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Sotheby's is auctioning Maurizio Cattelan's solid gold toilet, titled "America" (2016), during its November evening sale at the Breuer Building in New York. The 18-karat, 100-kilogram functional toilet will be on view from November 8, though visitors will not be allowed to use it. The starting bid will be determined by the work's weight in gold, estimated around $10 million. The piece was previously exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in 2016, where over 100,000 visitors used it, and at Blenheim Palace in the UK, where it was infamously stolen in a smash-and-grab heist and never recovered. Sotheby's will accept cryptocurrency for the sale, following the precedent set by Cattelan's banana artwork last year.

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Artnet News examines the top five auction results for Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose meteoric rise and tragic death at age 27 fueled a legendary market. The list includes works such as "Versus Medici" (1982), which sold for $50.82 million at Sotheby's in 2021; "El Gran Espectaculo (The Nile)" (1983), which fetched $67.1 million at Christie's in 2023; and "Untitled" (1982), which reached $85 million at Phillips in 2022. The article highlights the artist's synthesis of graffiti and Renaissance aesthetics, his relationships with figures like Andy Warhol, and the explosive growth of his market over the past decade.

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ARTnews has announced the nominees for the 2025 ARTnews Awards, which honor excellence in art at US institutions and galleries. The awards, now in their second year, feature six categories: Emerging Artist, Established Artist, Lifetime Achievement, Best Thematic Museum Exhibition, Best Gallery Group Show, and a newly introduced Best Historical Artist category. The jury includes five top US curators and two ARTnews editors, with winners to be celebrated in November.

superrare new york gallery digital art 2663363

SuperRare, the digital art trading platform, is opening a permanent New York gallery called Offline in the East Village at 243 Bowery, the former home of Salon 94. The inaugural exhibition, “Mythologies for a Spiritually Void Time,” curated by X.S. Hou and Jack Wedge, opens July 8 and features 15 artists working across animation, painting, sculpture, and networked media. The launch includes a week-long festival with dance performances, panels on art and A.I., and a choreographed NFT auction ritual.

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Sotheby's will sell ten works from the Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum collection in its fall auctions, with six pieces by René Magritte, Jean Dubuffet, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, and Paul Klee featured in the Modern Evening auction on November 20. The group of six works carries a total estimate of $18 million to $24 million, led by Magritte's *Le Jockey perdu* (1942) at $9–12 million and Dubuffet's *Restaurant Rougeot II* (1961) at $6–8 million. Sotheby's executives Julian Dawes and Grégoire Billault emphasized the rarity and importance of these works, noting that the Magritte is the only oil version of its subject and the Dubuffet is one of just three paintings of the iconic Paris restaurant.

Film-maker Wes Anderson to recreate Joseph Cornell’s New York studio in Paris this Christmas

Filmmaker Wes Anderson is recreating Joseph Cornell's New York studio in a window display at Gagosian Gallery's Paris space on Rue de Castiglione, opening next month to coincide with Christmas and Cornell's birthday on December 24. The exhibition will feature around 12 of Cornell's iconic shadow boxes, including "Pharmacy" (1943) and works from his Medici series, alongside hundreds of found objects. Curated by Jasper Sharp, who has worked with Anderson for years, the display is designed as a non-interactive window installation that captures the spirit and atmosphere of Cornell's basement studio in Queens, rather than an exact replica. Anderson and Sharp have spent weeks studying photographs and first-hand accounts, sourcing objects from flea markets and employing Anderson's film crew to replicate Cornell's handwriting and aging techniques.

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Hazel Knapp, a self-taught artist with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, painted Vermont landscapes from her wheelchair between the 1930s and 1940s, often with her mother Elsie by her side describing the terrain. Knapp exhibited at the 1939 Museum of Modern Art show alongside Grandma Moses and Morris Hirshfield, was profiled in Sidney Janis's book *They Taught Themselves*, and sold ten paintings to Gertrude Stein, who planned an unrealized Paris exhibition. Despite this promising start, Knapp fell into obscurity after her mother's death.

The Top Collections Leading the May Marquee Auctions

The article reports that the May 2025 marquee auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's are being driven by a resurgence of major single-owner collections, reversing a period of trophy scarcity in the secondary market. Key collections include the $130 million Robert E. Mnuchin collection at Sotheby's, the personal collection of gallerist Marian Goodman at Christie's, and the S.I. Newhouse collection expected to generate around $450 million, featuring Jackson Pollock's 'Number 7A (1948)' and Constantin Brancusi's 'Danaïde (1913)'. The article notes that the ultra-high tier above $10 million rose 30% year-on-year, and single-owner collections in New York auctions totaled $730.9 million, an 89.9% increase from Q1 2025.

Filippo Lippi painting—once the centrepiece of Florence's Palazzo Medici Chapel—to undergo two-year restoration

The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin has announced a two-year restoration of Filippo Lippi’s 1459 painting *The Adoration in the Forest*, funded by the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung and the Schoof’schen Stiftung. The tempera-on-panel work, a centerpiece of the Palazzo Medici chapel in Florence, is now in the Gemäldegalerie’s collection. Conservators discovered that a 19th-century varnish layer is degrading the paint, causing it to lift off the panel, particularly affecting the Virgin’s blue cloak, skin, and gold leaf areas. The treatment aims to remove the varnish while stabilizing the paint layer, and may also reveal Lippi’s use of oil paint alongside egg tempera.

Tefaf restoration award goes to 500-year-old Medici tapestry

Tefaf has awarded its Museum Restoration Fund prize to the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) for the restoration of a 500-year-old Medici tapestry, "The Meeting of Dante and Virgil" (circa 1547-49). The €25,000 grant will support cleaning, consolidation, and lining of the 5.3-meter-high work, which has not been displayed in over 60 years due to severe damage including silk weft loss and open slits. The conservation will be carried out by the Midwest Art Conservation Center, and the tapestry is expected to go on public view at MIA this summer.

Harnessing the winds of societal change: how art dealers have been able to shape taste for centuries

Valentina Castellani, a former Gagosian director, has authored a new book titled *Trading Beauty: Art Market Histories from the Altar to the Gallery* (out 1 May). The book traces how art dealers have historically leveraged societal changes—political, economic, and social—to reshape taste and market structures. Castellani begins in the Middle Ages, when art was made only on commission for patrons like the Catholic church and monarchies, and moves through key shifts such as the Dutch Republic's first open art market in the 17th century, which gave rise to the professional art dealer. She highlights dealers like Paul Durand-Ruel, Joseph Duveen, and Leo Castelli who capitalized on anti-establishment energy, new wealth, and post-war consumer culture to bring avant-garde art to the forefront.

The Big Review: Rothko in Florence ★★★★★

The Palazzo Strozzi in Florence has launched a major exhibition exploring the profound influence of the Italian Renaissance on Mark Rothko. Co-curated by the artist's son, Christopher Rothko, the show spans three historic locations: the Palazzo Strozzi, the Museo di San Marco, and the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana. By placing Rothko’s abstract canvases in direct dialogue with Fra Angelico’s frescoes and Michelangelo’s architecture, the exhibition highlights how the artist’s visits to Italy in the 1950s and 60s shaped his spatial thinking and spiritual intensity.

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Three major artworks from the collection of the late philanthropist and collector Agnes Gund will be offered at Christie's marquee May sales in New York. The lots include Mark Rothko's 'No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe)' (estimated around $80 million), Cy Twombly's 1961 'Untitled' (estimated $40-60 million), and Joseph Cornell's 'Untitled (Medici Princess)' (estimated $3-5 million), all being sold on the secondary market for the first time.

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The article reviews "Legacies: Asian American Art Movements in New York City," an exhibition at 80WSE in New York, curated by Howie Chen, Jayne Cole Southard, and christina ong, running from September 11 to December 20, 2024. Billed as the first institutional survey of Asian American artists in New York City, the show features 90 artists and spans the period from 1969 to 2001, centering on three key organizations: Godzilla: Asian American Art Network, the Basement Workshop, and the Asian American Arts Centre. The exhibition highlights how many of these artists did not solely make work about their race, complicating the link between identity and art, and includes lesser-known pieces such as David Diao's 1974 painting "Odd Man Out" and a provocative 1985 photograph by Hanh Thi Pham.

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Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Art Bridges Foundation in Bentonville, Arkansas, have acquired 90 works of contemporary Native art from the John and Susan Horseman Collection. The acquisition includes pieces by prominent Indigenous artists such as Kent Monkman, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Kay WalkingStick, and Cannupa Hanska Luger. Nine works will go to Crystal Bridges, while the remaining 81 will join Art Bridges' collection, which now totals around 250 works, with Native art making up a third. The works will be displayed in upcoming exhibitions at the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine and Crystal Bridges' expanded campus, with loans to partner institutions planned.

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A 17th-century portrait of Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici was damaged at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence when a tourist attempted to take a photo mimicking the prince's pose. The young Italian man tripped over a barrier, fell onto the painting, and tore the canvas. Security cameras captured the incident, and the tourist has been identified and reported to police, potentially facing criminal charges and repair costs.

America’s Finest Renaissance Tapestry Set for Major Restoration

The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) has awarded its €25,000 Museum Restoration Fund to the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) for the conservation of *The Meeting of Dante and Virgil*, a mid-16th century Italian Renaissance tapestry. This is the first time TEFAF has funded a tapestry restoration since the initiative began in 2012. The wool and silk tapestry, made between 1547 and 1549 by the Florentine workshop of Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici and designed by Francesco Salviati, depicts the opening scene of Dante’s *The Divine Comedy*. It is the only early Medici tapestry held by a public collection outside Italy, standing 17 feet tall and eight feet wide. Due to structural weaknesses and light sensitivity, it has been largely in storage for 70 years. Conservation work by the Midwest Art Conservation Center will include wet cleaning, stabilization, and partial reweaving, along with a new display system. The tapestry is scheduled to return to public view at MIA on July 11.

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Three major artworks from the collection of the late arts patron Agnes Gund will be auctioned at Christie's in New York this May, with a combined minimum estimate of $123 million. The works include Mark Rothko's 'No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe)' (est. ~$80 million), a Cy Twombly untitled painting from 1961 (est. $40-60 million), and Joseph Cornell's 'Untitled (Medici Princess)' from 1948 (est. $3-5 million).

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The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine has launched a new course, "Prescribing Art: How Observation Enhances Medicine," in collaboration with the Abroms-Engel Institute for Visual Arts and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The course tasks junior- and senior-level medical students with analyzing famous artworks by artists including Michelangelo, Paul van Somer, Sir Luke Fildes, Mary Cassatt, and David Levinthal to improve their observational skills and address biases in health care. Developed by associate professor Stephen Russell, the course is an updated version of a 2011 program based on a Yale seminar, expanded this year to focus on bias and tolerance of ambiguity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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A tourist at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence damaged an 18th-century portrait of Ferdinando de’ Medici by Anton Domenico Gabbiani while taking a selfie on June 21. The man tripped backward onto the canvas, causing a small tear near the subject's right foot. Museum staff quickly removed the painting for assessment, and the work is expected to return to display soon in the exhibition “Florence and Europe: Arts of the Eighteenth Century.” The perpetrator was apprehended and reported to authorities; director Simone Verde vowed to prosecute and implement “anti-selfie measures.”

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Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, two of history's most celebrated artists, had a well-documented rivalry rooted in competition for commissions, class differences, and artistic disagreements. Their first known encounter occurred when Leonardo served on a committee deciding the placement of Michelangelo's *David* (1501), where Leonardo reportedly mocked the sculpture by sketching it as the sea god Neptune. Their rivalry escalated when both were commissioned to paint opposing murals in Florence's Salone dei Cinquecento—Leonardo's *Battle of Anghiari* and Michelangelo's *Battle of Cascina*—neither of which was completed. The artists traded insults over the years, with Michelangelo criticizing Leonardo's view of sculpture as inferior to painting, and Leonardo deriding Michelangelo's muscular figures as resembling "a bag of walnuts."

La grande fiera TEFAF si tiene a New York da 10 anni. Come sarà l’edizione 2026?

TEFAF New York returns to the Park Avenue Armory from May 15–19, 2026 (with a collector preview on May 14), marking the fair's tenth anniversary. The 2026 edition will host 88 top international galleries from 15 countries across four continents, offering museum-quality selections of modern and contemporary art, jewelry, antiques, and design. Highlights include Andy Warhol's Mao (1973) at ML Fine Art, Cecily Brown's Functor Hideaway (2008) at Berggruen Gallery, and a 2026 work by Minjung Kim at Voena. The fair also extends into the Armory's historic period rooms, and the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund will support the conservation of a Medici tapestry owned by the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Beverly Buchanan’s Architecture of Care

Beverly Buchanan’s Architecture of Care

A major retrospective and a focused exhibition of artist Beverly Buchanan's work are now on view in Athens, Georgia, where she lived for many years. "Shacks, Stories, and Spirit: Beverly Buchanan’s Art of Home" at the Georgia Museum of Art features her canonical "Medicine Woman" sculpture, while "Beverly’s Athens" at the University of Georgia’s Athenaeum presents a rich archive of her ephemera, sketches, and community-focused works, marking the city's first institutional solo exhibitions of her art posthumously.

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Cultured magazine profiles a cross-section of Atlanta art collectors as the Atlanta Art Fair returns for its second edition, highlighting the city's growing art scene. The article features Esohe and George Galbreath, who discuss their collection of about 200 works focused on emerging Atlanta artists, their annual art party ARTiculate ATL, and how their tastes have evolved from figurative works responding to cultural moments to smaller pieces that allow for greater diversity.

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CULTURED magazine revisits its weekly series on top art collectors, offering a peek into the homes and collections of David Cancel, Jarl Mohn, Nancy Magoon, César and Mima Reyes, and Nicola Erni. The article highlights Cancel's journey from graffiti and Keith Haring's Pop Shop to supporting Puerto Rican and Afro-Caribbean artists, Mohn's dramatic installation of a four-ton Michael Heizer sculpture, and the Reyes' commitment to women artists and Puerto Rican cultural institutions.

Wes Anderson Brings Joseph Cornell’s Studio to Life

Filmmaker Wes Anderson and Gagosian curator Jasper Sharp have recreated Joseph Cornell's basement studio from his home on Utopia Parkway in Queens, New York, at Gagosian Gallery's Paris location. The exhibition, titled "The House on Utopia Parkway: Joseph Cornell's Studio Re-Created by Wes Anderson," features over 300 original objects collected by Cornell, alongside his iconic shadow boxes and collages. It runs through March 14 and is free to the public, displayed behind the gallery's storefront windows.

Theatre, production, performance: fashion invests in art

Fashion houses like Chanel are increasingly investing in contemporary art, not merely as inspiration for prints or patterns but as a strategic tool for brand positioning and cultural credibility. Gallery owner Tristan Paprocki, who recently opened a Milan space with partner Guido Romero Pierini, notes that brands now seek out emerging artists to demonstrate foresight and support new talent. Chanel has collaborated with Berlin's Hamburger Bahnhof museum for large-scale installations by artists such as Klára Hosnedlová and Lina Lapelytė, and has announced ten artists for the third edition of its Next Prize 2026, including Bárbara Sánchez-Kane, Pan Daijing, and Álvaro Urbano. These artists work across fashion, sculpture, and performance, blurring the lines between clothing and contemporary art.

Pao Houa Her Captivates Midway Contemporary Art with New Exhibition Through May 2026

Hmong-American artist Pao Houa Her is currently presenting a solo exhibition at Midway Contemporary Art in Chicago, running through May 2, 2026. The show explores themes of displacement, identity, and cultural memory through Her's photographs and installations, which blend personal narrative with broader social commentary on the Hmong diaspora experience post-Vietnam War. Born in Laos and raised in Minnesota, Her's work challenges viewers to confront the complexities of migration and belonging, using staged portraits and intimate compositions to subvert expectations of representation.

William Turnbull Origins Exhibition Spotlights Elemental Forms in New York

William Turnbull Origins, an exhibition dedicated to the Scottish-born artist William Turnbull, is now on view in New York, highlighting his early and mid-career works that emphasize elemental, abstract forms. The show focuses on his sculptures and paintings from the 1940s through the 1960s, drawing attention to his exploration of primitive and organic shapes.

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The Musée du Louvre has acquired its first video work, *Les 4 temps (The 4 Seasons)*, created by Algeria-born artist Mohamed Bourouissa. The piece centers on the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, which connect the museum to the Place de la Concorde, and also references the 4 Temps mall in La Défense where Bourouissa grew up. The video will be on view in the Salle de la Chapelle from October 22 through January 19, 2026. The acquisition follows Bourouissa's year-long Instagram takeover for the Louvre, during which he posted 52 weekly videos that garnered millions of views.