Art News. Vasari Codex

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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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 23 link 16 artists

at christies 13 6 million marlene dumas painting sets new record for living female artist at auction

Christie's 21st-century evening sale in New York on Wednesday night totaled $96.5 million, surpassing last year's $80.3 million, though the auction was characterized by caution, few fireworks, and a reduced number of lots. The headline event was Marlene Dumas's painting *Miss January* (1997) selling for $13.6 million with premium, setting a new auction record for a living female artist. The work, estimated at $12–18 million, was guaranteed and sold to a client bidding through Christie's deputy chairman Sara Friedlander; Miami collectors Don and Mera Rubell were the consignors. Other notable results included new records for Simone Leigh, Emma McIntyre, and Louis Fratino, while the top lot was Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Baby Boom* (1982) at $23.4 million. Four of 43 lots were withdrawn, and several works failed to sell, including an Ellsworth Kelly canvas with a $2 million low estimate.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 20 link 7 artists

by the numbers a marathon night at sothebys moves 186 1 million worth of contemporary art

Sotheby's held a marathon night of three sales in New York, totaling $186.1 million in contemporary and ultra-contemporary art. The evening began with single-owner sales from the collections of the late dealer Barbara Gladstone and veteran dealer Daniella Luxembourg, both achieving 'white glove' results with no buy-ins. The main sale featured 42 lots, led by Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Untitled* (1981), which sold for $16.4 million. Overall, 66 of 69 lots sold, with a 94% sell-through rate, though the total fell short of the $234.6 million achieved in the equivalent sale last year.

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trending_up market schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 14 link 6 artists

decorative art sold 2024

Sales in the decorative-art category—including design objects, furniture, jewelry, and watches—dropped nearly 42% year on year in 2024, netting $3.3 billion, the lowest total in a decade. The average price of a decorative artwork at auction fell 39.5% to $13,010, also the lowest since 2014. Sotheby’s and Christie’s remained nearly tied, with Sotheby’s edging ahead by $72.9 million. Europe led regional sales with $1.3 billion, followed by Asia at $1 billion and North America at $898 million.

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trending_up market schedule May 15, 2025 visibility 14 link 7 artists

by the numbers despite 70 million giacometti failure sothebys made money at modern evening sale

Sotheby's Modern art evening sale in New York generated $186.4 million in total sales after fees, but the headline was the failure of Alberto Giacometti's 1955 sculpture *Grande tête mince (Grande tête de Diego)*, estimated at $70 million, which failed to receive a single bid. Despite the high-profile flop, Sotheby's walked away with $34.4 million in buyer's premium net of fees paid to third-party backers, and because it did not guarantee the Giacometti, it faced no financial risk from the unsold lot. The top seller was Pablo Picasso's *Homme assis* (1969), which sold for $15.1 million with fees. The sale's sell-through rate was 76.9 percent, and the hammer total of $152 million fell $88.3 million below the presale low estimate.

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trending_up market schedule May 14, 2025 visibility 20 link 18 artists

sothebys modern art may 2025 sale report giacometti

Sotheby's modern art evening sale in New York on Tuesday night achieved $186.4 million with buyer's premium across 60 lots, with a sell-through rate of 83.3%. Top lots included Pablo Picasso's *Homme assis* ($15.1 million), Georgia O'Keeffe's *Leaves of a Plant* ($13 million), and a new auction record for Paul Signac's *Saint-Georges. Couchant (Venise)* ($8.1 million). However, the sale was overshadowed by the failure of Alberto Giacometti's *Grande tête mince*, a 1955 bronze bust estimated north of $70 million, which went unsold after bidding stalled at $64 million.

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trending_up market schedule May 14, 2025 visibility 10 link 2 artists

frank lloyd wright lamp sothebys auction

A rare Frank Lloyd Wright lamp, the Double-Pedestal lamp, sold at Sotheby’s Modern Evening Auction on May 13 for $7.5 million, far exceeding its $3–5 million estimate after an 11-minute bidding war. Designed in 1902 for the Susan Lawrence Dana House in Springfield, Illinois, the lamp is one of only two surviving examples; the other remains in the house’s collection. The sale set a new auction record for a Wright work, surpassing the previous high of $2.9 million for a 1902 ceiling light sold in 2023.

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giacometti bust fails to sell at sothebys may 2025 sale

A 1955 bronze bust by Alberto Giacometti, estimated at $70 million, failed to sell at Sotheby's modern evening auction in New York on May 13, 2025. The sculpture, from the estate of real estate magnate Sheldon Solow, was offered without a guarantee and bidding reached $64 million before the lot was pulled after four minutes, likely because the reserve price was set above that amount. Auctioneer Oliver Barker presided over the sale, which Sotheby's CEO Charles Stewart described as an organic auction moment despite the lack of a sale.

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trending_up market schedule May 9, 2025 visibility 14 link 1 artist

justin sun david geffen feud heats up

Crypto billionaire Justin Sun and entertainment mogul David Geffen are locked in an escalating legal battle over Alberto Giacometti's sculpture *Le Nez*. Sun purchased the work for $78.4 million at Sotheby's in 2021, but claims his former art adviser Sydney Xiong fraudulently sold it to Geffen for $10.5 million in cash and two paintings, using forged documents and fictitious lawyers. Sun filed suit in New York in February; Geffen countersued in April, calling the allegations "bizarre and baseless" and accusing Sun of "seller's remorse." Sun's legal team now asserts that Xiong has been detained in China since February, while Geffen's camp points to inconsistencies in Sun's story and his broader financial and legal troubles.

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article news schedule May 5, 2025 visibility 12 link 3 artists

frank lloyd wright price tower legal saga over

An Oklahoma bankruptcy court ruled on April 28 that Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, will be sold for $1.4 million to McFarlin Building LLC. The sale concludes a two-year legal saga involving previous owner Cynthia Blanchard, who acquired the building for $10 in 2023 but failed to follow through on promised renovations, leading to a bankruptcy auction with no additional bids beyond McFarlin's baseline offer. The new owner, Macy Snyder-Amatucci, plans to revive the building as a hotel and residences.

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trending_up market schedule May 5, 2025 visibility 18 link 6 artists

lalanne auction london

A rare complete set of Claude Lalanne's green-painted 'Ginkgo' dining suite will be auctioned at Christie's London on June 5, 2025, as part of a single-owner sale from the collection of Baron Diego von Buch. The 12-piece set, sold as four individual lots, is expected to fetch over £1 million ($1.4 million) total, with individual estimates ranging from £100,000 to £300,000 per lot. The sale includes 100 lots from von Buch's homes across Europe, featuring works by François-Xavier Lalanne, Fernand Léger, Fernando Botero, and Lee Ufan.

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trending_up market schedule May 3, 2025 visibility 22 link 9 artists

how much should an art fair cost

Frieze, the international art fair group, has been sold to Ari Emanuel, the Hollywood power broker who previously owned it through Endeavor. Emanuel acquired Frieze via a new, unnamed company from his former entertainment conglomerate, which was recently taken private by Silver Lake. The deal, valued at approximately $200 million according to sources, includes all seven fairs, Frieze magazine, and the No. 9 Cork Street exhibition space. Simon Fox will remain CEO. The sale comes just days before Frieze New York’s 2025 edition and follows months of speculation about the fair's future ownership.

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trending_up market schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 11 link 3 artists

gustav klimt portrait failed auction sale fraulein lieser

The sale of Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Fräulein Lieser* (1917), which fetched €35 million ($37.51 million) at im Kinsky in Vienna in 2024, has collapsed after the anonymous Hong Kong buyer withdrew. The buyer had attempted to negotiate indemnification settlements with all known heirs of Adolf and Henriette Lieser for 60% of the sale proceeds, but one heir refused to sign, causing the deal to fall through. The auction house now faces estimated losses of at least €1.5 million ($1.7 million).

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trending_up market schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 15 link 12 artists

art shipping in turmoil as tariffs trigger delays

President Trump's tariff policies are causing significant disruption in the art shipping industry, despite artworks themselves remaining largely exempt from import taxes under U.S. law. While Section 1702(b) of the IEEPA protects artworks, books, and films from presidential trade restrictions, antiques and design objects are subject to a 10 percent universal tariff, creating confusion for customs officers. Meanwhile, changes to de minimis rules—lowering the threshold for formal customs processing from $2,500 to $800—have forced DHL to temporarily suspend certain shipments and caused multi-day delays. Smaller art dealers relying on global logistics firms are particularly affected, as bespoke fine-art shippers like Crozier, UOVO, and Cadogan Tate are often too expensive for lower-value works under $10,000.

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article news schedule Apr 29, 2025 visibility 14 link 2 artists

olo new color yolo stuart semple

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered a new color called "olo" that cannot be seen under normal conditions. The color, described as a highly saturated blue-green, was perceived by five human subjects during tests using a complex laser system and custom software named Oz. The team published their findings in *Science Advances* on April 18, explaining that olo results from stimulating only the medium-wavelength cone cells in the retina, a feat not possible with natural light. British artist Stuart Semple has since created a physical paint called YOLO, claiming it is the closest approximation to this elusive color, priced at $10,000 per 150ml bottle.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 29, 2025 visibility 14 link 3 artists

baishui resonating with water

At Art Basel Miami Beach, Shanghai- and Hong Kong-based artist Baishui debuted seven large-scale mirrored stainless-steel sculptures titled "Raindrop 1-7" (2024), which invert the scale of raindrops to become enormous, solid forms that slow viewers down and invite reflection. The works were presented as part of the Land Art Forward platform alongside Alan Sonfist's "Burning Forest" (2024), forming a collaborative project called "Rebirth in the Inferno" that explores the fusion of water and fire in response to climate change.

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rate_review review schedule Apr 29, 2026 visibility 25 link 10 artists, 2 galleries

The tiniest event can tear a hole. Sara MacKillop by Margaret Kross

Sara MacKillop's exhibition "The Cutaway View" at Good Weather in Chicago presents sculptures made from humble analog materials like blank wall calendars, empty shopping bags, and gift wrapping. The London-based artist alters these objects with minimal interventions—such as surgically cut holes in shopping bags to accommodate vinyl records—drawing attention to the ephemera and texture of retail culture. Her series "Calendar Houses" (2021–ongoing) uses archive boxes and wall calendars to create miniature modernist dwellings that critique systems of order and self-optimization.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 22, 2026 visibility 14 link 14 artists, 2 galleries

Grapeshot. Nancy Lupo by Maya Tounta

Artist Nancy Lupo is preparing a new exhibition titled "Meow Meow Real Estate" at the Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation in London. The show shares its name with a novel she is writing, both projects emerging from a period of personal displacement and a fixation on finding a home. The exhibition continues a trajectory of shows that serve as interconnected, physical manifestations of her literary and emotional exploration of place.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 7, 2026 visibility 14 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

Walter Price at David Zwirner

Artist Walter Price is presenting a solo exhibition titled "Pearl Lines" at David Zwirner’s Hong Kong gallery. Running from March 24 through May 9, 2026, the show features a new body of work that continues Price’s exploration of the boundaries between figuration and abstraction through his signature use of vibrant color and psychological depth.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 8, 2026 visibility 12 link 1 artist, 3 galleries

Collaged Denim Sculptures by Nick Doyle Unravel American Mythology

Brooklyn-based artist Nick Doyle creates large-scale wall sculptures using layered and bleached denim, exploring American mythology and its contradictions. His solo exhibition "Collective Hallucinations" at Perrotin features works such as stylized cacti, landscapes, tarot cards, and a fortune teller's shop, all rendered in denim. Doyle's practice began after finding a discarded roll of denim in 2018, which he saw as a metaphor for the complexities of American history, including slavery, masculinity, and Manifest Destiny.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 13, 2026 visibility 6 link 2 artists

Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa “Lugar de Consuelo (Place of Solace)” at MoMA, New York

MoMA's Kravis Studio is presenting Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa's multimedia work "Lugar de Consuelo (Place of Solace)" (2020), marking the artist's first solo presentation at the museum. The work, jointly acquired in 2022 through MoMA's Latin American and Caribbean Fund and Fund for the Twenty-First Century, includes prints, drawings, costumes, sculptures, videos, and a related performance that explore political and personal histories of Guatemala.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 21, 2026 visibility 12 link 1 artist

Jean Katambayi Mukendi “RATIO” at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin

Congolese artist Jean Katambayi Mukendi has opened a solo exhibition titled "RATIO" at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin. The show features works that interrogate fundamental dualities such as the natural versus the artificial, growth versus destruction, and the dynamics between resources and power.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 13, 2026 visibility 10 link 3 artists

Giuditta Branconi “Cannon Fodder” at Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia

Italian artist Giuditta Branconi has unveiled her first institutional solo exhibition, titled "Cannon Fodder," at the Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia. The exhibition features a series of new large-scale paintings and a site-specific installation characterized by dense, chaotic compositions where multiple narratives unfold simultaneously. Branconi describes her approach as fostering an "anarchic gaze," intentionally refusing to guide the viewer through her crowded, vibrant visual landscapes.

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museum exhibitions schedule Mar 26, 2026 visibility 18 link 1 artist

Kaari Upson “Dollhouse – A Retrospective” at Kunsthalle Mannheim

The Kunsthalle Mannheim is presenting "Dollhouse – A Retrospective," a major posthumous exhibition dedicated to the work of American artist Kaari Upson. The show brings together her sculptures, installations, videos, and drawings, which explore memory, identity, and social reality through the lens of her personal biography.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 21, 2026 visibility 10 link 4 artists

Silvia Heyden: Weaving Notes & Nature at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University has opened the exhibition 'Silvia Heyden: Weaving Notes & Nature,' celebrating the rhythmic tapestries of Swiss-born artist Silvia Heyden (1927–2015). The show features works from her first solo exhibition at Duke over five decades ago, alongside key experimental pieces from the 1960s and 70s, reconnecting her legacy to the Durham campus that shaped her artistic voice.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 3, 2026 visibility 20 link 3 artists

Unbound Narratives: Embodied Language at Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta

The Atlanta Contemporary is presenting the group exhibition 'Unbound Narratives: Embodied Language,' curated by Karen Comer Lowe. It features works by artists February James, Bethany Collins, Gabi Madrid, and a’driane nieves across film, painting, and mixed media, focusing on how each translates personal and embodied experience into visual and linguistic forms. Key pieces include nieves's monumental painting on grief and rage, Collins's text-based interrogation of racial identity, James's debut stop-motion film exploring stillness, and Madrid's inscribed headboards addressing healing and cultural memory.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 18 link 9 artists, 2 galleries

Lenz Geerk’s Theatre of the Mind: painting as regulation of appearance

Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin presents "Theatre of the Mind," the first Italian institutional solo exhibition by German-born painter Lenz Geerk. The show features recent works from 2022 to 2024, exploring painting as a perceptual device where figures, objects, and domestic interiors exist in unstable, unresolved configurations. Installation views by Giorgio Perrottino accompany the exhibition, which runs at the foundation's space.

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article event schedule Apr 22, 2026 visibility 21 link 13 artists, 1 gallery

'First-of-its kind' Houston park reveals 6 murals by local artists

Untitled Art, the contemporary art fair, is returning to Houston for its second edition this October. To kick off plans, the fair has commissioned two artist projects that will be unveiled at the city's 39th annual Art Car Parade.

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person people schedule Apr 14, 2026 visibility 23 link 8 artists, 1 gallery

Museum Storytellers: Three Art Scholars Curate Exhibitions at the North Shore’s World-Class Museum

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem is highlighting the work of its curatorial team, specifically focusing on how Lydia Peabody, Lan Morgan, and Ruthie Dibble are revitalizing the institution's collections. A primary focus is the exhibition 'Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone,' where Peabody integrated contemporary photography and video by artist Gisella Torres to create a dialogue with Lewis’s 19th-century neoclassical marble sculptures. Other initiatives include Lan Morgan’s 'Beyond the Broom' project, which uses short films to showcase a community-focused perspective of Salem beyond its 'witch city' reputation.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 10, 2026 visibility 19 link 4 artists, 3 galleries

Spring/summer 2026 program

The Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington has unveiled its spring/summer 2026 exhibition schedule, featuring a diverse lineup of solo and group presentations. Highlights include a major exhibition by Diné artist Eric-Paul Riege exploring Indigenous cosmology and institutional knowledge, a showcase of Helen Frankenthaler’s experimental printmaking alongside works by Analia Saban, and the annual University of Washington MFA and MDes thesis exhibition. The season also features "Day-to-Day: Rhythm, Routine, Resistance," a collection-based show examining the intersection of personal life and structural social forces.

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