Embattled Louvre Director Laurence des Cars Resigns

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Laurence des Cars has resigned as director of the Louvre Museum following months of intense scrutiny and institutional turmoil. Her departure, accepted by French President Emmanuel Macron, comes in the wake of a massive $102 million jewelry heist in October 2025 that exposed severe security lapses, outdated infrastructure, and systemic management failures. Despite proposing a major security overhaul and a massive modernization project, Des Cars faced mounting pressure from government audits, staff walkouts, and investigations into ticket fraud.

According to Brian Eno, everything is political. And in Parma, his first exhibition in Italy opens, also speaking about Palestine

Secondo Brian Eno tutto è politica. E a Parma apre la sua prima mostra in Italia che parla anche della Palestina

Brian Eno, the internationally renowned British artist and musician, opens his first retrospective exhibition in Italy at the Complesso Monumentale di San Paolo in Parma, running from May 1 to August 2, 2026. The show features two complementary projects: SEED, a site-specific sound installation created with Turkish writer Ece Temelkuran in the garden, and My Light Years, a light-based work in the newly restored Ospedale Vecchio. Curated by Alessandro Albertini, the exhibition marks Eno's return to Italy after his Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 2023 Venice Biennale, and follows earlier interventions at Castello del Buonconsiglio, Palazzo Te, and Ara Pacis.

The New Exhibitions of the Pinacoteca Agnelli and the New Public Works on the Lingotto Park-Track: The Photos

Le nuove mostre della Pinacoteca Agnelli e le nuove opere pubbliche sulla pista-parco del Lingotto: le foto

The Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin has launched a new exhibition program that includes the first major institutional retrospective in Italy dedicated to Swiss photographer Walter Pfeiffer, titled "In Good Company," running until September 13, 2026. Curated by Nicola Trezzi and Simon Castets, the show features over 100 photographs from the 1970s to today, blending iconic and unseen works that explore queer eroticism, everyday artifice, and collaborative image-making. Concurrently, the museum presents "Modigliani sottopelle. Quattro capolavori" as part of its "Beyond the Collection" series, placing four masterpieces by Amedeo Modigliani—including a loan from the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart and works from the Centre Pompidou—in dialogue with the permanent collection. Curated by Pietro Rigolo and Beatrice Zanelli, the exhibition takes an interdisciplinary approach combining art history, diagnostics, and scientific research, using an algorithm to analyze canvas weaves and propose a new dating for the iconic "Nu couché" acquired by Giovanni and Marella Agnelli in 1960.

Art Fund celebrates decade of lending programme with Rossetti and Surrealist loans

The Art Fund is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its Weston Loan Programme by facilitating the loan of major masterpieces to 15 regional UK institutions. High-profile works, including Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s 'Beata Beatrix' and Joseph Wright of Derby’s 'An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump', will travel from national collections like the National Gallery and Tate to smaller galleries in Newcastle, Derby, and Ipswich. The program covers essential logistical costs such as insurance, transport, and security that are typically prohibitive for local museums.

Your Australian art guide for March 2026 is here

The Australian art scene is hosting a diverse array of exhibitions throughout March 2026, headlined by the landmark 25th Biennale of Sydney titled 'Rememory.' Major institutional highlights include the newly reopened Newcastle Art Gallery showcasing its national collection, a significant Ron Mueck survey at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and a major Rosalie Gascoigne exhibition at Bundanon. Commercial galleries are also debuting new works, ranging from Patricia Piccinini’s stem-cell-inspired installation at Passage Gallery to Christopher Zanko’s architectural studies at N.Smith Gallery.

Date announced to celebrate landmark reopening of Newcastle Art Gallery

Newcastle Art Gallery will celebrate its landmark reopening on February 27, 2026, with a street party and temporary sculpture park on Laman Street, followed by a three-day opening weekend. The event launches the major exhibition "Iconic Loved Unexpected" on February 28. The expansion, the largest capital works project in City of Newcastle's history, adds 1,600 square meters of exhibition space and 13 galleries, making it the largest public art institution in New South Wales outside Sydney. The project was funded through 16 years of fundraising and perseverance.

Artist Opportunity: Open: Odyssey, a major new biennial open exhibition launching in 2026.

Hastings Contemporary and Sussex Contemporary have announced the judging panel for The Open: Odyssey, a major new biennial open exhibition launching in 2026. The panel includes Chris Packham, Elena Crippa, Eva Langret, Fiona Banner, Isabel Rock, Kathleen Soriano, and Zoe Lyons. Submissions are open to artists connected to Sussex, with works responding to the theme of Odyssey, exploring journeys shaped by tides, time, and transformation. The exhibition will run from 28 March to 31 May 2026 at Hastings Contemporary, featuring over 100 artists and all works available for purchase.

F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio presents 100 Years of British and Irish Art – A Fermanagh Collection

The F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio in Northern Ireland has opened "100 Years of British and Irish Art: A Fermanagh Collection," a landmark exhibition showcasing the private art collection of the Earl and Countess of Belmore. Curated by William Laffan and Riann Coulter, the show spans five decades of collecting and features works by Irish painters such as Paul Henry, Norah McGuinness, and Basil Blackshaw, alongside British modernists including David Bomberg and Ceri Richards. The collection, rooted in the historic Castle Coole estate, was shaped by the Belmores' friendships with artists, particularly Enniskillen-born T.P. Flanagan. The exhibition runs until January 31, 2026, with free admission.

A brush with… Tai Shani—podcast

Tai Shani, a London-based artist born in 1976, is the subject of a podcast episode in the "A brush with…" series. She discusses her multidisciplinary practice, which draws on cultural forms, historical events, and theoretical ideas to create fantastical, utopian worlds infused with contemporary political and social themes. Shani reflects on the gendered nature of her mediums, the influence of works like John Everett Millais's *Ophelia* and Valie Export's exhibition at Camden Art Centre, and the revolutionary potential of art in an era of right-wing politics. The episode also covers her upcoming exhibitions: *The Spell or The Dream* at Somerset House (August–September 2025), *Gathering* in London (September–November 2025), a sculpture at Dulwich Picture Gallery's new sculpture park, and her High Line commission in New York, on view through March 2026.

Take a Peek Inside Peter Zumthor’s New Building for LACMA -

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) opened its new David Geffen Galleries, designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor in collaboration with SOM, for a summer preview before the building's official opening in April 2026. The 110,000-square-foot exhibition space, elevated on seven pavilions and made of concrete and glass, was opened to the public for three days with performances by 120 musicians. The preview also includes outdoor sculptures, commissioned artworks by Mariana Castillo Deball and Sarah Rosalena, and new dining and retail spaces.

Museum openings: V&A East Storehouse and the Met’s Rockefeller Wing, plus Rachel Whiteread at Goodwood Art Foundation—podcast

This episode of The Art Newspaper's podcast 'The Week in Art' covers three major museum developments. Ben Luke tours the V&A East Storehouse in London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, a new facility offering unprecedented public access to the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection, speaking with deputy director Tim Reeve, lead technician Matt Clarke, senior curator Georgia Haseldine, and director of collections care Kate Parsons. Ben Sutton visits the Metropolitan Museum of Art's newly revamped Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, which houses collections from Africa, the Ancient Americas, and Oceania, interviewing curator Alisa LaGamma and contemporary artist Taloi Havini. The episode also features Rachel Whiteread's new work 'Down and Up (2024-25)' as Work of the Week, part of her debut exhibition at the Goodwood Art Foundation in West Sussex.

BUSINESS MONDAY: Spotlight on Art in the Berkshires—now open on Castle Street

Art in the Berkshires, founded in 2024 as an online resource, has opened a physical gallery and studio space at 8 Castle Street in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The venture is led by Shany Porras, an abstract painter and founder who serves as gallery director, aiming to make Berkshire creativity more accessible through artist directories, venue listings, and a weekly newsletter.

Patrick Martinez’s anti-Ice neons greet Frieze LA visitors

Los Angeles artist Patrick Martinez has installed six politically charged neon sculptures at the entrance of Frieze Los Angeles, featuring slogans such as “Deport Ice” and “Nobody is illegal.” These works adapt the visual language of local mom-and-pop storefront signage—typically used for check-cashing or pawn shops—to broadcast urgent social and political messages. The installation serves as a bridge between the elite art fair environment and the grassroots protest culture of the city.

London Gallery Weekend, Brazil’s National Museum, Jane Austen at the Morgan—podcast

The latest episode of The Art Newspaper's podcast 'The Week in Art' covers three major stories: the fifth edition of London Gallery Weekend, which opens amid a sluggish global art market; the National Museum of Brazil's planned partial reopening after a devastating 2018 fire; and the Morgan Library & Museum's new exhibition 'A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250', featuring a miniature portrait of the author. Host Ben Luke speaks with gallerists Ananya Mukhopadhyay and Jeremy Epstein about the weekend's potential market impact, interviews museum director Alexander Kellner on the recovery efforts, and discusses the Austen portrait with curator Juliette Wells.

Refurb and rehang at London's National Gallery, Tate Modern turns 25 and Inge Mahn's ‘Balancing Towers’—podcast

This episode of The Art Newspaper's 'The Week in Art' podcast, hosted by Ben Luke, covers three major stories. First, the National Gallery in London reopens its Sainsbury Wing after a two-year closure, featuring a major architectural overhaul by Annabelle Selldorf and a complete rehang of the collection; Luke tours the space with director Gabriele Finaldi. Second, Tate Modern celebrates its 25th anniversary, with Luke discussing its impact and future with Louisa Buck and Dale Berning Sawa. Third, the Work of the Week segment highlights Inge Mahn's sculpture 'Balancing Towers' (1989), featured in the exhibition 'Are we still up to it?' – Art & Democracy at Herrenchiemsee Palace, discussed with co-curator Oliver Kase.

Rachida Dati Resigns as French Minister of Culture to Run for Mayor of Paris

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Rachida Dati has announced her resignation as France’s Minister of Culture to launch a bid for the Mayor of Paris in the upcoming March elections. Appointed in 2024 under President Emmanuel Macron, Dati’s tenure was marked by controversy and criticism from outlets like Le Monde, which characterized her term as a series of publicity stunts that failed to address critical reforms in public broadcasting and institutional issues at the Louvre.

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This week's episode of HBO's *Industry* features a watercolor of Neuschwanstein Castle signed "A. Hitler," reflecting the real-world market for Adolf Hitler's amateur paintings. The show uses the artwork as a symbol of inherited wealth and moral ambiguity, mirroring actual auction sales—such as a 2015 Nuremberg sale where a group of Hitler watercolors fetched roughly €400,000, with one version of Neuschwanstein selling for €100,000 to an anonymous Chinese buyer. These works continue to circulate legally in Germany as long as they omit Nazi symbols.

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French broadcaster France Télévisions aired previously unseen footage of the October 2025 robbery at the Louvre Museum, in which thieves stole crown jewels worth approximately €88 million ($102 million). The four-minute video, shown on the investigative program Complément d'enquête, captures the thieves smashing display cases with their fists and an angle grinder while security guards remain largely motionless nearby. One guard briefly confronts the thieves with a rope stanchion before backing down, and another makes a phone call. The footage corroborates findings from a security audit that deemed the museum's system "outdated and inadequate," with a severe lack of functioning cameras. Louvre director Laurence des Cars had previously stated that the sole camera covering the gallery was facing the wrong direction, and it took guards eight minutes to access the correct feed during the break-in.

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The Philadelphia Art Museum has appointed Daniel H. Weiss, former president and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as its new director and CEO, effective December 1. Weiss, who led the Met for eight years until 2023 and most recently served as a professor and senior adviser at Johns Hopkins University, will guide the museum through at least 2028. His appointment follows the abrupt ouster of previous director Sasha Suda, who was terminated for cause on November 4 and has since sued the museum, alleging board members falsely accused her of misusing funds. The museum’s board chair, Ellen Caplan, praised Weiss’s leadership experience but did not address Suda’s dismissal.

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Bonhams has been consigned to sell 30 original paintings by beloved American artist and TV host Bob Ross, with an estimated total value of $850,000 to $1.4 million. The works are being sold on behalf of American Public Television (APT), which will direct all net proceeds to support APT and PBS public television stations affected by federal funding cuts. Three paintings—Winter’s Peace (1993), Home in the Valley (1993), and Cliffside (1990)—will be offered on November 11 in Los Angeles, with the remaining 27 offered in auctions next year in New York, Boston, and Los Angeles.

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The Art Angle podcast hosted eight cultural critics, theorists, and artists throughout 2025 to reflect on key tensions and transformations in the art world. The roundup features voices including Nadia Asparouhova on the value of intimate 'antimemetic' art spaces, Andrea Fraser on the fragmentation of the art field, Alison E. Gingeras on the necessity of all-women exhibitions as resistance, Dean Kissick on the problems of social justice art, and Sean Monahan on social surveillance in the art world. Each thinker offers a snapshot of the debates, anxieties, and aspirations shaping contemporary cultural discourse.

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Several vivid frescoes have been uncovered during the ongoing excavation of Villa di Poppea, an ancient Roman villa in Oplontis near Naples that was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The newly revealed decorations include an intact peacock fresco and fragments of a mask linked to the comedic character Pappus from the Atellan Farce. The discoveries were made in a room now called the Hall of the Peacock, part of the villa's western section, which is being excavated as part of a conservation project. Other finds include four new rooms, tree root casts showing an ornamental garden layout, and two richly decorated cubicula currently undergoing restoration.

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Hollywood star Johnny Depp is releasing limited-edition prints of two personal watercolors originally painted in the early 2000s at his French estate, Le Hameau. The collection, titled "Let the Light in," includes a self-portrait called *Add the Light* and a rose painting *A Rose Is a Rose Is a Rose*, a tribute to his daughter Lily-Rose. Each work is offered in 195 signed editions through London's Castle Fine Art on July 18, priced individually at £2,950 framed or £2,500 unframed. The paintings reflect Depp's life with former partner Vanessa Paradis and their children in the south of France.

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Carl Kahler's 1891 painting *My Wife's Lovers*, a monumental portrait of 42 cats commissioned by San Francisco millionaire Kate Birdsall Johnson, has resurfaced in popularity thanks to social media and a record-breaking sale at Sotheby's in 2016, where it fetched $826,000—more than double its high estimate. The article details Kahler's background as a horse-racing painter from Austria, his three-year stay at Johnson's Buena Vista Castle sketching her feline menagerie, and the painting's debut at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Johnson, an eccentric art collector and philanthropist, owned hundreds of cats and named the work after her late husband's nickname for them.

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Artist Jill Magid has transformed her solo exhibition at Various Small Fires in Los Angeles into a platform for her dealer Esther Kim Varet’s congressional campaign. The show, titled “Heart of a Citizen,” features a replica of the White House Press Briefing Room podium, which Kim Varet uses to deliver stump speeches. Other works include a neon sign quoting a stenographer’s note and concrete casts of Magid’s heart, inspired by the White House Rose Garden. Magid emphasizes the show is not an endorsement but an exploration of power, free speech, and democracy.

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Photographer Erica Simone has created a series of self-portraits titled "Nue York: Self-Portraits of a Bare Urban Citizen," in which she performs everyday New York City activities—hailing a cab, buying cigarettes, commuting through Midtown—while completely naked. The project, also published as a book, is on view at Castle Fitzjohns Gallery from January 14 to February 14, 2016. Simone aims to challenge the role of fashion in society and explore nudity beyond sexual connotations, though she acknowledges that her appearance as a young, thin, white, conventionally attractive woman may influence public reception.

The Enviable Life of a 1970s Soho Gallerist

Paula Cooper opened her pioneering gallery in Soho in 1968, betting on the then-desolate industrial neighborhood as artists began moving into its lofts. She cultivated deep, personal relationships with the artists she represented, such as Lynda Benglis and Joel Shapiro, as well as with other major figures like Jasper Johns, fostering a slower, more humane art world pace. Her success helped transform Soho into a major gallery district, attracting institutions like Sonnabend and Castelli.

Your weekly dose of wonder: introducing The Specialist, a new podcast by Sotheby's

Sotheby's has launched a new podcast series titled "The Specialist," featuring its global specialists who share behind-the-scenes stories about extraordinary artworks and objects. Each episode focuses on a specific narrative, such as the restitution of a Kandinsky painting lost in Nazi-era Germany, the rediscovery of Rubens' "The Massacre of the Innocents," the story of the shredded Banksy artwork "Love is in the Bin," and the decade-long attribution project for a Vermeer painting. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

What Role Do Galleries Play in the Art World?

Maxwell Rabb's article explains the fundamental role of commercial art galleries in the art world, tracing their evolution from 19th-century Parisian storefronts like Goupil & Cie to contemporary spaces. It highlights how galleries function as private businesses that showcase and sell artworks, support artists, organize exhibitions, and connect with collectors, curators, and institutions. The piece also addresses the perception of galleries as exclusive spaces while noting they are often free and open to the public, serving as a bridge between the art world and curious visitors.

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Three paintings by Bob Ross sold for up to thirteen times their high estimates at a Bonhams Skinner auction, raising $1.3 million for American Public Television. The top lot, 'Change of Seasons' (1990), painted live on his TV show, fetched $787,900, setting a new high for Ross at a traditional auction house.