This influential L.A. collector bought the artists no one else would. The art world is finally catching up

Eileen Harris Norton, a foundational figure in the Los Angeles art scene, is being celebrated with a major exhibition of her collection at Hauser & Wirth. The show, "Destiny Is a Rose: The Eileen Harris Norton Collection," features over 80 works, many from her home, highlighting her five-decade commitment to collecting artists who were often her friends and neighbors, particularly women, artists of color, and Southern California-based artists.

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The editor's letter for the 2025 ARTnews Top 200 Collectors issue recounts a cinematic moment at Art Week Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, where a government-affiliated collector described their role as "everyone and no one," reflecting the behind-the-scenes, museum-focused art acquisitions under Vision 2030. The issue features a report by Melissa Gronlund on the Gulf art scene, noting that Saudi Arabia is prioritizing museums and noncommercial programming before an independent market can emerge, while private collectors and foundations are also gaining ground. The article also highlights the cooling art market in Europe and the US, with collector Christen Sveaas criticizing blue-chip galleries for over-commercial pricing strategies.

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In a podcast interview with Louis Theroux, Marina Abramović revealed that curator Klaus Biesenbach was initially skeptical of her landmark 2010 performance "The Artist Is Present" at MoMA. Biesenbach, then chief curator at large at the Museum of Modern Art, had invited Abramović for the institution's first performance art retrospective, proposing the title "The Artist Is Present." When Abramović suggested sitting silently in the museum's atrium every day for three months, Biesenbach reportedly called the idea "ridiculous," predicting no one would participate. Despite his doubts, the performance drew some 1,500 visitors, with one person sitting for an entire day, and became a defining moment in 21st-century art.

Art Collector and ‘Galerie’ Magazine Founder Lisa Fayne Cohen Fawned Over Jeffrey Epstein in Emails: ‘There Is No One Else Like You’

Newly released documents from the Justice Department's Epstein files reveal that New York art collector and Galerie magazine founder Lisa Fayne Cohen and her husband, real estate developer Jimmy Cohen, were in close contact with financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2015 and 2016. The emails show Cohen seeking Epstein's advice and arranging to photograph his Paris apartment for her magazine, which later featured the residence anonymously in its second issue.

Why is the French government spending millions on art no one sees?

The French government agency Centre national des arts plastiques (CNAP), established in 1982 to support living artists and collect their work, has come under scrutiny following two opposing government reports. A July white paper by Martin Bethenod recommended refocusing CNAP's acquisitions on France-based artists and galleries, while a November report from the Cour des Comptes by Julien Aubert found the agency financially fragile and redundant, noting that 24,472 works—one quarter of its collection—have never been exhibited. Aubert recommended closing the CNAP by 2030, sparking backlash from over 1,000 art professionals who signed an open letter criticizing the ideological attack on public cultural service.

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YouTube megastar MrBeast (James Donaldson) released a video titled "I Survived 100 Hours in an Ancient Temple" on May 10, amassing over 55 million views in four days. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) confirmed that the production had full permission from federal and state authorities to film at Mayan archaeological sites including Chichén Itzá, Calakmul, and Balamcanché, and that all shoots occurred in public areas without disrupting other visitors. However, INAH also pointed out several inaccuracies in the final cut: no drones were flown inside El Castillo, no helicopter descents occurred, no one spent the night at a site, and a funerary mask shown in the video was a contemporary reproduction, not an authentic artifact.

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Artnet News editor-in-chief Naomi Rea joins Kate Brown on The Art Angle podcast to discuss the unraveling of traditional art pricing logic. The art market has cooled beyond a typical downturn, entering what Rea calls a "danger zone" where dealers and advisors are quietly recalibrating as speculation dries up and confidence wanes. The episode examines how pricing mechanisms that once held the market together have broken down, affecting everyone from mega-galleries to emerging dealers.

Façade collapse and vandalism at the Saint-Roch church in Paris

Effondrement de façade et vandalisme à l'église Saint-Roch de Paris

A significant portion of the cornice on the right side of the façade of the historic Saint-Roch church in Paris collapsed on March 9, 2026. Fortunately, no one was injured. The incident follows a pattern of similar structural failures at Parisian churches like Saint-Paul, Saint-Merry, and Saint-Augustin. Almost simultaneously, the church was targeted by vandals who severely damaged a gilded wooden altar in the shape of the Ark of the Covenant, a work from 1840 designed by architect Charles Lelong, just before its planned restoration was set to begin.

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Artnet News revisits a podcast episode featuring editor-in-chief Naomi Rea, who examines the breakdown of traditional art pricing logic amid a cooling market. The episode explores how the rules that once governed art valuation have eroded, leaving dealers, advisors, and collectors struggling to navigate a market described as being in a "danger zone." Rea discusses how mega-galleries, emerging dealers, and advisors are quietly recalibrating their strategies as speculation dries up and confidence wanes.

In Milwaukee, Four Artists Unravel Trauma to Move Toward Collective Wellness

An exhibition titled 'No One Knows All It Takes' opens at the Haggerty Museum of Art in Milwaukee, featuring four artists—Bryana Bibbs, Raoul Deal, Maria Gaspar, and Swoon—who use their work to address concealed trauma and its connection to collective wellness. Curated by Colossal, the show includes Bibbs’ weavings made while caring for her dying grandparents, Deal’s portraits and sculptures exploring immigration, Swoon’s installation confronting her mother’s addiction, and Gaspar’s interactive series on incarceration in Wisconsin.

No One Knows All It Takes // Haggerty

The Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University will present the exhibition "No One Knows All It Takes" from August 22 to December 20, 2025. Curated by Christopher Jobson and Grace Ebert of Colossal, the show features four artists—Bryana Bibbs, Raoul Deal, Maria Gaspar, and Swoon (Caledonia Curry)—whose work addresses the effects of concealed trauma, including addiction, incarceration, immigration, and lack of systemic support for caregivers. The exhibition aims to move beyond individual self-care to highlight root causes of trauma and systemic issues undermining collective well-being.