Art News. Vasari Codex

gavel restitution schedule Sep 18, 2025 visibility 11 link 1 artist

maine museum return funerary objects wabanaki nations

The Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine, is repatriating 17 items—including a human tooth and funerary objects such as tools, animal hides, and fabric—to the Wabanaki Nations, a confederation of four local tribes (Penobscot Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Mi’kmaq Nation, and Houlton band of Maliseet Indians). The objects, many excavated by Warren K. Moorehead in the late 19th century, passed through the R.S. Peabody Museum, the Bangor Historical Society, and the Abbe Museum, with some lost due to undocumented loans. A Field Register notice from the National Park Service, published September 11, 2025, details their complex provenance. The repatriation is set to occur on or after October 14, 2025.

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gavel restitution schedule Jul 25, 2025 visibility 11 link 1 artist

king tutankhamen egyptian artifact auction grasshopper

An intricately carved ivory and wood grasshopper from the Age of Tutankhamun, known as the 'Guennol Grasshopper,' is set to be auctioned by Apollo Art Auctions in July with an estimate of £300,000–£500,000. Egyptian art historians, including German Egyptologist Christian Loeben, have raised concerns that the cosmetic vessel may have been stolen by British archaeologist Howard Carter, who discovered King Tutankhamen’s tomb and allegedly kept some items for his own collection. The auction house states there is no documented evidence linking the object to the tomb, and it has been cleared against the Art Loss Register, but experts like former Met director Thomas Hoving have long connected it to the pharaoh’s burial.

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article news schedule Jun 26, 2025 visibility 10 link 2 artists

hatshepsut statues destroyed research

New research challenges the long-held belief that Pharaoh Thutmose III destroyed statues of his predecessor Hatshepsut out of vengeful rage after her death in 1458 B.C.E. Jun Yi Wong, a research fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, examined hundreds of statue fragments from Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri in Luxor. His study, published in Antiquity on June 24, reveals that the statues were broken according to a ritual practice called deactivation—snapped at the neck, waist, and knees—while faces were left intact. Wong found that the fragments were not immediately buried but later reused by everyday Egyptians as building materials, suggesting pragmatic reuse rather than targeted erasure.

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article news schedule Jun 18, 2025 visibility 15 link 1 artist

museums in tehran and tel aviv move to safeguard their collections

Iran and Israel have taken urgent steps to protect their cultural heritage amid escalating military hostilities, including air strikes on Tehran and Tel Aviv. Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization transferred museum artifacts to secure storage and closed all museums and heritage sites, with deputy minister Ali Darabi directing custodians to follow crisis protocols. Israeli institutions, including the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, removed artworks from display to underground facilities and closed indefinitely, following Iran's retaliatory strikes on Tel Aviv.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 16, 2026 visibility 15 link 2 artists

Pooh in pencil: sketches for original Winnie-the-Pooh book shared for first time

Two previously unseen preliminary pencil sketches of Winnie-the-Pooh by illustrator E.H. Shepard have been revealed to the public for the first time. Shared by the artist’s family to mark the centenary of A.A. Milne’s classic stories, the drawings depict scenes from the "expotition" to the North Pole and the hunt for a "Woozle" that were never included in the final 1926 publication. These rare works are set to go on display at Peter Harrington Rare Books in London starting April 17.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 4, 2026 visibility 19 link 4 artists

An Abandoned Shipyard in Venice Is Getting a New Life Thanks to This Congolese Choreographer

Congolese choreographer Faustin Linyekula is staging "The Galeazze Project," a performance in a 16th-century shipyard complex in Venice that has been inaccessible since World War II and never open to the public. Commissioned by the nonprofit Scuola Piccola Zattere, the work will bring up to 500 people into the 32,291-square-foot open-air ruin for two nights during the 2026 Venice Biennale preview week. The rental fee from the performance will help stabilize and restore the floors of the historic Galeazze site.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 17, 2026 visibility 23 link 19 artists

parties 2026 bronx museum gala art

Over 500 guests gathered on a Tribeca rooftop for the 2026 Bronx Museum Gala, a fundraising event held in advance of the museum's South Wing renovation, slated to open in 2027. The evening honored artist Awol Erizku, designer Colm Dillane (KidSuper), and patron Lois Plehn, with newly-installed museum director Shamim M. Momin and co-chairs Danielle Falls and Annie B. Taylor wearing custom KidSuper suits. The gala featured a live auction led by Phillips auctioneer Sarah Krueger, including works by Ann Craven and Joyce McDonald, and an afterparty with DJ sets by Erizku and DJ Düe Champ.

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article culture schedule Apr 15, 2026 visibility 15 link 10 artists

culture freelance artist tax write offs crazy

The article explores the creative freelancer's financial landscape, focusing on the tax write-off strategies used by artists, writers, musicians, and other cultural workers. It features anecdotes from figures like writer Michelle Tea, photographer Luisa Opalesky, artist Josh Kline, and musician Ben Levi Ross, who share the unusual items they have deducted as business expenses—ranging from cat food and luxury handbags to Skittles, NyQuil, and even a vintage truck used in a film.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 29, 2026 visibility 17 link 9 artists

parties whitney art party artists downtown

The Whitney Museum of American Art hosted its sold-out 2026 Art Party, a fundraiser organized by the Whitney Contemporaries and co-chaired by comedian Ego Nwodim, artists Martine Gutierrez and Emma Safir, patrons Steven Beltrani and Alexander Hankin, and stylist Micaela Erlanger. The event transformed the museum's ground floor into a dance floor with DJ sets by the Dare and artist Raúl de Nieves, attracting a crowd that included First Lady of New York Rama Duwaji, Martha Stewart, artists Sasha Gordon and Frank WANG Yefeng, and curators Chrissie Iles and Christiane Paul.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 18, 2025 visibility 17 link 8 artists

beauty francis kurkdjian perfume exhibition

The article reports on "Perfume: Sculpture of the Invisible," a retrospective exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris celebrating 30 years of work by renowned perfumer Francis Kurkdjian. Curated by Jérôme Neutres and running through Nov. 23, the show features over 40 scents, including collaborations with artists like Sophie Calle, Yann Toma, and musicians Kilo Kish, alongside immersive installations such as L’Alchimie des Sens, which translates Kurkdjian's Baccarat Rouge Édition Millésime into a multi-sensory experience involving taste, sound, and sight.

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article local schedule Nov 4, 2025 visibility 9 link 8 artists

parties lacma art film gala photos

The 14th LACMA Art+Film Gala took place this weekend, co-chaired by LACMA trustee Eva Chow and actor Leonardo DiCaprio. The event honored artist Mary Corse and filmmaker Ryan Coogler for their contributions to art and cinema, and raised a record $6.5 million to support LACMA's mission and film initiatives. The gala was held beneath Chris Burden's Urban Light and Michael Heizer's Levitated Mass, with dinner by chef David Shim of COTE, and featured a performance by Doja Cat introduced by SZA. Attendees included a constellation of Hollywood stars, models, musicians, and designers.

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article culture schedule Oct 24, 2025 visibility 12 link 12 artists

parties ruba katrib lawrence kumpf hosting

Blank Forms celebrated its ninth anniversary with performances by Dez Andrés, Douglas Sherman, and 7038634357 at the Ukrainian National Home in the East Village. The article, written by Ruba Katrib and Lawrence Kumpf, offers a personal glimpse into their New York apartment, filled with books, records, art from friends, and a curated sound system, alongside recipes and anecdotes about hosting artists, musicians, and curators for dinners and listening sessions.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 18, 2025 visibility 12 link 8 artists

dorchester frieze london breakfast cultured magazine

CULTURED magazine hosted its third annual Frieze London breakfast at the Dorchester hotel, co-hosted by Editor-in-Chief Sarah Harrelson, European Contributor Georgina Cohen, and photographer Mary McCartney. The event drew a mix of art-world figures, celebrities, and cultural tastemakers, including actor Richard E. Grant, Tate director Maria Balshaw, musicians Jess Glynne and Sophie Ellis-Bextor, gallerists Lucy Chadwick and Pilar Corrias, and collectors Laura de Gunzburg and George Wells. Guests enjoyed a plant-based breakfast and copies of CULTURED's September issue amid the buzz of Frieze London.

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person people schedule Oct 8, 2025 visibility 15 link 6 artists, 3 galleries

art daisy parris frieze london interview

Daisy Parris, a 32-year-old painter once dubbed an "IBA" (Instagram British Artist) by Elle magazine, is navigating post-pandemic art market success by pursuing experimental textile work. Their painting sold for $254,000 at Phillips in September 2024, eight times its estimate. To coincide with Frieze London, Parris debuts "Kiss the Storm," a 16-foot-wide hand-knotted wool textile created with Textorial, an initiative by Artwise Curators, on view at the Royal College of Physicians from October 14–16. The piece incorporates painted canvas scraps and embroidered text, reflecting Parris's shift toward medium experimentation alongside their signature large-scale canvases.

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museum exhibitions schedule Sep 23, 2025 visibility 19 link 17 artists

parties high museum alison saar john legend

The High Museum of Art in Atlanta honored artist Alison Saar with the 2025 David C. Driskell Prize, a national award celebrating contributions to African American art. The gala featured a live performance by musician John Legend, a bespoke award designed by David Yurman, and drew Atlanta tastemakers, arts leaders, and cultural figures. Saar joins past recipients including Amy Sherald, Mark Bradford, and Rashid Johnson.

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article news schedule Apr 22, 2026 visibility 18 link 5 artists

What You Need to Know About the Venice Biennale’s Russian Pavilion Controversy

The Russian pavilion is set to return to the Venice Biennale for the first time since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, presenting an exhibition titled 'The tree is rooted in the sky.' This has sparked significant controversy, with artists, curators, and politicians from Ukraine and several European nations calling for the pavilion's exclusion, citing the ongoing war and sanctions. The Biennale organizers have refused to remove Russia, stating they lack the authority to exclude a state recognized by Italy and emphasizing the event's role as a neutral space for cultural dialogue.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 6, 2026 visibility 25 link 8 artists

Pete Davidson’s Pop-Filled Art Collection Revealed in Westchester Home Listing

Actor and comedian Pete Davidson has listed his Westchester County home for $2.2 million, revealing a vibrant art collection rooted in pop culture and nostalgia. The 2,300-square-foot residence features a diverse array of works ranging from Peter Max prints and Al Hirschfeld caricatures to contemporary design pieces like the Gufram x Paul Smith 'Sunset Cactus.' The interior reflects Davidson's 'man cave' aesthetic, blending high-end collectibles with whimsical references to television, film, and his native Staten Island.

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article news schedule Mar 2, 2026 visibility 13 link 2 artists

the lume controversial immersive digital art gallery indianapolis museum of art closed

The Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields has officially closed The Lume, its controversial immersive digital art gallery, following the conclusion of its final exhibition on Indigenous Australian art. Since its 2021 launch, the high-tech space hosted popular digital spectacles featuring the works of Van Gogh, Monet, and Dalí, but it will now be repurposed for a new contemporary art initiative that the museum claims will expand how audiences experience art.

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trending_up market schedule Feb 13, 2026 visibility 20 link 8 artists

collectibles digest january 2026

A rare cassette tape containing one of the earliest known recordings of rapper Tupac Shakur, made in 1988 at his friend Ge-ology's home, is being auctioned by the music collecting platform Wax Poetics with an estimate of $120,000–$150,000. The sale includes other personal artifacts like handwritten lyrics and photos from Tupac's pre-fame years in Baltimore, with bidding ending February 11.

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article news schedule Jan 8, 2026 visibility 14 link 1 artist

leonardo da vinci dna finding

Scientists from the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project (LDVP) have extracted DNA from a chalk sketch titled *Holy Child*, which may be by Leonardo da Vinci. In a preprint paper posted Tuesday, researchers suggest genetic links between the artwork and a letter from one of Leonardo's cousins, indicating a shared Tuscan ancestry. However, the findings are preliminary and not yet peer-reviewed, with experts cautioning that proving a direct connection to Leonardo himself is extremely difficult due to the lack of confirmed DNA from the artist and the disputed attribution of the drawing.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 18, 2025 visibility 16 link 6 artists

park avenue armory 2026 program marina abramovic

The Park Avenue Armory in New York has announced its 2026 program, headlined by the US premiere of Marina Abramović's provocative performance piece "Balkan Erotic Epic" on December 8. The four-hour work, centered on nude fertility rituals rooted in Balkan traditions, will be joined by other multidisciplinary works including Céleste Boursier-Mougenot's sound installation "clinamen," Steve Reich's "Music for 18 Musicians" conducted by Alan Pierson, a Simon Stone production of "The Cherry Orchard" set in modern-day Seoul, and a Benjamin Millepied dance piece based on Romeo and Juliet. All performances will take place in the Armory's Drill Hall.

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article policy schedule Nov 14, 2025 visibility 20 link 3 artists

french art world opposes proposal new taxes

Two French parliamentarians, Jean-Paul Matteï and Philippe Juvin, have proposed a new tax regime on art as part of France's 2026 budget, which would make France the only major art market to impose a wealth tax on the mere possession of artworks. The French art world has strongly opposed the proposal, with 27 signatories including Art Basel, auctioneer Drouot, visual artists' rights organization ADAGP, the Association for the International Diffusion of French Art (ADIAF), and the Comité Professionel des Galeries d’Art (CPGA). Critics argue the tax is technically unenforceable, would drive collectors away, and harm the broader art ecosystem.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 3, 2025 visibility 13 link 4 artists

brian eno sells paintings

Brian Eno, the renowned musician and artist, is selling a cache of paintings for £500 each (around $666) through his London gallery, Paul Stolper. The online sale begins November 12, following a two-day performance where Eno created over 400 works using stencils, spray paint, and found objects like dried pasta and wooden blocks. The paintings, measuring about 5 by 7 inches, are priced individually, with four-block assemblages available for £3,000. An exhibition accompanies the sale from November 14 through January 17 at Paul Stolper.

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article news schedule Oct 1, 2025 visibility 11 link 3 artists

tina turner statue tennessee bad public art

A 10-foot-tall statue of Tina Turner was unveiled in her hometown of Brownsville, Tennessee, on Saturday, September 29, 2025. Created by sculptor Fred Ajanogha, the work has sparked widespread online outrage for its distorted depiction of the late pop star, with critics comparing it to a caricature and noting its bizarre proportions, unnatural hair, and toothy grin. The statue has been condemned by both right-wing commentators and comedians like Kevin Fredericks, who likened it to other infamous public art failures.

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trending_up market schedule Sep 11, 2025 visibility 11 link 2 artists

lost jesus painting peter paul rubens paris mansion osenat

A long-lost painting of Jesus Christ's crucifixion by 17th-century Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens, titled *Christ on the Cross* (1613), was discovered in a Parisian mansion by auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat last September. The large Baroque work, measuring 42 by 29 inches, was authenticated by German curator and art historian Nils Buttner, chairman of the Centrum Rubenianum, through X-ray imaging and pigment analysis. It will be auctioned by Osenat's auction house in Fontainebleau on November 30, with no estimate yet released.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 11, 2025 visibility 16 link 6 artists

man ray rediscovered

A rediscovered watercolor sketch by Man Ray, created in 1913 when he was in his early twenties, has resurfaced after decades in an attic and sold for £18,000 ($24,000) at Dreweatts auction house in Newbury, England, on July 10. The work, titled *Nude Playing Musical Instrument [Study for “Tapestry Painting”]*, is a preparatory study for a lost larger oil-on-linen tapestry and offers rare insight into the artist's pivotal transition from traditional painting to avant-garde experimentation inspired by European modernism encountered at the 1913 Armory Show.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 9, 2025 visibility 13 link 3 artists

lost turner auction sothebys london

One of J.M.W. Turner's earliest oil paintings, *The Rising Squall, Hot Wells, from St Vincent's Rock, Bristol*, painted when he was 17, will be auctioned at Sotheby's London with an estimate of £200,000–£300,000. The work had been misattributed for decades and sold last year at Dreweatts for just £600–£800 as a work by a follower of Julius Caesar Ibbetson, before cleaning revealed Turner's signature. The painting was originally exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1793 and had not been publicly displayed for 167 years.

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article policy schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 9 link 1 artist

smithsonians african american history museum removed objects

Two lenders to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) reported that their objects were removed from the museum’s galleries earlier than expected, raising concerns about the influence of President Trump’s recent executive order targeting “anti-American content” in Smithsonian museums. Amos C. Brown, a civil rights activist and pastor, lent a 1880 book on Black history and his father’s Bible, which Martin Luther King Jr. carried during protests; the museum cited the loan’s May expiration as the reason for removal. Liz Brazelton, who lent the diary of her great-great-grandfather—a lawyer who worked on behalf of Solomon Northup—said the diary was returned in March, six months before a 10-year loan agreement was set to end in September, with the museum citing an “internal gallery rotation schedule.” At least 32 objects have reportedly been removed, though the museum denied planned removals.

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article news schedule Apr 23, 2025 visibility 10 link 2 artists

barbra kruger to unveil new installation on ukrainian passenger train

Artist Barbara Kruger has created a new typographic installation, *Untitled (Another Again)*, for the exterior of a Ukrainian Railways Intercity train. The work will be unveiled on May 1 before the train's maiden voyage from Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi to Darnytsia Station, with a future route spanning Ukraine including stops in Lviv, Kharkiv, and Kramatorsk. Commissioned by the nonprofit RIBBON International in collaboration with Ukrzaliznytsia, the text appears in Ukrainian and English, reflecting Kruger's signature style of bold, critical messaging.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 2 link 1 artist

This First Nations artist wants your racist 'Aboriginalia' – video

Indigenous artist Tony Albert has issued a public call for Australians to donate their 'Aboriginalia'—objects that depict Aboriginal people and designs but were created by non-Indigenous people, often as caricatures or exoticized souvenirs. Over 3,000 items from Albert's own collection, including tea towels, ashtrays, and playing cards, are now on display in his solo exhibition 'Not a Souvenir' at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney, opening on 21 May.

newspaper The Guardian open_in_new Read original