National Museum of Women in the Arts Director Susan Fisher Sterling to Retire

Susan Fisher Sterling, director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C., will retire at the end of 2024 after 18 years in the role and nearly four decades at the institution. Sterling joined NMWA as an associate curator in 1988, rose through the ranks to become director in 2008, and oversaw a $67.5 million renovation completed in 2023, expansion of the collection to over 6,000 works, and partnerships with the Louvre, the State Hermitage Museum, and Tate Modern. The board of trustees has begun a search for her successor with executive search firm Howe-Lewis International.

What you want from your body? Antony Gormley, iron and crawling

British sculptor Antony Gormley discusses his solo exhibition "What Holds Us" at Galleria Continua in San Gimignano, on view from 9 May to 13 September 2026. The show transforms the gallery's former cinema-theatre into an interactive environment where visitors are invited to crawl through massive cardboard bodies, exploring interior spaces and shifting from passive spectatorship to bodily engagement. Gormley explains that the title connects "hold" and "whole," suggesting that being held—by the ground, the womb, or the body—is essential for growth and wholeness.

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Alexander Butyagin, a senior archaeologist at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, was arrested in Poland following an extradition request from Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities accuse Butyagin of conducting illegal excavations at the ancient Greek colony of Myrmekion in Crimea without the required permits following Russia's 2014 annexation. He is specifically accused of removing 30 gold coins, including rare artifacts bearing the name of Alexander the Great, while operating under Russian authority in occupied territory.

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Ukraine has requested the extradition from Poland of Russian archaeologist Oleksandr Butyagin, who was detained in Warsaw on December 4 on suspicion of conducting illegal excavations in Russian-occupied Crimea. Butyagin, an employee of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, faces charges from Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office for unauthorized digs at the ancient Greek colony of Myrmekion between 2014 and 2019, allegedly causing significant damage. A Polish court has ordered his custody until January 13 while the extradition process proceeds; if convicted in Ukraine, he could face up to 10 years in prison.

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Sotheby's sold a Tiffany Studios Magnolia floor lamp for $4.4 million at its Dreaming in Glass auction in New York, making it the most expensive leaded lamp by the decorative arts studio ever sold at auction. The lamp, manufactured around 1910, features a patinated bronze stand and a 28-inch colored glass dome depicting magnolias, and was crafted by Agnes Northrop, Tiffany's star designer, rather than Clara Driscoll. The bidding battle lasted 10 minutes, surpassing the $3 million high estimate.

Today in History March 17 | Opening of the National Gallery of Art

On March 17, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially dedicated the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The museum was established through the massive bequest of industrialist Andrew Mellon, who donated his world-class art collection, the funds for the building's construction, and a significant endowment. The opening marked a milestone in American cultural history, providing the public with access to a premier national collection of Old Master paintings.

Despite Putin’s repressive regime, a new private museum opens in Moscow

A new private museum called Zilart is set to open in Moscow on December 2, founded by billionaire couple Andrey and Yelizaveta Molchanov. The museum will showcase their collection of roughly 10,000 works, spanning Russian avant-garde, Soviet nonconformist art, international contemporary art, photography, and African art. Originally conceived in 2015 as a modern art branch of the State Hermitage Museum, the project underwent significant changes: architect Hani Rashid was replaced by Sergei Tchoban in 2021, and the Hermitage withdrew in 2023. The museum is entirely funded by the Molchanovs' LSR Group and receives no state support.

Director of the Hermitage Museum Sanctioned by the European Union

Le directeur du Musée de l'Ermitage sanctionné par l'Union européenne

The European Union has imposed sanctions on Mikhail Piotrovsky, the 81-year-old director of the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, as part of its 20th sanctions package against Russia. Piotrovsky was blacklisted for supporting the war in Ukraine and overseeing illegal archaeological excavations in occupied Crimea. The EU cited his use of Kremlin war rhetoric—calling the museum's exhibition policy a "cultural special operation"—and the Hermitage's role in incorporating Ukrainian cultural objects from occupied territories into Russia's state museum fund. Additionally, under his leadership, unauthorized digs were conducted at the ancient Greek site of Myrmekion in Crimea, led by Hermitage archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, who was arrested in Warsaw and later released in a prisoner exchange.

Hermitage Museum Director and Putin Ally Mikhail Piotrovsky Sanctioned by European Union

The European Union has sanctioned Mikhail Piotrovsky, the longtime director of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, for his close association with Vladimir Putin and his active support of Russia's war against Ukraine. Announced on April 23, the sanctions are part of a broader package targeting over a hundred individuals and entities, including other cultural figures like Sergei Obryvalin, Igor Solonin, and Andrey Polyakov, for their roles in the seizure of Ukrainian cultural property and the spread of Russian propaganda in occupied regions.