Artist Foundations’ Net Worth Has Nearly Tripled to $9 B., Led by Cy Twombly Foundation’s $1.5 B. in Art and Assets

New research from the Aspen Institute’s Artist-Endowed Foundation Initiative (AEFI) reveals that artist-endowed foundations in the U.S. now control roughly $9 billion in assets, nearly triple the $3.5 billion reported in 2011 and up 17% from $7.7 billion in 2018. The Cy Twombly Foundation leads with $1.5 billion in art and assets, followed by foundations for Alexander Calder, Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, and Robert Rauschenberg, each holding over $500 million. The data, drawn from public tax forms, shows that just five of roughly 500 foundations account for more than half the total, with most established by postwar American artists born before 1931.

Ittai Gradel, Whistleblower in British Museum Gem Theft, Dies at 61

Ittai Gradel, the Israel-born Danish gem expert who alerted the British Museum to the theft of thousands of antiquities from its collection after discovering them for sale on eBay, died on April 28 of renal cancer at age 61. Days before his death, British Museum officials visited him in hospice and presented him with a rarely awarded medal for his service. Gradel first warned deputy director Jonathan Williams in 2021 that artifacts were being sold online, identified veteran curator Peter Higgs as the culprit, and provided detailed evidence. After the museum failed to act, Gradel contacted then-director Hartwig Fischer; two years later, Higgs was fired, and Fischer and Williams left the institution amid the scandal.

337 œuvres et objets volés récupérés : la vaste opération italienne de lutte contre le trafic de biens culturels aux États-Unis

On April 29, Italy's carabinieri dedicated to cultural heritage protection announced the recovery of 337 looted or stolen artworks and objects repatriated from the United States between December 2025 and April 2026. The haul includes archaeological artifacts, archival documents, and other artworks, such as a marble head of Alexander the Great from the 1st century AD, a bronze sculpture stolen from Herculaneum, and two Egyptian basalt sculptures. The objects were dispersed through international markets using forged provenance documents, and their return involved U.S. agencies including the FBI.

Investigators search again for stolen Celtic gold treasure

Ermittler suchen erneut nach gestohlenem Kelten-Goldschatz

More than three years after the theft of a Celtic gold treasure from the Kelten Römer Museum in Manching, Bavaria, investigators are conducting a new search for the missing loot. Four perpetrators were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms in July 2025, but only a small portion of the stolen gold coins was recovered. Now, based on new intelligence, Bavarian state police are searching the property of the main suspect and his partner in Plate, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, using X-ray and radar technology. They believe 411 gold coins and a gold casting ingot—about three kilograms of gold—are professionally hidden there, along with cash from other burglaries. The suspect's partner is under investigation for money laundering for allegedly offering to help sell the gold.

Bavarian State Police Return Saint Figures to the Czech Republic

LKA gibt Heiligenfiguren an Tschechien zurück

Bavarian state police (LKA) have returned five stolen religious sculptures—saints and angel figures—to Czech authorities. The artworks, some dating back centuries, were stolen from Czech churches as early as 1993 and later offered for online sale in Bavaria and Berlin. The handover ceremony took place in Prague, coordinated with Germany's Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media (BKM).