Van Gogh in 2025: Record prices, memorable shows and the first Korean acquisition

The article reviews the Van Gogh year in 2025, highlighting several key developments. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam faces potential closure unless the Dutch government increases its annual building subsidy from €8.5m to €11m, leading the museum to file a legal complaint. At auction, two Van Gogh paintings sold, with "Parisian Novels" (1887) fetching $62.7m at Sotheby's, a record for his Paris period, and eight drawings were sold, including "Sower in a Wheatfield with setting Sun" (1888) for $11.2m. Acquisitions included "Tarascon Stagecoach" (1888) given to LACMA via the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, and "Head of a Peasant" (1885) bought by Korean-born gallery owner Hong Gyu Shin, marking the first known Van Gogh acquisition by a Korean.

frank lloyd wright hollyhock house facing closure city cuts

Hollyhock House, Frank Lloyd Wright's Los Angeles masterpiece, faced potential closure after Mayor Karen Bass proposed a budget on April 21 that cut $283,000 in city funding and eliminated three of four staff positions, threatening its operations and UNESCO status. The Department of Cultural Affairs warned the cuts would make the property inoperable, but after advocacy from the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy and others, Bass fully restored funding, allowing the house to retain its two full-time staff and UNESCO designation.

No, the closed Museum of Comics in Milan has not found a new home in Brianza

No, il Museo del Fumetto chiuso a Milano non ha trovato la nuova sede in Brianza

The Museum of Comics (Museo del Fumetto) in Milan, which suspended operations in June 2025 due to a €180,000 debt to the city, has not found a permanent new home despite online rumors. Instead, the Fondazione Franco Fossati, which runs the museum, has secured temporary storage for its archive in Desio (Monza-Brianza) for up to two years, using spaces granted free of charge by the local municipality. The archive—containing over 500,000 items including publications, original boards, and memorabilia—will be cataloged and preserved there, but the museum itself remains closed to the public.