Southwest Florida's art centers are hosting 29 exhibitions in August, spanning venues from Sarasota to Marco Island. Highlights include Art Center Sarasota's juried show 'Vice and Virtue' exploring morality, Jacob Z. Wan's LGBTQ+ intimacy-themed mixed media installation 'Me, Myself and I, Vol. 3', a youth exhibition 'INK: Quilt of Identity' by ALSO Youth, and Dorothea (D') Calvert's ceramic series 'Praxis'.
Ilya and Emilia Kabakov's participatory art project *Ship of Tolerance* (2005–present) has been reinstalled at Oakville Galleries on Lake Ontario, near Toronto, opening on 31 May as part of the exhibition *Between Heaven and Earth* (through 20 September). The project, which involves children from diverse backgrounds creating painted sails for a 60-foot wooden boat, has previously traveled to locations including Siwa, Egypt; the Venice Biennale; Sharjah; Brooklyn; Miami; Moscow; and London. Emilia Kabakov continues to lead the project after Ilya Kabakov's death in 2023, and the latest iteration arrives amid global crises including wars, migrant displacement, and US President Donald Trump's threats to annex Canada.
Praise Shadows art gallery in Brookline's Coolidge Corner is among five venues offering free art exhibitions this summer. The gallery presents "Pigment Spells," a solo show by Boston-based artist and Boston University professor Lucy Kim, featuring resin casts of found objects covered in oil paint. Other exhibitions include David Weinberg's "Explorations" at Gallery 93 in the Brookline Senior Center, which combines photo montages with medieval manuscripts, and Gateway Arts' "Artists Assortment," a tribute to current and former artists with disabilities featuring celebrity portraits. The roundup also highlights the accessibility of these spaces, which welcome visitors without admission fees.
Vu[e]s de dos. Une figure sans portrait
The exhibition "Vu[e]s de dos. Une figure sans portrait" at Les Franciscaines in Deauville, running from February 28 to May 31, 2026, explores the artistic motif of figures seen from behind. Curated by director Annie Madet-Vache, the show was inspired by a small painting from the museum's own collection, André Hambourg's *L'Enterrement de Poincaré*. Unable to secure loans of iconic works such as those by Friedrich, Delacroix, Ingres, or Vermeer, Madet-Vache instead displays large black-and-white reproductions of these masterpieces alongside contemporary works they inspired, turning the absence of the originals into a conceptual strength.
The March 2026 issue of the academic journal *Print Quarterly* has been published, featuring a collection of scholarly articles and reviews focused on the history of prints and printmaking. The contents include new research on artists ranging from Hans Burgkmair and Paul Gauguin to Hiroshige and Aubrey Beardsley, along with obituaries for notable scholars and reviews of recent publications and exhibitions.
Isaac Julien has created a new site-responsive film installation titled 'All That Changes You. Metamorphosis' at The Cosmic House in London. The work, which features protagonists Lilith and Naomi, explores themes of transformation, cosmology, and interdependence through a non-linear narrative that moves from Californian redwoods to Renaissance interiors, using the postmodern architecture as an active participant in the dialogue.
A community arts charity, Helix Arts, and George King Architects have won a public vote to create 'The People's Tree', a multimedia artwork using preserved wood from the illegally felled Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland. The National Trust commission, announced in September 2025, will transform the tree into a 'living archive' featuring participatory storytelling, a national sound archive, seed pods for digital recordings, a soundscape from growth rings, and a sound sculpture near the original site. The project is expected to begin public engagement in summer 2026 and be completed by autumn 2027.
The Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan has been named one of the most endangered places in the US by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, marking the first time the site has appeared on the annual list. The designation comes amid the Trump administration's efforts to control LGBTQ+ history, including the National Park Service's removal of references to transgender individuals from the monument's official website and the removal of the rainbow pride flag from the site. Activists and the Gilbert Baker Foundation fought back, with the foundation filing a lawsuit that led to a settlement allowing the pride flag to be flown again, though the NPS has not restored the original website text.
Opening statements and witness testimony began on Tuesday in a Manhattan court for the murder-for-hire trial following the 2024 killing of New York art dealer Brent Sikkema. Alejandro Triana Prevez, a Cuban national, was arrested shortly after Sikkema was found murdered in his Rio de Janeiro apartment, and claims that Sikkema's ex-husband, Daniel Carrera Sikkema, offered him $200,000 to commit the crime. Carrera Sikkema was charged in February 2025 with hiring Prevez. Prosecutors presented evidence including phone records, financial transactions, and witness testimony, while the defense argued the case relies on circumstantial evidence and that Carrera Sikkema's statements were made amid a contentious divorce.
On April 28, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., announced the return of 657 trafficked antiquities valued at nearly $14 million to India. The items were recovered by the D.A.'s Antiquities Trafficking Unit and Homeland Security Investigations, and formally returned at a ceremony in New York. Among the repatriated pieces are a bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara (valued at $2 million), stolen from the Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum in Raipur in 1982; a red sandstone Buddha statue (valued at $7.5 million) smuggled by convicted dealer Subhash Kapoor; and a sandstone Ganesha sculpture looted by trafficker Vaman Ghiya and sold through Christie's by Nancy Wiener, who was later convicted of antiquities trafficking.
Billionaire collector Ken Griffin has quietly acquired a second rare first printing of the US Constitution, known as the Van Sinderen copy, through a private deal after it was pulled from a planned Sotheby’s auction in 2022. Griffin, who previously paid $43.2 million at Sotheby’s in 2021 for another copy, now holds the only two copies of the 1787 document still in private hands. The newly acquired document will go on public display starting May 27 at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York, headlining an exhibition titled “The Promise of Liberty” that includes other foundational texts.
Photographer Eric Lusito documents Soviet-era scientific institutes across former USSR states in his book "Soviet Scientific Institutes," published by FUEL. The photo essay captures decaying facilities and enduring equipment at locations including the Institute of Radio Astronomy in Kharkiv, Ukraine; the Byurakan astrophysical observatory in Armenia; the Andronikashvili Institute of Physics in Tbilisi, Georgia; and the Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute in Kazakhstan, among others.
Russia will return to the 61st Venice Biennale with its national pavilion, but the exhibition will only be physically open to the press and select guests during the vernissage dates of May 5–8. From May 9 onward, the pavilion will remain closed to the public, with multimedia documentation of performances displayed on screens at the windows. The arrangement follows leaked emails among Biennale Foundation President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, General Director Andrea Del Mercato, and Russian Pavilion Commissioner Anastasia Karneeva, revealing efforts to comply with EU sanctions while still allowing Russia's participation after two consecutive absences since its invasion of Ukraine.
Award-winning photographer Tom Jenkins captures the high-stakes atmosphere of the 2026 Grand National meeting at Aintree. The photo essay documents the dramatic physical feats of the horses, including falls at the notorious 'Chair' fence, alongside the vibrant social culture of the spectators, from the high-fashion 'Style Awards' on Ladies’ Day to the rain-soaked crowds of the final day.
Taylor Sheridan, the creator of the hit television series Yellowstone, has been tapped to direct a 4D film for the upcoming Alamo Visitor Center and Museum in San Antonio. The film will serve as the centerpiece of a $185 million museum revamp, which includes a state-of-the-art theater designed to be the most technologically advanced of its kind. Sheridan, a Texas native, will chronicle the 1836 siege and battle that remains a foundational event in Texan history.
The Biennale of Sydney has officially denied allegations of discrimination and bias following claims from Australia’s Jewish community that the exhibition's selection process favored anti-Zionist artists. The controversy intensified when the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies declined a preview invitation, citing "objectionable social media activity" by participating artists rather than the artworks themselves. In response, the Biennale maintained that its selection process is based strictly on artistic merit and that the organization maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward all forms of racism, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.
A 16th-century portrait, attributed only to the "French or Flemish School," sold for $2.3 million at a Sotheby's New York auction, dramatically exceeding its estimate. The work, from the collection of Dutch magnate Anton Philips, sparked a 10-minute bidding war among four participants, likely driven by speculation it could be by the Dutch-born French painter Corneille de Lyon.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston laid off 33 staff members, including several curators of color, prompting accusations that the cuts disproportionately targeted minority employees. Director Pierre Terjanian issued a statement denying the claim, asserting that the percentage of staff identifying as people of color remained unchanged at one-third. Among those let go were Marina Tyquiengco, associate curator of Native American art; Nadirah Mansour, assistant curator of Islamic art; and theo tyson, a curator in fashion arts who was reportedly the only Black curator at the museum. A union representative said workers were notified only five minutes before the public announcement, and no leadership took pay cuts despite the elimination of the COO position.
Christie's has promoted Kimberly Miller to the role of Global Managing Director of its luxury division. This move follows a period of strong performance for the auction house's luxury categories, which saw sales reach $795 million in 2025, a 17% increase, significantly outpacing its overall growth. Miller previously served as regional managing director for luxury in the Americas, where she oversaw jewelry, watches, wine, and handbags, and integrated the automotive auction house Gooding & Company.
Rome has introduced a €2.35 entry fee for the Trevi Fountain, one of the world's most famous monuments, effective February 1 during daylight hours (9am to 9pm). The measure, announced by Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, aims to curb overtourism by limiting viewership to 400 people at a time. The fountain currently welcomes up to 70,000 visitors per day, and the fee could raise an estimated $7.6 million annually for maintenance. Similar fees will apply to four other city sites, while Roman citizens retain free access.
Half of non-bank art lenders experienced loan defaults in 2024, up from 17 percent in 2022, according to the Art and Finance Report 2025 by Deloitte Private and ArtTactic. The report notes that while the wider art market has shrunk since 2022—sales fell 12 percent to $57.5 billion in 2024—the market for art-backed loans has grown to an estimated $33.9–$40 billion. Non-bank lenders are increasingly taking on riskier clients, with some charging over 15 percent interest, while private banks reported zero defaults in 2024.
A new study by University of Bristol historian Benjamin Pohl, published in the journal *Historical Research*, proposes that the Bayeux Tapestry was originally designed as mealtime reading for monks in the refectory of St. Augustine’s Abbey in Canterbury. Pohl argues that the tapestry’s moralistic episodes, inclusion of Aesop’s fables, and simple Latin text align with Benedictine rules requiring silent dining accompanied by edifying readings. The theory builds on earlier speculation that the tapestry once hung in a private school’s refectory, but Pohl provides documentary and archaeological evidence for the Canterbury location.
A rare Fabergé Winter Egg, made of crystal and adorned with 4,000 diamonds, sold for £22.9 million ($30.2 million) at Christie’s London on Tuesday, setting a new auction record for any Fabergé egg. The sale was part of a 48-lot collection titled “The Winter Egg and Important Works by Fabergé from a Princely Collection,” which achieved a total of £27.8 million ($37.1 million). The egg was created for Russia’s imperial family by Alma Theresia Pihl, one of the few women in Fabergé’s St. Petersburg workshop, and fabricated by her uncle, chief jeweler Albert Holmström. It had previously sold at Christie’s in Geneva in 1994 and in New York in 2002.
An anonymous buyer paid $962,500 at an RR Auction sale for the code to the final unsolved passage of Jim Sanborn's sculpture "Kryptos," located at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The sculpture, dedicated in 1990, contains four encrypted passages; three have been cracked by cryptologists, but the 97-character fourth passage (K4) has remained unsolved for decades. Sanborn, now 80, decided to sell the solution after growing tired of fielding inquiries from enthusiasts, despite a recent discovery of the solution in the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art that raised questions about the auction.
The Borso d'Este Bible, often called the 'Mona Lisa of Illuminated Manuscripts,' has gone on rare public display at the Italian Senate in Rome as part of the Vatican's Holy Year celebrations. The two-volume manuscript, commissioned by Duke Borso d'Este in the mid-15th century and created by calligrapher Pietro Paolo Marone and illuminators Taddeo Crivelli and Franco dei Russi, is usually kept in a safe at a library in Modena. It was transported with elaborate security and is now showcased behind humidity-controlled glass with a digital touch-screen experience for visitors.
Archaeologists excavating for Mexico's Maya Train project in the Yucatan peninsula have uncovered a 2,000-year-old limestone sculpture of an elderly man, dating to the Preclassic period (2500 B.C.E.–200 C.E.). The 18-inch tall carving, found at the site of Sierra Papacal near Mérida, once marked the entrance of a west-facing ceremonial structure. The sculpture's flat nose, defined lips, and deep eye sockets symbolize wisdom and respect in Maya culture. It will be transferred to a laboratory for conservation and further study.
A 137-carat diamond known as the Florentine Diamond, once owned by the Medici and Habsburg families and long believed lost, has been revealed to have been hidden in a bank vault in Canada for decades. The Habsburg family secreted the gem during World War II and kept its location secret for 100 years, as requested by Empress Zita after her husband Charles I's death in 1922. Three Habsburg descendants recently invited The New York Times to view the diamond and expressed interest in exhibiting it in a Canadian museum, though they have no plans to sell it.
Saratoga, the bottled water brand known for its blue glass bottles and ubiquity at art world events, has launched a new collection of flavored sparkling waters with art-themed names. The three flavors are Abstraction of Lime, Anatomy of a Peach, and Untitled Berry No. 3, each packaged in cans with colorful geometric abstract designs. The brand's marketing leans into art world language, describing the flavors as a "curated blend" and using ornate picture frames in promotional imagery.
As part of the recent ceasefire deal brokered by the Trump Administration, Hamas returned 20 living hostages and four bodies of deceased hostages to Israel on Monday, but failed to return all 28 bodies as agreed. Among the deceased is Israeli graffiti artist and art student Inbar Haiman, known as “Pink,” who was abducted at age 27 from the Nova Music Festival on October 7. Her family is demanding the return of her remains, with her aunt Hannah Cohen emphasizing the need for closure. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum condemned the incomplete return as a violation of the agreement, and Israel has threatened consequences if the remaining bodies are not handed over.
Christie's online sale of decorative arts from the collection of Jonathan Burden, titled 'Crafted and Collected: The Jonathan Burden Sale,' achieved over $1.07 million with fees, more than doubling the low estimate of $487,500. The sale featured 151 lots, with only five unsold, a 97% sell-through rate. The top lot was a 10-foot-long French Incarnat Turquin marble dining table that sold for $101,600, far exceeding its $30,000 high estimate. The auction employed an innovative 'in-situ' viewing at Burden's studio in Long Island City, where potential bidders could meet the dealer, hear stories, and see pieces demonstrated. Many items sold for multiples of their estimates, including a Victorian metamorphic chair that brought $27,940 against a $3,000 high estimate.