Seventeen rare books, valued at over $2 million and stolen nearly 40 years ago from the Long Island estate of former Museum of Modern Art president John Hay Whitney, have been recovered and will be returned to his descendants. The trove includes a $2 million portfolio of handwritten letters from poet John Keats and first editions of works by James Joyce and Aleister Crowley.
Seventeen rare books, valued at over $2 million and stolen nearly 40 years ago from the Long Island estate of former Museum of Modern Art president John Hay Whitney, have been recovered and will be formally returned to his descendants. The trove includes a first edition of James Joyce's *Finnegan's Wake*, letters from Oscar Wilde, and a portfolio of John Keats's love letters worth $2 million.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., has returned 17 rare books, collectively valued at nearly $3 million, to the heirs of John Hay and Betsey Cushing Whitney. The books were stolen from the couple's Long Island estate in the 1980s and include a bound collection of John Keats's love letters, a signed James Joyce volume, and an illustrated Brothers Grimm book. The recovery followed a tip from Manhattan book dealers in 2015, leading to search warrants executed in 2025 and 2026.
The Parrish Art Museum is hosting a special panel discussion on April 18 to coincide with Earth Day and the centennial of Robert Rauschenberg. The event features Helen Hsu from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and various contemporary artists featured in the museum's current exhibition, "Regeneration: Long Island’s History of Ecological Art and Care." The conversation will explore Rauschenberg’s environmental legacy—including his design of the first Earth Day poster in 1970—alongside modern artistic approaches to ecological activism.
The Hamptons art scene is entering the spring season with a diverse array of gallery openings across Montauk, East Hampton, Sag Harbor, and Bridgehampton. Key highlights include Timothy Tibus’s abstract retrospective at The Lucore Art, a Matisse-centered group show at The Drawing Room featuring rare etchings, and Kristy Gordon’s myth-inspired "Primavera" at Grenning Gallery. Other notable exhibitions include a showcase of artists from the Cold Castle collective at Keyes Art and a curated group show titled "Connections" at Dan Welden Studio/Gallery.
MoMA PS1 has officially launched "Greater New York 2026," a massive building-wide exhibition featuring over 150 works by 53 artists and collectives. This quinquennial survey, which coincides with the institution’s 50th anniversary, showcases a diverse range of mediums including large-scale installations, painting, animation, and performance art. For the first time, the exhibition was organized by the museum’s entire curatorial team, resulting in a broad cross-section of the city's contemporary creative output.
Eight students from the Deer Park School District have been selected to feature their work in the annual "Colors of Long Island" student art exhibition at the Long Island Museum. The participants range from primary school first graders to high school juniors, with their pieces curated by district art teachers Briana Fayans, Samantha Racano, Ashley Woolsley, and Rebecca Yackel.
Eight students from Deer Park schools have been selected to have their artwork featured in an exhibition at a Long Island museum. The students' pieces were chosen from a larger pool of submissions, highlighting their creative talents and the support of their school's art program.