Gagosian chooses Paris location to present three important late paintings by Francis Bacon

Gagosian gallery will present three significant late paintings by Francis Bacon in a dedicated exhibition at its Paris location on Rue de Castiglione. The show, running from April 11 to May 30, 2026, features 'Study from the Human Body — Figure in Movement' (1982), 'Study from the Human Body' (1986), and 'Man at a Washbasin' (1989-1990), marking the first time these specific works have been shown together.

Christie’s to sell an almost unknown Van Gogh double-sided drawing

A previously obscure double-sided drawing by Vincent van Gogh, created in the final weeks of his life, will be auctioned by Christie's in Paris. The sheet features a study of female pea pickers on one side and a landscape on the other, complete with color notations indicating Van Gogh's intention to develop them into paintings. The work has been authenticated by the Van Gogh Museum and carries an estimate of €100,000-€150,000.

Revealed: the amazing frame once created for Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

A long-lost, custom-designed Art Deco frame for Vincent van Gogh's painting "Three Sunflowers" has been identified through archival research. The frame, which featured a dark lacquer finish, randomly placed gold circles, and angled outer edges, was commissioned by the Parisian couturier and collector Jacques Doucet shortly after he acquired the painting in 1912. Its existence was pieced together from a 1930s interior photograph, a 1967 family snapshot, and a frame sold at Sotheby's in 1989, allowing for a digital reconstruction of the complete artwork.

Marian Goodman’s Prized $65 Million Collection Lands at Christie’s

Christie’s has announced the sale of the private collection of the late legendary art dealer Marian Goodman, who passed away in January at age 97. Estimated to bring in approximately $65 million, the collection is headlined by a group of significant works by Gerhard Richter, an artist Goodman championed for four decades. The centerpiece of the auction is Richter’s 1982 painting "Kerze (Candle)," which carries a high estimate of $50 million and will lead a series of dedicated sales in New York this May.

How Lillian Bassman Pushed Fashion Photography to the Edge of Abstraction

A new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Lillian Bassman: Harper's Bazaar and Beyond," highlights the pioneering work of fashion photographer Lillian Bassman. The show reveals how Bassman, through darkroom experimentation like selective exposure and blowing cigarette smoke under the enlarger, created moody, abstract images that often reduced clothing to mere suggestion, pushing the boundaries of commercial fashion photography in the 1940s and 1950s.

Pressing issues: the vital role of printmaking in the history of art

Author and journalist Holly Black has released a new book titled 'The Story of Printmaking: A Global History of Art', published by Yale University Press. The publication traces the evolution of the printed image from its 9th-century origins in East Asia through the innovations of Old Masters like Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt to modern digital techniques. Drawing on her training at the London College of Printing, Black demystifies complex technical processes such as intaglio and mezzotint while highlighting both canonical figures like Picasso and influential but lesser-known pioneers like Robert Blackburn.

Who was Hilma? Af Klint exhibition to highlight exclusion of women from abstract art

The Swedish artist Hilma af Klint is receiving her first major solo exhibition in France, organized by the Grand Palais and the Pompidou Centre. The show focuses on her "Paintings for the Temple," a series of groundbreaking abstract works created years before male peers like Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian claimed to have invented the movement. Af Klint, a mystic who believed she was guided by higher spirits, famously ordered her work to be hidden for 20 years after her death, convinced the world was not yet ready for her vision.

Melvin Edwards, pioneer of Black abstraction, 1937–2026

Melvin Edwards, a pioneering sculptor known for his steel assemblages that explored Black history and experience, has died. He was the first African-American artist to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York in 1970. His signature series, Lynch Fragments, began in the 1960s as a response to the civil rights movement and evolved over his lifetime to incorporate references to the Vietnam War and African cultural practices.

How the New Deal Treated Art as Essential to Democracy

The United States government transformed the role of the artist during the Great Depression by treating art as a vital public resource rather than a private luxury. Between 1933 and 1943, New Deal programs like the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) commissioned hundreds of thousands of works for schools, libraries, and hospitals, providing 'plumbers' wages' to struggling creators. This federal patronage supported a generation of then-unknown figures, including Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Alice Neel, while focusing on the 'American scene' to make culture accessible to the general public.

Lalanne mirrors owned by Yves Saint Laurent and a classic Diane Arbus photo: our pick of the April auctions

Major auction houses are preparing for a series of high-profile sales in April, headlined by a suite of fifteen gilt-bronze mirrors by Claude Lalanne. Originally commissioned for the Paris apartment of fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, the mirrors are expected to fetch between $10m and $15m at Sotheby’s. Other notable lots include a rare Diane Arbus photograph from the collection of Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner, a pastoral landscape by Russian artist Konstantin Somov, and a centuries-old drawing based on Albrecht Dürer’s famous rhinoceros woodcut.

‘The original triple threat’: two exhibitions celebrate Marilyn Monroe as creative pioneer

The British Film Institute (BFI) and the National Portrait Gallery have announced two major exhibitions to celebrate the centenary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth. The BFI will host a two-month film season titled 'Marilyn Monroe: Self Made Star,' featuring a comprehensive look at her filmography and a theatrical re-release of her final film, *The Misfits*. Simultaneously, the National Portrait Gallery will present 'Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait,' an exhibition exploring her influence on visual culture through works by artists like Andy Warhol and Richard Avedon, including rare photographs taken just before her death.

California’s High Desert Is Rich With Natural and Artistic Beauty—All Amplified by a Budding Art Fair

The fifth annual High Desert Art Fair (HDAF) took place at the Pioneertown Motel in California's High Desert, featuring 20 galleries, nonprofits, studios, and publishers. Founded by Nicholas Fahey of Fahey/Klein Gallery and artist manager Candice Lawler, the fair leverages the area's existing artistic community and natural beauty to attract visitors from Los Angeles and beyond.

Marcel Duchamp at MoMA, Dorothea Tanning book, Leonora Carrington at the Freud Museum, London—podcast

The Museum of Modern Art in New York is launching the first major U.S. survey of Marcel Duchamp’s entire career in over fifty years, a landmark exhibition that will later travel to Philadelphia. Accompanying this resurgence of interest in avant-garde pioneers are two significant projects focused on women of the Surrealist movement: the publication of Alyce Mahon’s comprehensive new book on Dorothea Tanning and a specialized exhibition at London’s Freud Museum featuring Leonora Carrington’s 1940 painting 'Down Below'.

From You, Me & Tuscany to Euphoria: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

The Camden Art Centre in London is hosting a significant survey of the late Guyanese-British artist Donald Locke, marking the final stop of a UK touring exhibition. Locke is celebrated for blending the formal language of minimalism and modernism with the potent symbols of Guyanese and Black American culture, effectively challenging the traditional art world's Eurocentric perspectives through his work in ceramics, painting, and sculpture.

Nature by the uncool YBA, armoured ceramics and dizzying Aussie abstraction – the week in art

The article is a weekly art roundup highlighting several major exhibitions opening in London and Cambridge. It spotlights a new show of nature-themed paintings by Cecily Brown at the Serpentine Gallery, ceramics by Phoebe Collings-James at Pitzhanger Manor, a career survey of Turner Prize-winner Veronica Ryan at the Whitechapel Gallery, a Frank Bowling retrospective at The Fitzwilliam Museum, and a presentation of Aboriginal Australian art at Edel Assanti. The piece also features a powerful war photograph from Iraq and includes brief news items on topics ranging from a Matisse retrospective to potential museum entry fees.

MoMA Plans a Retrospective for Marcel Duchamp, the Dada Artist Who Was Unimpressed With His Own Masterpieces

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York will open a major retrospective of Marcel Duchamp in April 2026, marking the first U.S. retrospective for the artist in over 50 years. The exhibition will feature more than 200 works, including a 1968 replica of his infamous 'Fountain,' spanning his experiments in Cubism, Futurism, film, photography, and his pioneering readymades.

V&A exhibition honours designer Elsa Schiaparelli's unique synthesis of fine art and fashion

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has launched a major exhibition dedicated to the Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli, focusing on her revolutionary integration of Surrealist art and haute couture. The show highlights her early career in Paris, specifically her 1927 breakthrough with a trompe-l’oeil knitted sweater, and explores her collaborations with avant-garde artists like Salvador Dalí. By examining her unique ability to translate Dadaist and Surrealist concepts into wearable garments, the exhibition positions her as a pivotal figure who challenged the traditional boundaries of fashion and art.

Marica Vilcek, Art Historian Whose Foundation Upheld the Work of Immigrants, Dies at 89

Marica Vilcek, art historian and co-founder of the Vilcek Foundation, has died at 89 in New York. She and her husband Jan, both immigrants from Czechoslovakia, established the foundation in 2000 to provide grants and prizes, primarily to immigrant artists, curators, and scientists, celebrating their contributions to American society.

The Incredible Story of Edmonia Lewis, America’s First Black and Indigenous International Art Star

The Peabody Essex Museum has launched "Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone," the first-ever retrospective dedicated to the 19th-century sculptor who was the first Black and Indigenous American artist to achieve international fame. Curated by Shawnya L. Harris and Jeffrey Richmond-Moll, the exhibition is the culmination of seven years of research and detective work to locate surviving marble sculptures and archival fragments. The show tracks her journey from her early life as "Wildfire" to her education at Oberlin College and her eventual professional success in Boston and Rome.

Why Was Sarah Miriam Peale, Pioneering Member of America’s First Art Dynasty, Left Behind?

Sarah Miriam Peale, a member of the prominent Peale art dynasty and arguably the first professional woman artist in the United States, is finally receiving long-overdue institutional recognition. Despite a prolific sixty-year career painting portraits of political figures and still lifes in Baltimore and St. Louis, her legacy was largely overshadowed by her uncle Charles Willson Peale and her male cousins. Her independence as an unmarried woman who supported herself entirely through her craft marked a radical departure from the gender norms of the 19th century.

Remembering Agosto Machado, Keeper of Queer Histories

Agosto Machado, a seminal performer, archivist, and fixture of New York’s downtown queer arts scene, has passed away. Known as a "keeper of secrets" and a vital connector within the avant-garde community, Machado was a muse to filmmaker Jack Smith and a lifelong friend to Warhol superstar Mario Montez. His life spanned the height of the East Village performance era, where he transitioned from a quiet observer to an essential participant in the preservation of underground history.

Remembering Glen Baxter, Pat Steir, Melvin Edwards

The art world mourns the recent deaths of several significant figures. British absurdist cartoonist Glen Baxter, known for his work in The New Yorker and exhibitions at Flowers Gallery, has died. American sculptor Melvin Edwards, renowned for his welded steel Lynch Fragments addressing racist violence, and pioneering feminist painter Pat Steir, celebrated for her conceptual, process-based works, have also passed. The article additionally notes the deaths of Lebanese painter Ali Sbeity, killed in an airstrike; Mexican folk artist Josefina Aguilar; British heritage leader Neil Cossons; British painter Charles Debenham; and Cypriot painter Andreas Karayian.

Teresinha Soares, Brazilian Artist Behind Erotic-Inflected Works That Slyly Defied Taboos, Dies at 99

Teresinha Soares, a pioneering Brazilian artist known for her bold, erotic-inflected paintings and installations that challenged societal taboos and gender conventions, died on March 31 in Belo Horizonte at age 99. Her career, though concentrated between 1965 and 1976, was defined by works featuring pared-down, full-figured female silhouettes in vibrant colors that directly addressed women's sexuality and oppression.

Where to go this weekend?

Wohin am Wochenende?

Major international exhibitions and events are launching this week, headlined by a massive Marcel Duchamp retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the first of its scale in the U.S. since the 1970s. In Milan, Cao Fei debuts a research-heavy project at Fondazione Prada exploring the intersection of high-tech agriculture and tradition, while Berlin’s Georg Kolbe Museum recovers the legacy of British constructivist Marlow Moss. Additionally, the inaugural Art Cologne Palma Mallorca art festival opens in Spain, attempting to stimulate the market during a challenging economic period.

Italian Winemaker Ornellaia Reveals Marina Abramović’s Designs for Its 2023 Vintages

Marina Abramović has collaborated with the Italian winemaker Ornellaia to design labels for its 2023 vintage as part of the annual Vendemmia d’Artista project. The designs range from self-portrait drawings and photographs featuring grapes to a conceptual 9-liter bottle that instructs the drinker to listen to Nino Rota’s theme from La Dolce Vita while consuming the wine. A selection of these limited-edition bottles will be auctioned at Bonhams in June to raise funds for the Guggenheim Museum.

Works from Marian Goodman’s Collection to Anchor Christie’s May Sales

Christie’s has announced that it will auction works from the personal collection of the late legendary dealer Marian Goodman during its May marquee sales in New York. The collection is headlined by seven paintings by Gerhard Richter, including the iconic 1982 work *Kerze (Candle)*, which carries an estimate of $35 million to $50 million. The total group of works from Goodman’s Manhattan home is expected to realize approximately $65 million.

One Last Chance to See Dürer's Monumental Print in NYC

Albrecht Dürer’s monumental "Triumphal Arch," a 13-foot-tall woodcut commissioned by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in 1512, is entering long-term storage at the New York Public Library this fall. The work has been a centerpiece of the library’s Polonsky Treasures exhibition since 2021, but its extreme fragility and age necessitate its removal from public view on October 18.

Kamrooz Aram Breaks Down the Grid

Kamrooz Aram is the subject of multiple major exhibitions in early 2026, including a solo show at Alexander Gray Associates in New York, a presentation at Nature Morte in Mumbai for Mumbai Art Week, and a significant inclusion in the 2026 Whitney Biennial. The artist, known for his work with the grid, uses painting to explore the connections between Western modernist abstraction and non-Western decorative traditions, particularly from Western Asia.

The Must-See Exhibitions in Milan During Art Week 2026

Le mostre da non perdere a Milano durante i giorni dell’Art Week 2026

Milan Art Week 2026 features a series of major solo exhibitions across the city's premier contemporary art institutions. Fondazione Prada is hosting site-specific installations by Mona Hatoum exploring global instability alongside Cao Fei’s multimedia investigation into the technological revolution of agriculture. Meanwhile, Pirelli HangarBicocca presents Benni Bosetto’s architectural exploration of the female body and Rirkrit Tiravanija’s interactive examination of authorship and communal space.

SP-Arte underscores Latin America’s resilient rise amid global market recalibration

The 22nd edition of SP-Arte has opened at São Paulo’s Oscar Niemeyer-designed pavilion, featuring over 180 galleries and design studios. While global art markets face a period of recalibration, the Latin American sector—and Brazil in particular—is reporting significant growth, including a 21% year-on-year increase in sales for Brazilian dealers according to the latest Art Basel and UBS report.