Art News. Vasari Codex

person people schedule Oct 6, 2025 visibility 16 link 7 artists

frick collection chief curator aimee ng 1234755500

The Frick Collection in New York has promoted Aimee Ng to chief curator, effective November. She succeeds Xavier F. Salomon, who is leaving to become director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon. Ng, a curator at the Frick since 2015, has organized exhibitions on Italian Renaissance artists and co-curated the landmark 2023 show "Barkley L. Hendricks: Portraits at the Frick." Her appointment is the second senior leadership choice under director Axel Rüger, who joined in March ahead of the museum's long-awaited reopening.

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person people schedule Sep 25, 2025 visibility 21 link 7 artists

lisa phillips steps down new museum 1234753748

Lisa Phillips, director of New York's New Museum, will retire after more than 25 years in the role, as reported by the New York Times. The museum is currently in the midst of a 62,000-square-foot expansion expected to open this fall, though no date has been set. Phillips, 71, oversaw the museum's relocation to the Bowery in 2007, launched the influential New Museum Triennial in 2010, and added initiatives like New Inc and Rhizome. Her tenure also included controversies, such as criticism over a 2010 show of works owned by a trustee, staff complaints about her $900,000 salary, and tensions around the museum's unionization in 2019.

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person people schedule Sep 16, 2025 visibility 14 link 5 artists

palestinian artist samia halaby wins munch museum award 1234751978

The Munch Museum in Oslo has awarded the second Munch Award to Palestinian artist Samia Halaby, recognizing her long-standing courage and integrity in artistic expression. The prize, worth 300,000 Norwegian krones (about $30,000), honors Halaby's decades-long commitment to protesting injustices related to class, gender, and race, as well as her vocal criticism of censorship in the arts. The jury included Munch director Tone Hansen, artist-curator Wanda Nanibush, Yvette Mutumba of Contemporary And, Cosmin Costinas of Haus der Kulturen der Welt, and Munch curator Tominga O’Donnell.

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museum exhibitions schedule Aug 11, 2025 visibility 25 link 18 artists

aspen air festival 2025 1234749067

The inaugural AIR festival took place in Aspen as part of Aspen Art Week, featuring a mix of talks, performances, and a closed-door retreat for artists, writers, scientists, and theorists. Highlights included a pack of panting huskies, a psychoanalysis talk in a psychedelic chapel, an artist conversing with his AI doppelganger, and a whispery musical performance on a museum rooftop. The festival kicked off with a film by Apichatpong Weerasethakul accompanied by composer Rafiq Bhatia, followed by discussions on dreaming and catastrophe, and site-responsive works by Jota Mombaça and Paul Chan.

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candle obituary schedule Aug 3, 2025 visibility 17 link 14 artists, 2 galleries

robert wilson theatre director artist dead 1234748659

Robert Wilson, the influential playwright and artist known for his spare, slow-moving productions that blurred the line between performance art and theater, died Thursday at age 83 in Water Mill, New York. His death was announced by the Watermill Center, the arts center he founded, which stated he died of a brief but acute illness. Wilson's career spanned stage works like the landmark 1976 opera *Einstein on the Beach* (with Philip Glass and Lucinda Childs), video portraits of figures such as Lady Gaga and Brad Pitt, and sculptures, all characterized by stillness and a radical use of time.

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article news schedule Jul 25, 2025 visibility 16 link 4 artists

top art collector david geffen sued by estranged husband for breach of contract 1234748265

Entertainment mogul and top art collector David Geffen was sued on Tuesday by his estranged husband, model Donovan Michaels, for alleged breach of contract. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims Geffen promised Michaels lifelong financial support but cut him off after initiating divorce proceedings. The 33-page complaint describes their relationship as exploitative, comparing it to the plot of "Trading Places." Separately, Geffen is also entangled in a legal dispute with crypto billionaire Justin Sun over an Alberto Giacometti sculpture allegedly stolen and traded as part of a fraud scheme.

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article culture schedule Jul 16, 2025 visibility 17 link 6 artists

diego velasquezs las meninas why so important 1234745600

Diego Velázquez's 1656 painting *Las Meninas* is examined as one of the most conceptually complex works in Western art history. The article explores how the painting subverts Renaissance artistic conventions by playing with perspective, illusion, and the relationship between viewer and subject, depicting Infanta Margaret Theresa surrounded by her entourage in the Royal Alcázar of Madrid.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 9, 2025 visibility 16 link 10 artists, 5 galleries

art basel 2025 blue chip galleries sales trend 1234746767

ARTnews analyzed publicly reported sales from five blue-chip galleries—Hauser & Wirth, Pace, Thaddaeus Ropac, White Cube, and David Zwirner—at Art Basel 2025, finding a combined total over 35% lower than in 2024, around 8% below 2023, and just over 20% down from 2022. The high-water mark was $204 million in 2024, boosted by eight-figure works from Hauser & Wirth. Meanwhile, the number of artists sold by these galleries rose steadily from 109 in 2022 to 157 in 2025, indicating a shift toward broader, less concentrated inventory. Dealers reported mixed sentiments, though seven-figure deals still occurred, and some noted that market uncertainty has led to more scattershot presentations with wider price ranges.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 24, 2025 visibility 17 link 7 artists, 1 gallery

work of the week elizabeth peytons liam noel 2659187

Elizabeth Peyton's double portrait of Oasis brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher sold for £1,992,000 ($2.7 million) at Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Evening Auction in London, just above its low estimate of £1.5 million. The work, depicting the band in 1996, was backed by a house guarantee and irrevocable bid. The consignor had purchased it in 2011 for $511,640, yielding a positive return. The sale coincided with Oasis's upcoming reunion tour starting July 4.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 24, 2025 visibility 13 link 4 artists

sothebys offer 50m lichtensten 280071

Sotheby's has announced the consignment of Roy Lichtenstein's painting *The Ring (Engagement)* (1962) for its May 12 spring contemporary evening sale in New York, with an estimated price of around $50 million. The work, one of the largest from Lichtenstein's iconic 1961–1964 comic-book-inspired series, has had only two owners in its 53-year history, most recently from the collection of Chicago philanthropist Stefan Edlis, who acquired it at Sotheby's in 1997 for $2.2 million.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 19 link 16 artists

philadelphia museum boom 1940s art design 2641661

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has opened "Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s," a major survey featuring over 250 works including painting, photography, jewelry, ceramics, fashion, and furniture. The exhibition draws entirely from the museum's own collection, with around 40 percent of the works never exhibited before. It includes early pieces by celebrated figures like Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, as well as works by queer artists such as Paul Cadmus, Beauford Delaney, and Romaine Brooks, alongside self-taught artist Horace Pippin. Chief curator Jessica Smith emphasizes that the show aims to present a more complex, multivalent narrative of the decade beyond the dominant story of Abstract Expressionism.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 17 link 17 artists, 9 galleries

big questions art basel 2656782

Art Basel, the flagship art fair, returns to Basel, Switzerland from June 17 to 22 amid a period of market contraction and geopolitical instability. The article explores key questions surrounding the fair, including whether the proliferation of new Art Basel editions in Paris and Doha is diluting interest in the original Swiss event. Gallerists and collectors weigh in, noting that while Paris is rising in importance, Basel retains unmatched prestige and draws a genuinely engaged international audience. The piece also highlights the fair's new "Premiere" section, which spotlights mid-career and established artists, featuring London gallery Edel Assanti's debut presentation of American artist Lonnie Holley.

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article policy schedule Jun 16, 2025 visibility 19 link 20 artists

new york mayoral candidates arts 2025 2655110

On June 24, New Yorkers will vote in the Democratic primary for mayor, with candidates including embattled incumbent Eric Adams, former governor Andrew Cuomo, and Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, who is gaining support from artists and art dealers. The article outlines the arts-related positions of several candidates: City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams restored $53 million in cultural funding after proposed cuts; Eric Adams has an uneven record, having proposed cuts but later launching the 'NYC Create in Place' pilot program; and Andrew Cuomo's arts stance is mentioned but not detailed.

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article local schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 22 link 16 artists

historic paris art schools risk development 2652974

The Académie de la Grande Chaumière, a historic Paris art school founded in 1904 that taught artists like Balthus, Joan Miró, and Louise Bourgeois, faces eviction by July 31 after its owner Alexandre Garèse declined to renew its lease. Garèse plans to redevelop the Montparnasse site into a mixed-use complex with commercial and cultural spaces, hiring architect Franklin Azzi for the project. Over 21,000 people have signed a petition to save the school, and local heritage groups SOS Paris and Monts 14 have rallied against the closure.

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article policy schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 20 link 4 artists

french museums hike ticket prices non european visitors 2654566

Several major French cultural institutions, including the Louvre, the Château de Versailles, and potentially the Arc de Triomphe, have implemented a "differential tariff" that raises ticket prices for non-European Union visitors. Starting January 1, 2026, non-E.U. tourists will pay €30 ($35) to enter the Louvre, up from €22 ($25). The policy, first reported by Le Monde, is expected to generate up to €20 million annually for the Louvre alone, helping to fund urgent renovations estimated at €400 million over 15 years. The move follows a leaked letter from Louvre director Laurence des Cars to culture minister Rachida Dati warning of severe building deterioration, including temperature fluctuations endangering artworks and water damage. French president Emmanuel Macron has announced a sweeping restoration, but state funding will cover only a fraction of the cost.

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article news schedule Jun 5, 2025 visibility 7 link 4 artists

fight rages in norway over sale of barbara hepworth sculpture 46334

A legal and public battle has erupted in Norway over Kunsthall Stavanger's decision to sell Barbara Hepworth's sculpture *Figure for Landscape* (1960) at Christie's London, with an estimate of £1-2 million. The sale is intended to fund the institution's operating and exhibition budget, as the Kunsthall faces potential closure without the proceeds. Local group Stavanger Byselskap filed a lawsuit to block the sale, which was settled in the Kunsthall's favor, but over 260 community members have signed a petition against the deaccession. The Hepworth estate has also condemned the sale as unethical, noting the work was sold to the institution at a reduced price due to Hepworth's wish to have her work in a Norwegian public collection.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 4, 2025 visibility 18 link 22 artists

old masters sales takeaways art detective 2649690

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.

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trending_up market schedule May 30, 2025 visibility 10 link 12 artists

georges lemmen record auction 2647919

Belgian Neo-Impressionist Georges Lemmen's painting *Jeune femme faisant du crochet (Julie Lemmen)* (1890) sold for $698,500 at Sotheby's New York on May 14, shattering its $50,000–$70,000 estimate and more than doubling the artist's previous auction record. The Pointillist portrait of the artist's sister, Julie Fréderique Lemmen, had been in a private Florida collection since 1960 and was consigned through Sotheby's online portal. The sale drew over a dozen bidders, including a museum, two dealers, and five private collectors, and was backed by an irrevocable bid.

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trending_up market schedule May 29, 2025 visibility 13 link 7 artists

5 essential works rene magritte 2637456

René Magritte, the iconic Belgian Surrealist, remains a dominant force in the art market and popular culture. In November 2024, his painting *L’empire des Lumières* (1954) sold for a record $121.2 million at Christie’s in New York, followed by *La reconnaissance infinite* (1933) fetching £10.3 million ($13.7 million) at Christie’s in London in March 2025. Magritte also topped Artnet News’ 2025 Intelligence Report as the best-selling Impressionist & Modern artist, with over $312 million in sales. The article highlights five essential works, including *The False Mirror* (1928) and *The Lovers* (1928), both held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and *The Treachery of Images* (1929), exploring their surrealist themes and enduring appeal.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 18 link 17 artists

are trophy lots losing their luster 2645621

New York's marquee spring auctions in May 2025 tested the theory that strong supply drives demand, but results were mixed. Alberto Giacometti's *Grande tête mince* (1955), estimated at $70 million, failed to sell at Sotheby's, while Christie's withdrew a $30 million Andy Warhol electric-chair painting. The top lot of the week was Piet Mondrian's *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue* (1922), which fetched $47.6 million from the collection of late Barnes & Noble founder Len Riggio. However, Christie's pre-sold 93% of that collection's value to third-party backers, and the house fell $26 million short of its guaranteed amount. Sotheby's avoided financial risk on the Giacometti by not guaranteeing it, still earning $34.4 million in buyer's premiums. A new record for a living woman artist was set when Marlene Dumas's *Miss January* (1997) sold for $13.6 million at Christie's, though adjusted for inflation it fell short of Jenny Saville's 2018 record.

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article news schedule May 15, 2025 visibility 14 link 4 artists

valparaiso university sold brauer museum artworks 2645354

Valparaiso University in Indiana has finalized the sale of two valuable paintings from the Brauer Museum of Art—Childe Hassam's *The Silver Veil and the Golden Gate* (1914) and Georgia O'Keeffe's *Rust Red Hills* (1930)—and is in the process of selling a third, Frederic Edwin Church's *Mountain Landscape* (c. 1849). The sales, collectively valued at up to $20 million, are intended to fund renovations of freshman dormitories amid budget shortfalls. The decision has sparked vocal protests, a lawsuit, and a vote of no confidence from the faculty senate against university president José Padilla, who announced his retirement. Moody's Ratings downgraded the school's credit rating to junk status, partly due to the controversy.

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gavel restitution schedule May 15, 2025 visibility 15 link 4 artists

valparaiso university brauer museum can sell paintings 2531663

The Porter County Superior Court has approved Valparaiso University's plan to sell three valuable paintings from the Brauer Museum of Art—works by Frederic Edwin Church, Childe Hassam, and Georgia O'Keeffe valued at around $20 million—to fund renovations to freshman dormitories. The decision follows a year and a half of controversy, including a lawsuit from the museum's founding director Richard Brauer and condemnation from major museum professional organizations, who argue that deaccessioning art for non-collection purposes violates ethical standards.

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article culture schedule May 12, 2025 visibility 17 link 20 artists

7 art history facts 2639759

Frieze Week in New York has arrived, drawing tens of thousands of visitors to The Shed for displays from over 65 international galleries. The article offers a collection of art historical trivia to help attendees impress peers, including tales of a potentially fake Picasso gifted to Robin Williams by Disney, Piet Mondrian's fondness for Disney's *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs*, and a legend that Raphael's pupil Giulio Romano created erotic frescos in the Vatican's Sala di Constantino out of anger over delayed payment from Pope Clement VII.

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trending_up market schedule May 5, 2025 visibility 13 link 9 artists

georgia okeeffe herman miller furniture 2639652

Herman Miller has launched the New Mexico Collection, a limited-edition furniture line inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe's desert home in Abiquiú, New Mexico. Created in collaboration with the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, the collection includes the Eames Wire Chair Low Base (300 pieces, $1,995) and the Girard Snake Table (100 pieces, $895), both drawing on O'Keeffe's friendship with textile designer and architect Alexander Girard. The chair reimagines a prototype gifted to O'Keeffe by Charles and Ray Eames, while the table is based on a never-produced Girard design from the 1950s.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 12 link 5 artists

renaissance painting feast of the gods 2620480

The article examines Giovanni Bellini's painting *The Feast of the Gods* (1514–29), a mythological scene depicting Roman deities at a feast, which was later reworked by Dosso Dossi and Titian. Commissioned by Duke Alfonso d'Este for his private gallery, the work is notable for including what is believed to be the earliest painted example of Chinese porcelain in European art. The painting draws from Ovid's 'Fasti' and was Bellini's last completed work, finished when he was in his 80s.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 26, 2025 visibility 20 link 12 artists

rare basquiat sothebys contemporary auctions in new york 1234739897

Sotheby's will auction a rediscovered early Jean-Michel Basquiat painting from 1981, unseen for 36 years, with a $10–15 million estimate at its Contemporary Evening Auction in New York this May. The sale also features major works from three tightly held private collections: the estate of Barbara Gladstone, the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, and Daniella Luxembourg's 'Im Spazio' group, alongside top lots by Lucio Fontana, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, and Ed Ruscha. The Modern Evening Auction includes a Pablo Picasso musketeer portrait and a Georgia O'Keeffe painting, with combined estimates for both sales reaching up to $525.2 million.

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candle obituary schedule Apr 19, 2025 visibility 18 link 9 artists, 3 galleries

guy ullens collector dead 1234739179

Guy Ullens, a Belgian billionaire and pioneering collector of Chinese contemporary art, has died at age 90. The news was announced by the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, which he co-founded. Ullens began collecting Chinese antiquities in the 1980s before shifting to contemporary works, amassing a collection of 1,500 to 2,000 pieces by artists such as Ai Weiwei, Liu Xiaodong, and Zeng Fanzhi. He and his late wife Myriam established the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing's 798 Art Zone in 2007, later selling it to Chinese investors in 2017, after which it was renamed UCCA. Ullens also helped build the secondary market for Chinese contemporary art, notably selling Zeng Fanzhi's 'The Last Supper' for $23.3 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2013, a record at the time.

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article local schedule Apr 18, 2025 visibility 11 link 7 artists

canada giant van gogh easel fate 2633654

In 1997, artist Cameron Cross installed The Big Easel, a 75-foot-tall sculpture of an easel displaying a reproduction of Vincent van Gogh's sunflower paintings, in Altona, Canada, to honor the town's status as the Sunflower Capital of Canada. After a windstorm on February 28 blew off a panel of the painting and further damage occurred on March 15, the town removed the four-ton painting and conducted a survey to gauge public support for restoration. A majority of respondents (68%) voted to save the artwork, with 60% preferring a hand-painted canvas over a printed replica and 61% wanting to keep the Van Gogh sunflowers. Cross plans to rebuild the fiberglass canvas from scratch and repaint the image in 2026, with costs estimated at CA$70,000 ($50,500) for a durable marine-grade plywood version.

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rate_review review schedule Apr 28, 2026 visibility 38 link 6 artists

Zurbarán review – ecstatic visions, primitive surrealism … and the finest loincloths ever painted

The Guardian reviews a major exhibition of 17th-century Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán, highlighting his visionary and surrealist qualities. The show features works such as "The Apparition of Saint Peter to Saint Peter Nolasco" (1629), newly attributed paintings including a giant mask, and iconic pieces like "The Crucified Christ" and "Saint Serapion," all drawn from collections including the Prado and the National Gallery, London. The review emphasizes Zurbarán's ability to paint supernatural subjects with naturalistic conviction, his exquisite rendering of fabrics—especially loincloths—and his influence on modern artists like Salvador Dalí.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 27, 2026 visibility 25 link 8 artists, 1 gallery

‘I was super horny when I made my early work’: Loie Hollowell’s abstract paintings of breasts and vaginas

Loie Hollowell discusses her latest painting series 'Overview Effect,' currently on view at Pace Gallery in London. The series features large-scale canvases with twin concave and convex sculpted circles, inspired by the out-of-body experience she had during the home birth of her daughter. The works continue her abstract exploration of pregnancy, birth, and the female body, following earlier series like 'Split Orb' and 'Dilation Stage' that responded to the difficult birth of her son. Hollowell cites influences including Georgia O'Keeffe, Louise Bourgeois, and Luchita Hurtado, as well as Instagram home-birth photographs and the Ina May Gaskin childbirth book.

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