Art News. Vasari Codex

article news schedule Jan 14, 2026 visibility 18 link 9 artists

trump epstein drawing

The House Oversight Committee has released a crude drawing that President Donald Trump reportedly gave to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. The sketch, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, features a marker outline of a naked woman with Trump's apparent signature placed where her pubic hair would be. Trump has denied creating the drawing, claiming he has never drawn, and has filed a $10 billion libel lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its owner Rupert Murdoch. The New York Times compared Trump's signature on the drawing with his correspondence from 1987 to 2001 and found they "closely matched."

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article news schedule Jan 5, 2026 visibility 14 link 2 artists

british museum treasure hunter stolen antiquities recovery

The British Museum is hiring a dedicated treasure hunter to recover hundreds of stolen antiquities, including gold jewelry and semi-precious stones allegedly taken by former curator Peter Higgs. Since the theft of some 1,500 objects was revealed in 2023, over a third have been recovered, but the museum is racing to find the remaining pieces before they are destroyed or melted down. The new role will focus on liaising with an international network of dealers, auction houses, and collectors, while also using open-source investigation and AI tools to track down items scattered globally.

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gavel restitution schedule Jan 5, 2026 visibility 17 link 1 artist

india unveils piprahwa relics buddha narendra modi

The Indian government has unveiled the Piprahwa relics, a collection of Buddha-linked artifacts repatriated after being slated for sale at Sotheby’s in 2024. The objects, some dating to the 6th century BCE, were excavated in 1898 and 1971–1975 and are now on view at the Rai Pithora Cultural Complex in Delhi in an exhibition titled “Light and the Lotus: Relics of the Awakened One.” India’s government successfully blocked the Sotheby’s auction by arguing that the consignor, Chris Peppé, had no legal right to sell the stones and that the sale constituted “continued colonial exploitation.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the show, calling it a moment of great importance.

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article news schedule Jan 5, 2026 visibility 16 link 3 artists

british museum specialist find missing gold

The British Museum is hiring a specialist to track down hundreds of stolen artifacts, primarily from its Greek and Roman collections, after thousands of items went missing in 2023. Tom Harrison, recently promoted to lead the department, is spearheading the recovery of treasures including gold jewelry, semiprecious stones, and glass dating back to the 15th century BCE. The museum has so far recovered 654 of an estimated 1,500 missing items, with efforts focused on private sales, catalogs, and historical archives, aided by open-source investigations and AI-assisted image matching. The scandal erupted when former curator Peter Higgs was sacked amid allegations of stealing, selling, and melting down artifacts over more than a decade; he denies the charges in an ongoing civil case.

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trending_up market schedule Jan 1, 2026 visibility 14 link 3 artists

sothebys abu dhabi luxury auctions collectors week

Sotheby's will launch its first luxury marquee auction series in Abu Dhabi this December, called Abu Dhabi Collectors' Week. Running from December 3 to 5 at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, the sales will feature cars, watches, jewelry, and real estate, alongside a museum-quality art exhibition spanning Old Masters to contemporary works. The auctions are organized in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and coincide with major regional events like the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Abu Dhabi Finance Week. Headline lots include The Desert Rose diamond (estimated $5–7 million), a rare Rolex Daytona watch ($500,000–$1 million), and a 2017 Pagani Zonda 760 Riviera ($9.5–10.5 million).

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trending_up market schedule Jan 1, 2026 visibility 11 link 1 artist

abu dhabi collectors week sothebys luxury market not art

Sotheby's will hold its first luxury marquee sales in Abu Dhabi from December 3 to 5 as part of Abu Dhabi Collectors' Week, featuring Formula 1 cars, an Aston Martin, diamonds, and rare Rolexes. The sales coincide with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and other major events, backed by a $1 billion investment from majority shareholder Patrick Drahi and Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund ADQ, along with support from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. The auction house is focusing on luxury goods rather than fine art, with only a non-selling exhibition of Old Masters to contemporary works.

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article culture schedule Dec 29, 2025 visibility 12 link 4 artists

dear auction execs column

An art world insider publishes an open letter to auction executives, accusing them of encroaching on the primary gallery market by accepting consignments of works by emerging artists and scheduling auctions to coincide with major art fairs. The author argues that auction houses prioritize financial gain over artists' long-term career stability, destabilizing prices and encouraging speculation. They call for auction houses to respect the traditional boundaries between primary and secondary markets, stop glorifying auction prices, and avoid accepting works from recent primary sales.

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gavel restitution schedule Dec 23, 2025 visibility 14 link 2 artists

nanjing museum alleged art theft probe

Chinese authorities have launched multiple investigations into allegations that staff at the state-run Nanjing Museum secretly removed cultural treasures from the collection and sold them on the open market. The scandal erupted after a 16th-century Ming dynasty painting, *Spring in Jiangnan* by Qiu Ying, appeared in a Beijing auction catalog with an estimate of 88 million yuan ($12.5 million), despite being part of a 1959 donation by collector Pang Laichen. The museum claimed the work and four others were deemed forgeries in the 1960s, deaccessioned in 1997, and sold to a provincial relics store in 2001 for 6,800 yuan. An 80-year-old retired employee, Guo Lidian, accused former museum director Xu Huping of orchestrating a large-scale theft and smuggling operation, including falsely certifying authentic works as replicas. Xu has denied involvement.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 22, 2025 visibility 10 link 7 artists

adelaide labille guiard self portrait versailles

A previously unaccounted-for self-portrait by 18th-century French artist Adélaïde Labille-Guiard sold at Tajan auction house in Paris for €843,800 ($988,785), far exceeding its estimate of €300,000–€500,000. After the hammer fell, a representative of the Palace of Versailles invoked France's droit de préemption law to claim the 1782 pastel work for the national collection, preventing its private sale.

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person people schedule Dec 19, 2025 visibility 15 link 5 artists

collector questionnaire allison sarofim beauty marfa

Allison Sarofim, a Houston-born patron and founder of the clean skincare line Loulu Hawai‘i, is profiled in a CULTURED questionnaire. She recounts her art-collecting journey, which began with a Mark Rothko given by her father to her mother upon her birth, later gifted to her on her 30th birthday. Her first purchase was an Andy Warhol gold-leaf portrait of Stuart Preston. Sarofim serves as a founding board member of Ballroom Marfa, which recently acquired the 75-year-old Auction Sale Barn (the Bull Room) to transform into a performing arts space. She also discusses the inspiration behind her beauty line, rooted in Hawaii's botanicals and the spirit of aloha, and plans for new products in 2026.

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article news schedule Dec 15, 2025 visibility 12 link 5 artists

louvre closed as workers begin strike france

The Louvre Museum in Paris was forced to close on Monday after approximately 400 employees went on strike to protest deteriorating working conditions. The strike, organized by unions CGT, CFDT, and Sud, blocked the museum's iconic pyramid entrance. Workers cited a brazen $102 million theft of French crown jewels in October 2025 as evidence of deep operational dysfunction, and they accused management of failing to address longstanding security and staffing issues. The closure follows a turbulent year that included a leaked memo from director Laurence des Cars warning of water leaks and overcrowding, a wildcat strike in June, and the closure of the Sully wing due to structural weaknesses.

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article local schedule Dec 12, 2025 visibility 16 link 4 artists

sylvester stallone rocky balboa sculpture philadelphia

Sylvester Stallone is reclaiming one of his two Rocky statues from Philadelphia after a city commission vote. A second bronze sculpture by Auldwin Thomas Schomberg, which Stallone bought at auction in 2017 and loaned to the city in December 2024 for RockyFest, will be returned to the actor in 2026. Meanwhile, the original 1980 statue—currently at the foot of the Philadelphia Art Museum steps—will be moved inside the museum for the exhibition “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” celebrating the franchise’s 50th anniversary, then relocated to the top of the steps where it originally stood in the 1980s. A third Schomberg Rocky statue was recently unveiled at Philadelphia International Airport.

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gavel restitution schedule Dec 12, 2025 visibility 14 link 3 artists

france dinosaur skeleton return mongolia

France returned an extremely rare 70-million-year-old Tarbosaurus bataar skeleton and 30 other paleontological finds to Mongolia on Monday. The fossils were looted from the Gobi Desert by a European trafficking network, smuggled via South Korea, and confiscated by French customs in 2015. At a ceremony in Paris, French Public Accounts Minister Amelie de Montchalin handed the items to Mongolia’s Culture Minister Undram Chinbat. The cache includes dinosaur eggs and the prized skeleton, worth over $800,000 at the time of seizure and now valued two to three times higher.

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article news schedule Dec 8, 2025 visibility 10 link 1 artist

louvre staff vote with unanimity to strike

Louvre staff voted unanimously to strike starting December 15, following a meeting of 200 employees from three unions. The unions filed a strike notice with France’s Ministry of Culture, citing a museum in “crisis” with “increasingly deteriorated working conditions” and describing the visitor experience as a “real obstacle course.” The strike could force closures during the busy holiday period. This action follows a year of turmoil at the museum, including a January leaked memo from director Laurence des Cars warning of water leaks and overcrowding, a June wildcat strike over working conditions, and an October theft of $102 million in French royal jewels that exposed outdated security systems. Structural issues recently forced closure of the Sully wing, and a water leak damaged 400 books in the Egyptian antiquities library.

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article culture schedule Dec 4, 2025 visibility 12 link 3 artists

pantone 2026 color of the year tone deaf whiteness

Pantone has named "Cloud Dancer," a shade of white, as its 2026 Color of the Year, describing it as a symbol of serenity and calm in a frenetic society. The announcement has sparked criticism for being tone-deaf amid ongoing political debates about whiteness, white supremacy, and conservative turns in the US and Europe, with wars and censorship fears also looming. Critics, including fashion correspondent Vanessa Friedman, have noted the choice's less salubrious associations, while Pantone executives insist skin tones did not factor into the decision.

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article culture schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 16 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

art cindy sherman holiday card transanta

Cindy Sherman is reviving her annual holiday party after a five-year hiatus, introducing a new line of kitschy Christmas cards featuring five works created with face-tuning A.I. algorithms that distort her face in a Picasso-esque style. The cards are part of the newly founded Cindy Sherman Legacy Project, curated by Lumi Tan, and all proceeds will benefit Transanta, a trans-led mutual aid project supporting unhoused or unsupported trans youth, founded by Chase Strangio, Indya Moore, and Kyle Lasky. The cards are available through Sherman's website, Hauser & Wirth's New York bookstore, and a launch party on Dec. 9 at Jean's in New York.

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person people schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 21 link 3 artists

art ali eyal young artist

Ali Eyal, a 31-year-old artist based in Los Angeles, was featured in CULTURED's 2025 Young Artists list. His multidisciplinary practice addresses the violence he and his family experienced from the U.S. military during his upbringing in Baghdad in the 1990s and 2000s, as well as what he calls 'the after war.' His work uses grotesque, cartoonish figures to depict state violence, and he cites pieces like his video installation *Tonight's Programme* and a planned reconstruction of his father's burned car as central to his practice. Eyal was a standout in the latest Istanbul Biennial and the Hammer Museum's 2025 'Made in L.A.' exhibition.

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article news schedule Nov 29, 2025 visibility 14 link 1 artist

palace of westminster dig 6000 years history

Archaeological excavations at the Palace of Westminster in London have uncovered Neolithic flint tools and flakes dating back over 6,000 years, predating the earliest mounds at Stonehenge. The digs, led by the Museum of London Archaeology and overseen by the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority (R&R), also revealed the remains of Lesser Hall, a 12th-century royal dining space, along with Roman altar fragments, medieval tiles, and 19th-century artifacts. The excavations, running through 2026, are part of a £13 billion restoration project addressing the Palace's deteriorating condition.

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article culture schedule Nov 26, 2025 visibility 21 link 25 artists, 7 galleries

art world gallery dinner politics parties

Art-world insiders share their best and worst experiences at gallery dinners, from seating disasters and VIP-only food queues to intimate gatherings and haunted-house Halloween parties. Contributors include collectors, artists, curators, writers, and gallerists who recount memorable evenings hosted by figures like Jose Martos and White Cube, revealing the social dynamics that define these events.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 25, 2025 visibility 19 link 2 artists, 2 galleries

lucy sparrow museum crystal bridges momentary

British artist Lucy Sparrow will present her first U.S. museum exhibition, “The Beginning of Convenience,” at the Momentary, the contemporary art hub of Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas, opening in summer 2026. The immersive installation recreates an American supermarket entirely in felt, featuring approximately 20,000 hand-sewn plush products evoking the 1980s and 1990s. Sparrow researched Walmart’s archives to curate semi-vintage items, nodding to the museum’s founding family. Unlike her previous felt installations, nothing will be for sale, and the free exhibition will include a recreation of her studio and a documentary. Sparrow will also debut a candy shop titled “Sugar Rush” at Art Miami with TW Fine Art in December 2025.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 25, 2025 visibility 18 link 2 artists

chanel power station of art contemporary art public library

Chanel has opened Espace Gabrielle Chanel, mainland China's first public library dedicated to contemporary art, at Shanghai's Power Station of Art (PSA). The 18,000-square-foot library, designed by Japanese architect Kazunari Sakamoto, holds over 50,000 books and audiobooks and includes an upgraded exhibition hall, a terrace overlooking the Huangpu River, and a 300-seat public theater. It will host the Archive of Chinese Contemporary Art. The library is part of Chanel's Next Cultural Producer program, launched at PSA in 2021 under the Chanel Culture Fund, which supports emerging practices in Chinese craft, architecture, and theater.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 24, 2025 visibility 10 link 3 artists

cia kryptos sculpture code auction

An anonymous bidder has won the solution to the final unsolved puzzle of Kryptos, a famous encrypted sculpture at CIA headquarters in Virginia, for $962,500 in an online auction by R.R. Auction. The artist, Jim Sanborn, offered the handwritten code for the fourth message (K4) along with other unpublished items and a prototype, far exceeding the presale estimate of $300,000–$500,000. The sale came after the solution was accidentally leaked to journalists Jarett Kobek and Richard Byrne, who discovered the plaintext in Sanborn's papers at the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art, though they have agreed not to release it.

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article news schedule Nov 22, 2025 visibility 15 link 1 artist

philadelphia art museum accuses ex director sasha suda theft

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has accused its former director and CEO, Sasha Suda, of misappropriating funds and lying to cover up theft, according to a motion to compel arbitration filed by the museum. The motion denies Suda's claims of wrongful termination and alleges that she awarded herself unauthorized salary increases after the Compensation Committee denied her requests. Suda had filed a civil suit earlier this month alleging wrongful termination, unfair treatment, and abuse. Her lawyer, Luke Nikas, called the museum's allegations false and part of a pattern of misconduct.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 18, 2025 visibility 23 link 5 artists, 5 galleries

nada miami curated spotlight

NADA Miami has announced its 23rd edition, taking place December 2–6, 2025, at Ice Palace Studios. The fair will feature 140 exhibitors from 30 countries and 65 cities, including 47 first-time participants such as Foundry Seoul, Post Times, and Brigitte Mulholland. The Curated Spotlight program, now in its sixth year and supported by TD Bank, will be organized by Vancouver-based curator Kate Wong, who selected seven galleries and artists—including Devin N. Morris, Ana Alenso, Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeck, Faith Icecold, Huey Lightbody, Mahari Chabwera, and Marissa Delano—to present works exploring power structures, identity, and collective histories. The fair will also host the ECOLOGIES public programming series.

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gavel restitution schedule Nov 18, 2025 visibility 13 link 6 artists

felzmann holocaust auction canceled

Felzmann auction house in Neuss, Germany, canceled its planned 'System of Terror Vol II' auction of Holocaust artifacts following international pressure from groups including the International Auschwitz Committee and the European Jewish Association. The sale, which included documents, letters, and Stars of David from Nazi victims between 1933 and 1945, was condemned as exploitative by critics such as executive vice president Christoph Heubner, who called it 'a cynical and shameless undertaking.' Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska also called for restitution of the items to Poland.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 13, 2025 visibility 15 link 7 artists

parties art fashion warhol museum gala piaget

The Andy Warhol Museum held its annual fundraising dinner at La Tête d’Or, chef Daniel Boulud’s steakhouse in New York’s One Madison, on Monday. The event gathered the city’s cultural vanguard, including artists Mickalene Thomas and Isabelle Brourman, museum director Mario Rossero, philanthropist Jeanine Heriveaux, and collectors Nathalie and Stan Doobin. Highlights included a live auction conducted by Sotheby’s Christy Coombs, featuring works by Mickalene Thomas and a limited-edition Dom Pérignon set with Basquiat artwork, and a try-on session of Piaget’s Warhol-inspired watches designed by creative director Stéphanie Sivrière.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 3, 2025 visibility 24 link 21 artists

parties performa anniversary performance art

Performa celebrated its 20th anniversary and the opening of its 2025 biennial with a multi-venue event in New York, starting at Harlem Parish and moving to a Lower East Side hub at 424 Broadway. The evening featured experimental music by Luciano Chessa, Eric Mingus, Elliott Sharp, and Joan La Barbara, a silent auction of custom wine blends by artists Julie Mehretu, Paul Pfeiffer, and Jessica Rankin, and a feast by chef Marcus Samuelsson. The party was co-chaired by artist Rashid Johnson and the late Agnes Gund, with guests including RoseLee Goldberg, Anne Imhof, Joan Jonas, Sanford Biggers, Laurie Simmons, and many others. The event also launched Performa's first magazine, *Works in Practice*.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 27, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists

okada museum sells art founder legal bill sothebys

Japan’s Okada Museum of Art is selling 125 works from its collection at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on November 22 to help its founder, Kazuo Okada, pay a $50 million legal bill. The bill stems from a long-running feud with casino magnate Steve Wynn, which began when the two co-founded Wynn Resorts in 2002 and later accused each other of improper payments. The collection includes Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic *The Great Wave Off the Coast of Kanagawa* (1830–32), a rare Qianlong “Eight Treasures” vase, and 16th-century screens by Kano Motonobu. Okada, an 83-year-old billionaire, lost a binding arbitration over the legal fees and must now sell the art.

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article news schedule Oct 24, 2025 visibility 13 link 5 artists

louvre robbery history behind stolen crown jewels

Eight pieces of the French Crown Jewels were stolen from the Louvre Museum on October 19, including a pearl-and-diamond tiara and a bow-shaped brooch that once belonged to Empress Eugénie, as well as a sapphire parure and diadem owned by Queen Maria Amalia. The theft has drawn attention to the jewels' complex history: most of the Crown Jewels were auctioned off in 1887 by the French government to eliminate monarchical symbols, and the stolen pieces were among the few remaining in the Louvre's collection, some repurchased at great expense in the 1990s and 2000s with help from the Société des Amis du Louvre.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 16, 2025 visibility 13 link 7 artists

art met roof garden jennie c jones

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has unveiled its 2025 Roof Garden Commission, titled *Ensemble*, by artist Jennie C. Jones. The installation features three upright sculptures made from concrete travertine and powder-coated steel, whose angular forms are inspired by musical instruments—a zither, an Aeolian harp, and a one-string instrument. A fourth red floor piece acts as a "conductor." The works are equipped with frets and strings that vibrate in the wind, inviting viewers to engage with them as both visual and sonic objects. The exhibition also includes collaborative programming, performances, and a publication with contributions from curator Lauren Rosati and artist Glenn Ligon.

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