ian Alteveer, the exhibition argues that Puryear's abstract, craft-intensive sculptures—like *A Column for Sally Hemings* (2021)—are not merely formalist exercises but carry political and historical meanings that are deliberately withheld, challenging viewers to read beyond elegant surfaces.

ropac to open new york project space adaa new members industry moves

Thaddaeus Ropac is opening a new project space in New York and has hired Emilio Steinberger as a senior director. Hauser & Wirth now represents artist Conny Maier in collaboration with Société in Berlin. Zippora Elders Tahalele has been appointed director of the Nederlands Fotomuseum. The Tulsa Artist Fellowship announced its 2026–28 cohort of ten artists and arts workers. The ADAA appointed four new board members: Elizabeth Feld, Bridget Moore, Yancey Richardson, and Melissa Timarchi. Sotheby's second sale in Saudi Arabia, 'Origins II,' totaled $19.6 million, with a record $2.1 million for Safeya Binzagr's work. The article also covers Art Basel Qatar's first edition, with comments from Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and artistic director Wael Shawky.

national portrait gallery shells record 4 million artemesia gentileschi self portrait

London's National Gallery has acquired a recently rediscovered self-portrait by Artemisia Gentileschi, 'Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria' (c. 1615–17), for £3.6 million ($4.7 million). The painting was purchased from a London dealer who had secured it at a Paris auction in December, where it set a new auction record for the artist. The acquisition marks a significant addition to the museum's holdings, as it is only the 21st work by a female artist in its collection of over 2,300 pieces.

ronald lauder jeffrey epstein files

Ronald Lauder, the billionaire art collector and heir to the Estée Lauder fortune, is named over 900 times in the recently released Jeffrey Epstein court documents. The emails reveal his assistants frequently scheduling meetings and calls with Epstein in 2017, though the substance of their discussions remains largely unclear. One email suggests Epstein sought to review Lauder's tax returns and will, while another indicates Epstein attempted to arrange a dinner involving filmmaker Woody Allen.

met opera murals financial tools

The Metropolitan Opera is considering selling its two iconic Marc Chagall murals, 'The Sources of Music' and 'The Triumph of Music,' which have been appraised at $55 million. The institution's general manager, Peter Gelb, has proposed a sale with the condition that the buyer agrees to leave the works in place at Lincoln Center, with a donation plaque.

pat oleszko fool sculpture center performance whitney biennial

Performance artist Pat Oleszko, known for her satirical costumes and public interventions, is receiving significant institutional recognition in New York. At 78, she is featured in the 2026 Whitney Biennial and is the subject of a solo exhibition, "Fool Disclosure," at SculptureCenter, her first institutional solo show in the city in over 35 years.

m hka will not be dismantled

The Flemish government in Belgium has reversed its controversial plan to dismantle Antwerp's Museum of Contemporary Art (M HKA). The original proposal would have stripped the museum of its status and transferred its permanent collection to another institution in Ghent, but following significant opposition, authorities have agreed to preserve M HKA as a museum with its collection intact.

john alvin movie poster archive sale

The estate of movie poster artist John Alvin is seeking a single buyer for his entire archive of over 1,000 pieces, including original posters, sketches, and illustrations from the 1970s through the 1990s. The collection, stewarded by his widow Andrea Alvin since his death in 2008, features iconic work for films like E.T., The Lion King, and Blade Runner.

Jewish Heirs File Suit in French Court Over Ownership of Pissarro Painting

jewish heirs file suite french court met ownership pissarro painting

Seven heirs of the late department store magnate and art collector Max Julius Braunthal have filed a lawsuit in a French court, seeking to nullify the 1941 sale of Camille Pissarro's painting 'Haystacks, Morning, Eragny' (1899). They argue the sale was made under duress during the Nazi occupation of France. The painting is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which maintains Braunthal received fair market value.

rapper lexa gates accused of mimicking miles greenberg performance at deitch gallery

Jeffrey Deitch's gallery has apologized for hosting a performance by rapper Lexa Gates that was deemed an unauthorized derivative of performance artist Miles Greenberg's work. Gates's 10-hour piece, 'The Wheel,' involved walking inside a spinning wheel at the gallery to promote her new album, closely echoing Greenberg's 24-hour 2020 work 'Oysterknife,' which was previously screened at the same location. The gallery stated it had rented the space to Gates's record company and was unaware of the event's content.

winter show french and company

The Winter Show at New York's Park Avenue Armory features a standout booth by the gallery French and Company, presenting a darkly themed collection. The eclectic offerings include Old Master still lifes by Willem Kalf and Willem Claesz Heda, a Victorian ceramic peacock, a 1979 painting by Susan Rothenberg, and a "horror wall" with works like Pasko Vucetic's *Hatred and Madness* and Wilhelm Trübner's *A Gorgon's Head*, all curated by the gallery's Henry Zimet.

mexico city museum guide

Mexico City is renowned for its immense concentration of museums, with estimates ranging from 150 to 200 institutions. The city's art scene has been further amplified by the rise of Zona Maco, which has established a major international Art Week each February, drawing collectors and galleries. The article highlights five must-see museums, beginning with the Museo Anahuacalli, a unique museum built by Diego Rivera and architect Juan O'Gorman to house Rivera's vast collection of pre-Hispanic artifacts.

john constable bernard jacobson gallery

The Bernard Jacobson Gallery in London is presenting an exhibition titled "For John Constable," which reunites a portfolio of prints originally published by gallerist Bernard Jacobson in 1976. The 1976 project featured works by 19 contemporary artists, including David Hockney, Patrick Caulfield, and Howard Hodgkin, created in response to the legacy of the English landscape painter John Constable, marking his bicentenary. The exhibition, timed for the 250th anniversary of Constable's birth, runs through February 27, 2026.

sleeping hermaphroditus louvre rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has secured a major loan of the ancient marble sculpture *Sleeping Hermaphroditus* from the Louvre in Paris. The work will be a centerpiece of the museum's upcoming exhibition "Metamorphoses," which opens on February 6, 2026, and explores themes of transformation drawn from Ovid's epic poem.

perugino decemvriri altarpiece sothebys morgan

Sotheby's is launching its inaugural Old Masters Week at its new Breuer building location in New York with a special exhibition of works heading to auction. The centerpiece is the 'cimasa' (top panel) of Pietro Perugino's 'Decemviri Altarpiece' (1495), on an exceptional loan from Italy's National Gallery of Umbria and traveling outside Italy for the first time. After its display at Sotheby's, the panel will be exhibited at the Morgan Library and Museum alongside Giovanni Bellini's newly restored 'Pietà' (c. 1470), which is also making its U.S. debut.

lego art sets ranked

On International Lego Day, the article ranks Lego Art sets inspired by famous artworks, including Vincent van Gogh's *Sunflowers* and *Starry Night*, Hokusai's *The Great Wave*, and others. The ranking is done by the author and their brother, an Adult Fan of Lego, who rate each set from both an art critic and a Lego builder perspective.

studio museum in harlem to close for more than a week after sprinkler emergency

The Studio Museum in Harlem has closed through February 7 after a sprinkler emergency forced visitors to evacuate on Friday. Water poured from a ceiling near the gift shop, creating a large pool on the floor, but no artworks or galleries were affected. The museum initially planned a weekend closure, but repairs proved more extensive after a sprinkler was damaged during preparations for a record-breaking snowstorm that dropped 11 inches on Manhattan.

work of the week sesse elangwe

Sesse Elangwe's 2025 painting *True Friends?* sold for $22,000 at San Francisco dealer Jonathan Carver Moore's booth during the opening of FOG Art + Design on January 21. The work, created during a residency run by Moore, was purchased by a local collector. Elangwe, a self-taught Cameroonian artist known for emotionally charged portraits of Black subjects, was the fourth participant in Moore's residency program, which aims to connect artists with Bay Area collectors. Another portrait, *And My Better Half* (2025), was pre-sold for $9,000 to another Bay Area collector.

empire of sleep musee marmottan monet

The Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris has opened a new exhibition titled "The Empire of Sleep," curated by neurologist Laura Bossi and museum director Sylvie Carlier. The show gathers 130 artworks from the 19th and 20th centuries, exploring how artists have depicted sleep, dreams, nightmares, and the bed as a site of birth, love, illness, and death. Featured artists include John Everett Millais, Eugène Delacroix, Jean Cocteau, Giovanni Bellini, Gabriel von Max, Evelyn De Morgan, Odilon Redon, Gustave Courbet, Francisco de Goya, and Claude Monet, whose painting *Camille on Her Deathbed* is a centerpiece.

estates gallery shows

A surge of gallery exhibitions in New York this January focuses on deceased artists and estates, including shows for Marcia Marcus at Olney Gleason, Hung Liu at Ryan Lee, and Lynn Geesaman at Yancey Richardson. This trend reflects a broader shift toward historical reappraisals, with young dealers increasingly taking on artist estates and museums doubling their share of solo shows for dead artists from 18% in 2019 to nearly 50% in 2025.

british water mill sale turner painting inspiration

Brendan and Celia Wilson are selling Rossett Mill, a Grade II-listed 16th-century water mill in Wrexham, Wales, for £1.5 million ($2 million). The couple purchased the derelict property 17 years ago for £660,000 and spent two years and roughly £250,000 restoring it into a four-bedroom home, sourcing reclaimed oak beams from France and preserving its historic character. The mill, which dates to 1588, once inspired an early painting by J.M.W. Turner titled *Marford Mill* (1795), created during one of his tours of Wales. The Wilsons are selling to move closer to their children.

hamburger bahnhof gala patrons

Berlin's Hamburger Bahnhof museum, facing budget cuts of up to 12% and shifting government spending priorities in Germany, is planning its first-ever gala to mark its 30th anniversary. Co-directors Sam Bardouil and Till Fellrath are spearheading the event, set for March, which will feature cultural figures including Cate Blanchett, Matt Dillon, Elmgreen & Dragset, and the Berlin Philharmonic. The museum has also launched the Chanel Commission and the International Companions philanthropy circle to diversify funding sources.

louvre closes again union negotiations

The Louvre closed on Monday due to a strike by employees demanding improved working conditions and pay equity, marking the fourth closure since mid-December. Roughly 300 workers voted to extend the strike, which began December 15, after fruitless negotiations with the Ministry of Culture and Louvre management. The dispute has been intensified by an October 19 burglary that exposed systemic security failures, and workers have also protested the museum's long-term redevelopment plans, including a proposed standalone gallery for the Mona Lisa, calling them unrealistic given staffing shortages and maintenance issues.

francis irv closes

Francis Irv, an unconventional art space in New York known for its unpredictable programming, is closing after over three years. Founded by Sam Marion Wilken and Shane Rossi, the gallery operated first in a Chinatown mall beneath the Manhattan Bridge and later in a nondescript third-floor room nearby. It showcased a multigenerational mix of artists from the US and Europe, including Megan Marrin, Win McCarthy, and Reinhard Mucha, and participated in alternative art fairs like Basel Social Club and Paris Internationale rather than the mainstream circuit.

strategic pause trend

A growing number of art fairs and galleries are publicly announcing a 'strategic pause'—a hiatus from their regular exhibition schedules to reassess their models. This week, Vienna's Spark Art Fair invoked the phrase to take a year off, following Berlin dealer Mehdi Chouakri's decision to suspend his gallery's exhibition program after 30 years. Last July, ADAA's Art Show coined the term when it announced a year-long break to reimagine the New York fair, and Taipei Dangdai in Taiwan followed suit days later. In December, an unprecedented number of galleries skipped Art Basel Miami Beach. The trend reflects a broader shift in the art world's willingness to openly acknowledge the need for rest and reinvention.

metropolian opera chagall murals explained

New York's Metropolitan Opera announced it may sell its two iconic Marc Chagall murals, *The Sources of Music* and *The Triumphs of Music*, which have adorned the building's Grand Tier since 1966. The proposal includes a caveat that the paintings must remain in place at the opera, with the owner recognized on a plaque. Sotheby's valued the artworks at a total of $55 million within the past year. The financially beleaguered institution has drawn $120 million from its endowment and reduced its performance schedule since the pandemic, and previously used the Chagalls as collateral for a $35 million loan from J.P. Morgan in 2009.

pennsylvania academy of the fine arts kristen shepherd

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) has appointed Kristen Shepherd as its new president and CEO, effective February 9. Shepherd, 54, previously served as executive director and CEO of the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida, and held leadership roles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum in New York, and Sotheby’s in New York and London. She also runs her own consulting firm, Shepherd Lane + Associates. Shepherd takes over at a challenging time for PAFA, which closed its college last May due to rising costs and low enrollment, though it continues to offer K-12 and continuing education programs.

super bowl lx jeffrey gibson public art commission

The Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco announced a major public art commission by Jeffrey Gibson for Super Bowl LX festivities. The work, an adaptation of Gibson's 2022 video installation "THIS BURNING WORLD," will be installed as a 433-foot-long vinyl mural on the former Bloomingdale's building at San Francisco Centre, wrapping an entire city block. It will be fully unveiled on February 2, 2026, coinciding with the FOG Design+Art Fair. The project is funded by the San Francisco Downtown Development Corporation and the Yerba Buena Partnership, which have previously supported public art by Sarah Sze and Hank Willis Thomas.