elizabeth street garden lawsuit seeks vara protection 2610634

The Elizabeth Street Garden in New York City has filed a federal lawsuit seeking protection under the Visual Artist Rights Act (VARA) to prevent its destruction for an affordable housing project called Haven Green. The lawsuit, filed by law firms Siegel Teitelbaum and Evans and McLaughlin and Stern, argues that the garden is a unique work of visual art and landscape architecture created by the late Allan Reiver and his son Joseph Reiver, and should be legally protected as a sculptural work. The garden received a temporary stay after eviction papers were served last fall, but the city plans to build 100% deeply affordable senior housing on the site, claiming the project will provide over 15,000 square feet of public space.

harriet tubman river raid exhibition 2658336

A new exhibition at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, South Carolina, titled “Picturing Freedom,” highlights Harriet Tubman’s role in the Combahee River Raid of 1863, where she guided Union troops to free 756 enslaved people in a single night. The show features works by Jacob Lawrence, Aaron Douglas, Elizabeth Catlett, and Faith Ringgold, alongside contemporary artists, and includes multimedia elements such as audio interviews with descendants, a video reenactment, and landscape photographs by J. Henry Fair. Guest curated by Vanessa Thaxton-Ward of Hampton University Museum, the exhibition is based on Edda L. Fields-Black’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book "COMBEE."

inside va east storehouse 2651021

The V&A East Storehouse, a new museum space in London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, opens to the public on May 31, 2025, offering free admission seven days a week. Housed in the former London 2012 Olympics Media and Broadcast Centre, the 172,222-square-foot facility displays over 250,000 objects, 350,000 books, and 1,000 archives from the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection. Designed by Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, the Storehouse features a glass-floored Collections Hall where visitors can freely explore shelves and mini-curated displays, with objects changed frequently. Highlights include the Agra Colonnade (1630s) from Shah Jahan's bathhouse and a section of the Robin Hood Gardens housing estate by Alison and Peter Smithson.

natural history museum will remove human remains from display 2381068

The American Museum of Natural History in New York City will remove human remains from its public displays over the next eight weeks and update its policies regarding the collection. The decision follows an investigation by Erin Thompson, a professor of art crime at John Jay College, whose report for Hyperallergic raised ethical and legal concerns about the acquisition of approximately 12,000 individuals' remains held by the museum. Museum president Sean Decatur announced the removal as the "right course of action," acknowledging that the remains were collected without consent and often used to advance racist scientific agendas.

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Sotheby's underperformed with the highly anticipated Saunders Collection of Old Masters, which was estimated at $80–120 million but sold for only $65.4 million, falling $14.6 million short of its low estimate. The sell-through rate was a dismal 58%, with 16 of 43 lots failing to sell in the standalone auction. Christie's also saw disappointing results, with a smaller sale totaling $6.89 million, 17% below its low target. The collection, amassed by the late banker Thomas A. Saunders III and his wife Jordan, was billed as the most valuable Old Masters collection ever to come to auction.

whitney museum paused independent study program censorship 2651955

The Whitney Museum of American Art has suspended its storied Independent Study Program (ISP) for the 2025–2026 academic year, following widespread outcry over the censorship of a performance titled "No Aesthetic Outside My Freedom: Mourning, Militancy, and Performance" by artists Fadl Fakhouri, Noel Maghathe, and Fargo Tbakhi. The performance, scheduled for May 14, was canceled by museum leadership after reviewing a video in which Tbakhi made demands that supporters of Israel or America leave the venue. Director Scott Rothkopf informed the ISP community of the pause in an email, citing the need to search for a new director. The museum also confirmed that Sara Nadal-Melsió, hired in 2024 as the ISP's first associate director, will not retain her position. The cancellation drew condemnation from free speech advocates, including the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), which likened the museum's actions to an authoritarian approach.

whitney museum cancels palestine performance independent study program 2646893

The Whitney Museum of American Art canceled a performance piece titled "No Aesthetics Outside My Freedom: Mourning, Militancy, and Performance" scheduled for May 14 as part of the Independent Study Program's exhibition "A Grammar of Attention." The performance, by artists Fadl Fakhouri, Noel Maghathe, and Fargo Tbakhi, was grounded in the struggle for Palestinian freedom. The museum cited a zero-tolerance policy for harassment after reviewing a video of a previous iteration where an artist called for anyone who believes in Israel or America to leave the audience and valorized specific acts of violence. Participants and the program's associate director accuse the museum of censorship and seeking greater control over the historically autonomous program.

rasquachismo exhibition mcnay art museum 1234742520

The McNay Art Museum in San Antonio mounted the exhibition "Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility" to mark the 35th anniversary of scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto's foundational 1989 essay theorizing rasquachismo. The show, curated by Mia Lopez and on view from December through March, featured works by major Chicanx artists including Yolanda M. López, Carmen Lomas Garza, Santa Barraza, Celia Álvarez Muñoz, Carlos Almaraz, Frank Romero, Patssi Valdez, Luis Jiménez, and younger artists like Ruth Buentello, Juan de Dios Mora, and Jimmy James Canales. Ybarra-Frausto credited Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia in San Antonio's Historic Market Square as a key influence on his critical eye, describing the restaurant as a "hotbed of rasquachismo."

pharrell williams joopiter marketplace 2644229

Pharrell Williams has launched a new buy-it-now extension called Joopiter Marketplace, an offshoot of his existing auction platform Joopiter. The marketplace offers collectibles from Williams's personal archive—including Vivienne Westwood hats, KAWS sneakers, Gucci and Levi's jackets, and items from his fashion labels ICECREAM and Billionaire Boys Club—alongside pieces from other cultural figures. Additional sellers include artist Tom Sachs, gallerist Easy Otabor, jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz, and music executive Steven Victor, with proceeds from some sales benefiting nonprofits like the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Rebuild Foundation, and the Virgil Abloh Foundation.

britain royal coronation portraits charles iii camilla 1234741047

The United Kingdom unveiled official coronation portraits of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, painted by artists Peter Kuhfeld and Paul Benney respectively, to commemorate the 2023 coronation. Charles is depicted in a red room wearing coronation regalia beside the Imperial State Crown, while Camilla is shown in photorealistic detail in a powder blue silk dress. The portraits are on view at the National Gallery in London.

frankenthaler warhol foundations fund projects nea cuts 2640695

The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation and the Andy Warhol Foundation are jointly providing $800,000 in emergency grants to replace funding lost when the Trump administration abruptly cut the National Endowment for the Arts' Challenge America grants in February 2025. The grants, each worth $10,000, will support 80 small and medium-sized visual arts programs across the country that had been promised NEA funding for underserved communities, including the Kids & Art Foundation, Allentown Art Museum, Free Arts for Abused Children, InToto Creative Arts Forum, and Latinitas.

nazi looted egon schiele art return 366428

A Manhattan judge has blocked London-based art dealer Richard Nagy from selling or transporting two watercolors by Egon Schiele, which were on display at his booth during the Salon of Art + Design fair at the Park Avenue Armory. The works—Woman in a Black Pinafore and Woman Hiding Her Face—are claimed by the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum, a Jewish Holocaust victim and cabaret performer who died at Dachau. The heirs, Timothy Reif and David Fraenkel, filed suit in Manhattan Supreme Court, alleging the paintings were among 400 artworks surrendered to the Nazis by Grünbaum's wife. Nagy disputes the claim, arguing the works were sold legally by Grünbaum's sister-in-law in 1956 and that previous arbitration boards found no evidence of Nazi looting.

sfmoma gift pamela joyner alfred giuffrida 1950427

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has received a landmark gift of 31 paintings, sculptures, and drawings from the Pamela J. Joyner and Alfred J. Giuffrida Collection, which focuses on abstract works by artists of the African diaspora. The donated pieces, created by 20 American artists born before 1930—including Elizabeth Catlett, Beauford Delaney, Norman Lewis, and Richard Mayhew—are intended to fill historical gaps in the museum's collection. Joyner, who became an SFMOMA trustee in 2020, selected works that represent the earliest generation of artists in her collection, aiming to support a more inclusive art-historical narrative.

the ashes tudor lodge wall paintings 2635562

Rare 16th-century wall paintings depicting fantastical beasts, heraldic rabbits, and Grotesque heads have been uncovered at the Ashes, a Tudor hunting lodge in Inglewood Forest, Cumbria, U.K. Built in the 1560s during Elizabeth I's reign, the two-story building originally housed William Simpson, a bailiff of Castle Sowerby Manor. The paintings, created using the secco technique on dry plaster, were found in stages—first on the second story in the 1970s, then on the ground floor during excavations in the 2010s and 2020s. The most recent discoveries, made by owners Jen and Richard Arkell, reveal elaborate decorative panels likely inspired by textile designs, reflecting the cosmopolitan tastes of the period.

fort worth police return photographs seized from sally mann exhibition 1234739889

Fort Worth police have returned photographs by Sally Mann that were seized from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in January. The artworks were taken from the group exhibition “Diaries of Home” following complaints from locals and elected officials who characterized Mann’s work as “grossly inappropriate” and “child porn.” The seizure sparked national condemnation, with the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), and the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas (ACLU of Texas) intervening to demand the works’ return. Charges against the museum were dropped, and the photographs have now been returned, bringing closure to the investigation.

lawrence watson oasis paul weller photographer print sale 2633724

Lawrence Watson, a British music photographer who has captured icons like David Bowie, Morrissey, Oasis, and Run-D.M.C. over four decades, is releasing exclusive signed prints through the platform Print Matters. The collection includes previously unseen images of David Bowie, Pulp, the Clash, and Oasis, with prices starting at £575 ($762). Twenty percent of net sales will benefit the mental health charity Rethink Mental Illness. Watson's career began in 1988 when Paul Weller chose his black-and-white photos for the Style Council's album 'Confessions of a Pop Group,' leading to a long collaboration.

‘Relentless’: National Gallery of Victoria exhibition celebrates motherhood

The National Gallery of Victoria has launched "Mother," an expansive exhibition featuring over 200 works that explore the complexities of motherhood. Curated by Sophie Gerhard and Katharina Prugger, the show draws from the NGV collection and new acquisitions to move beyond idealized religious icons like the Virgin Mary. The selection spans centuries and cultures, juxtaposing 19th-century sketches by Queen Victoria with contemporary First Nations birthing skirts and raw depictions of domestic labor and maternal exhaustion.

Taiwan revokes Sakuliu Pavavaljung’s National Award for Arts

Taiwan’s National Culture and Arts Foundation has revoked the National Award for Arts granted to artist Sakuliu Pavavaljung in 2018, ordering him to return the NTD 1 million prize. The revocation follows a Supreme Court ruling on 1 April that upheld a January 2025 conviction by the Pingtung District Court, which found the artist guilty of rape and sentenced him to four years and six months in prison.

8 Must-See Solo Gallery Shows in May

Galerie magazine has curated a list of eight must-see solo gallery shows across the United States for May, highlighting exhibitions in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Featured artists include Domenico Gnoli at Lévy Gorvy Dayan, John Stezaker at Gray in Chicago, Alison Elizabeth Taylor at Jessica Silverman in San Francisco, Charles Ray at Matthew Marks Gallery and Jeffery Deitch in Los Angeles, Jose Dávila at Sean Kelly, and Peter Hujar at Ortuzar, among others. The article provides details on each artist's practice and the scope of their exhibitions, such as Gnoli's largest U.S. show in five decades and Hujar's restaging of his final solo exhibition.

$35.1 million Henry Moore sculpture leads London March 2026 auctions.

A Henry Moore bronze sculpture, "Reclining Figure: Festival," sold for $35.1 million at Christie's London, leading a strong series of March 2026 auctions. The sale of the monumental 1951 work, which had been held in the same private collection for over four decades, set a new auction record for the British modernist sculptor, far exceeding its high estimate.

London's Southbank Centre to receive £10m government funding boost

The UK government has announced a £10 million funding boost for London’s Southbank Centre as part of a broader £128 million investment package for 130 cultural venues nationwide. Administered by Arts Council England, the grant is earmarked for urgent infrastructure repairs, including fixing leaking roofs and modernizing rigging systems, coinciding with the center's 75th anniversary. Other major beneficiaries of the Creative Foundations Fund include the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and Firstsite gallery.

parties ifpda 2026 benefit gala

The 2026 IFPDA Foundation Benefit Gala took place on the Upper East Side, honoring Christophe Cherix, Director of The Museum of Modern Art. Held in the historic Veterans Room at the Park Avenue Armory, the event gathered notable figures including artists Hank Willis Thomas and Yashua Klos, collectors Sharon Coplan, Stewart Gross, and Jordan Schnitzer, dealers Carolina Nitsch, Jill Newhouse, and Joni Moisant Weyl, and curators Nadine Orenstein, Freyda Spira, and Andrew Weislogel. A new print edition by Stanley Whitney, produced with Universal Limited Art Editions, was released to support the IFPDA Foundation’s grantmaking initiatives.

art bunker artspace queer exhibition

The Bunker Artspace in Palm Beach, Florida, has opened "Beyond the Rainbow," a major exhibition of LGBTQ+ art curated by Laura Dvorkin and Maynard Monrow, along with 19 other artists, curators, gallerists, architects, and writers. The show draws from the collection of patron Beth Rudin DeWoody and features works by Catherine Opie, Andy Warhol, Nicole Eisenman, Lyle Ashton Harris, and others, running from December 7 through May 1, 2026. The exhibition was inspired by a visit to the Centre Pompidou's "Over the Rainbow" show in Paris.

art pulled from print joyce pensato ica miami exhibition

The ICA Miami has organized a major posthumous survey of the late painter Joyce Pensato, opening December 2 and running through March 15. The exhibition brings together over 65 works spanning five decades, from early Batman sketches to her signature enamel paintings that transform cartoon icons like Mickey Mouse, The Simpsons, and South Park characters into grotesque, emotionally charged images. The show is curated by artistic director Alex Gartenfeld, curator Stephanie Seidel, and ICA Art + Research Center Director Gean Moreno, and is the most comprehensive presentation of Pensato's work to date.

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The article is a first-person diary by artist Elle Pérez, chronicling their experience at Paris Photo 2024. Pérez describes the fair as the art world's best-kept secret, noting its uniquely fun and intergenerational atmosphere where artists and curators genuinely enjoy gathering. The diary covers a week of events including book meetings with Aperture, dinners with photographers, and the main fair at the Grand Palais, highlighting the camaraderie and joy of being together despite the anxieties facing photographers today.

art amitha raman weed moma collector

Collector Amitha Raman shares her journey into art collecting, which began with late-night classes at MoMA under art historian Agnes Berecz, where she explored empty galleries after hours. Her first acquisition was Mary Beth Edelson's "Hounds of Hell" (1973), and she now serves as co-chair of MoMA's Young Patrons Council and a member of its Black Arts Council. Raman's collection includes works by Rashid Johnson, Wolfgang Tillmans, Tracey Emin, Jenny Holzer, and Jeffrey Gibson, and she actively loans pieces to major museums worldwide.

rose art museum gala exhibition fund

The Rose Art Museum held its first-ever New York benefit gala, marking its return to the fundraising circuit after two decades. Co-chaired by advisor Abigail Ross Goodman and Christie’s Sara Friedlander, the event honored sculptor Hugh Hayden and philanthropist Lizbeth Krupp, the longtime chair of the museum’s board of advisors. The evening raised $900,000 toward a new $2 million Exhibition Endowment Fund, with Krupp making the first gift. Guests included artists Salman Toor, Leilah Babirye, Ali Banisadr, and Ilana Savdie, as well as gallerist Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn and Public Art Fund’s Nicholas Baume.

david cancel tina knowles nancy magoon

CULTURED magazine revisits its weekly series on top art collectors, offering a peek into the homes and collections of David Cancel, Jarl Mohn, Nancy Magoon, César and Mima Reyes, and Nicola Erni. The article highlights Cancel's journey from graffiti and Keith Haring's Pop Shop to supporting Puerto Rican and Afro-Caribbean artists, Mohn's dramatic installation of a four-ton Michael Heizer sculpture, and the Reyes' commitment to women artists and Puerto Rican cultural institutions.

Watching You, Watching Me: On Panteha Abareshi and the Spectacle of Illness

Frieze New York Diary: a charity sale and rogue underwear

Frieze New York is underway, with notable highlights including a provocative marble sculpture of underwear by Reza Aramesh at the Iranian gallery Dastan, representing the last garment removed before imprisonment. Meanwhile, collectors Susan and Michael Hort are hosting a charity sale at their Tribeca townhouse benefiting the Rema Hort Mann Fund, featuring a popular "Buy What You Love" section where $150 works on paper are sold anonymously. Actor Lucy Liu is also making waves with a new exhibition titled "Hard Feelings" at Alisan Fine Arts on the Upper East Side, showcasing deeply personal paintings about memory and family.