Art News. Vasari Codex

trending_up market schedule Apr 30, 2026 visibility 53 link 15 artists, 1 gallery

Picasso Painting That Cost S. I. Newhouse a MoMA Board Position Heads to Christie’s for $55 M.

Christie’s New York will auction 16 masterpieces from the collection of late Condé Nast magnate S. I. Newhouse on May 18, with an estimated total of $450 million. The highlight is Pablo Picasso’s Cubist painting *Homme à la guitare* (1913), estimated at $35–55 million, which Newhouse acquired in 2000 for $10 million after MoMA sold it from its collection. Newhouse, then a MoMA board member, violated museum policy by buying the work and subsequently resigned from the board.

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gavel restitution schedule Jan 30, 2026 visibility 29 link 18 artists, 1 gallery

leon black art collection revealed jeffrey epstein file

A 51-page document released as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files appears to catalog the extensive private art collection of billionaire collector and former MoMA board chair Leon Black. The document, which lists works by masters from Michelangelo to Picasso under corporate entities linked to Black, reveals valuations and details of a collection largely kept from public view, including works held as promised gifts to major museums like MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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rate_review review schedule Dec 26, 2025 visibility 27 link 38 artists, 2 galleries

the worst art we saw in 2025

Artnet News editors and writers compiled a list of the worst art of 2025, calling out works they found lazy, cynical, overhyped, or ethically dubious. Highlights include Flora Yukhnovich's site-specific painting installation at the Frick Collection, which critics deemed middling and out of place among the museum's historic masterpieces; Jeff Koons's eight-foot-tall Hulk (Tubas) sculpture, sold for $3 million at Frieze New York and described as an obnoxious trophy piece; and actor Adrien Brody's interactive gum wall installation, which invited visitors to stick chewed gum onto a canvas.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 23, 2025 visibility 36 link 47 artists, 6 galleries

what is reference baiting art market

At Art Basel Miami Beach 2025, the art market showed a strong turn toward historical references, with galleries like Gagosian featuring Jeff Koons' antique-inspired sculptures and Takashi Murakami's reproductions of Cézanne and Van Gogh. The new Zero 10 sector, named after a 1915 Malevich exhibition, highlighted digital artists such as Beeple and Larva Labs. This trend reflects a broader "flight to quality" in an uncertain market, where collectors seek reassurance by associating emerging or overlooked artists with established historical names.

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article culture schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 22 link 20 artists, 1 gallery

modern contemporary art

The article explores the distinction between Modern and contemporary art, explaining that Modern art emerged in the late 19th century as a reaction to classical art and the Industrial Revolution, with movements like Impressionism, Cubism, Futurism, and Surrealism redefining painting in response to photography. Contemporary art, by contrast, is a reaction to Modern art, with its start debated between World War II and the 1960s-70s consumerist era, encompassing diverse mediums such as sculpture, street art, and performance art, exemplified by artists like Jeff Koons, Banksy, and Yoko Ono.

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trending_up market schedule May 18, 2026 visibility 30 link 29 artists, 4 galleries

The 16 Most Expensive Artworks Ever Sold at Auction

ARTnews published an updated list of the 16 most expensive artworks ever sold at auction, highlighting recent record-breaking sales such as Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* (1914–16), which fetched over $236.4 million at Sotheby's, and Jackson Pollock's *Number 7A, 1948*, which sold for well above its $100 million estimate at Christie's in May 2026 from the S. I. Newhouse collection. The article traces the history of top auction prices, including Vincent van Gogh's *Orchard with Cypresses* (1888), which sold for $117 million during the Paul Allen sale at Christie's in November 2022, part of a record $1.5 billion single-evening auction.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 23, 2025 visibility 15 link 7 artists, 1 gallery

gagosian reunites with richard diebenkorn

Gagosian has announced representation of the late American painter Richard Diebenkorn (1922–1993), marking the artist's return to the gallery more than thirty years after his final solo exhibition there during his lifetime. To celebrate, the gallery will mount a career-spanning exhibition at its Madison Avenue flagship opening November 8, curated by Jasper Sharp in collaboration with the Richard Diebenkorn Foundation. The show will feature works from every period of Diebenkorn's six-decade career, including early California landscapes, wartime watercolors, and the celebrated Ocean Park abstractions, with highlights such as a 1943 watercolor, a monumental 1960 canvas, and late works on paper.

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article culture schedule May 12, 2026 visibility 30 link 37 artists, 7 galleries

Beer With a Painter: Keith Mayerson

Hyperallergic interviews Los Angeles-based painter Keith Mayerson, who discusses his ongoing 'My American Dream' series—a cosmology of paintings blending American identity, activism, and popular culture. The conversation covers his early influences from comics, the Muppets, and Hunter S. Thompson, his transition from cartooning to painting, and his vibratory, swirling brushwork. Mayerson's work has been featured in the 2014 Whitney Biennial and is currently on view at the Aspen Art Museum and the Pollock-Krasner House.

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museum exhibitions schedule Mar 27, 2026 visibility 31 link 6 artists, 2 galleries

Nature by the uncool YBA, armoured ceramics and dizzying Aussie abstraction – the week in art

The article is a weekly art roundup highlighting several major exhibitions opening in London and Cambridge. It spotlights a new show of nature-themed paintings by Cecily Brown at the Serpentine Gallery, ceramics by Phoebe Collings-James at Pitzhanger Manor, a career survey of Turner Prize-winner Veronica Ryan at the Whitechapel Gallery, a Frank Bowling retrospective at The Fitzwilliam Museum, and a presentation of Aboriginal Australian art at Edel Assanti. The piece also features a powerful war photograph from Iraq and includes brief news items on topics ranging from a Matisse retrospective to potential museum entry fees.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 23, 2025 visibility 18 link 17 artists, 1 gallery

abstract artist rosemarie beck van doren waxter

Rosemarie Beck, a once-promising abstract painter celebrated in the 1940s and 1950s by the Whitney Museum and mentored by Robert Motherwell, abandoned abstraction in 1958 to pursue figuration. Despite early success and shows at prestigious venues like the Stable Gallery, her shift to mythological and literary themes caused her to fade from art historical memory. A new exhibition, "Rosemarie Beck: Earthly Paradise," at Van Doren Waxter in New York, showcases over 25 figurative works from 1959 to 2000, marking a major reappraisal of her career.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 5, 2026 visibility 30 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

David Hockney : tout savoir sur la superstar de la peinture exposée à la galerie Lelong

Beaux Arts Magazine has published a comprehensive dossier on David Hockney, coinciding with his current exhibition at Galerie Lelong in Paris. The article presents a multi-episode series covering the British artist's career, from his iconic "Pool Paintings" like *A Bigger Splash* (1967) to his recent works created on iPad in Normandy. It highlights his ongoing exhibitions at multiple venues, including a major retrospective at the Centre Pompidou starting June 21, a dialogue with Matisse at the Musée Matisse in Nice, a show at the Van Gogh Museum, and a loan from Tate Britain to the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence. The piece also explores Hockney's fascination with Old Masters, his use of technology, and his enduring status as a pop art and hyperrealist superstar.

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person people schedule Apr 14, 2026 visibility 87 link 19 artists, 2 galleries

‘It was life-changing’: the celebrated art historian who spent 46 years sitting for Frank Auerbach

Art historian and curator Catherine Lampert is the subject of a career-spanning profile following the opening of her latest exhibition, 'Euan Uglow: An Arc from the Eye,' at MK Gallery. The article details her deep personal and professional relationships with giants of British figurative painting, including Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach, and Euan Uglow. Lampert, who served as the director of the Whitechapel Gallery for over a decade, continues to be a prolific force in the art world, recently co-authoring Freud’s catalogue raisonné and curating major retrospectives.

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rate_review review schedule Dec 17, 2025 visibility 18 link 18 artists, 2 galleries

worst artworks we saw around the world in 2022

Artnet News editors compiled a list of the worst artworks they encountered in 2022, including a chaotic performance by Poncili Creación at NADA Miami, an overproduced Danish Pavilion installation by Uffe Isolotto at the Venice Biennale, and a Paul Cézanne painting at the Barnes Foundation that disappointed a critic. The article offers subjective, critical takes on these works, describing the NADA performance as bizarre and jolting, the Danish pavilion as graphic and lacking a powerful message, and the Cézanne as a disappointment within an otherwise memorable museum visit.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 24, 2026 visibility 42 link 13 artists, 1 gallery

Au musée Picasso, l’artiste africain-américain Henry Taylor dévoile sa peinture d’un quotidien troublé par la violence

The Musée Picasso in Paris is hosting a retrospective of African American artist Henry Taylor, running until September 6. The exhibition centers on Taylor's 2007 painting *From Congo to the Capital, and Black Again*, a bold reimagining of Picasso's *Les Demoiselles d'Avignon* that replaces the original figures with darker-skinned women and introduces Josephine Baker and a white man's arm. The show follows the museum's series on African American painting, after Faith Ringgold in 2023 and ahead of a Harlem Renaissance exhibition in 2027.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 15, 2026 visibility 36 link 7 artists

ken griffin global recession iran strait of hormuz

Billionaire hedge fund manager and prominent art collector Kenneth C. Griffin has issued a stark warning regarding the global economy, stating that a recession is inevitable if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed through the end of the year. Speaking at the Semafor World Economy summit, Griffin highlighted that the closure of this vital oil passageway has created energy shocks and treacherous conditions for central bankers, potentially forcing further interest rate hikes to combat inflation.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 27, 2026 visibility 25 link 13 artists

london courtauld new contemporary art galleries blavatnik

London’s Courtauld Gallery will open two new contemporary art galleries at its Somerset House campus, funded by a £10 million ($13.8 million) gift from the Blavatnik Family Foundation. The top-floor spaces, originally built as a display area for the Royal Society in the 18th century, are expected to debut in 2029. The donation brings the foundation’s total support for the Courtauld to £20 million ($27.5 million), following earlier backing for the museum’s 2021 renovation. The new galleries will be programmed in part by students in the Courtauld’s curating master’s program and will host exhibitions connecting historical and contemporary art.

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article news schedule Dec 22, 2025 visibility 16 link 17 artists

jeffrey epstein art world connections

The article details the ongoing release of documents related to disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, revealing his extensive ties to prominent art world figures. Key connections include former MoMA chairman Leon Black, who paid Epstein tens of millions for tax advice and engaged in art transactions involving a Giacometti sculpture and a Cézanne watercolor; retail mogul and art collector Leslie Wexner; and artist Andres Serrano. It also highlights the story of artist Maria Farmer, who was assaulted by Epstein and Maxwell and faced threats against her art career when she tried to report them in the 1990s.

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rate_review review schedule Dec 10, 2025 visibility 26 link 21 artists

what are the 10 best works of art in new york museums let the debate begin

Artnet News critic Christian Viveros-Fauné has published a personal list of the ten best works of art in New York museums, sparking debate among readers. The selection includes iconic pieces such as Giovanni Bellini's *St. Francis in the Desert* at the Frick Collection, Gerhard Richter's *October 18, 1977* at MoMA, Paul Cézanne's *The Card Players* at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, James Rosenquist's *F-111* at MoMA, Diego Velázquez's *Juan de Pareja* at the Met, and Pablo Picasso's *Les Demoiselles d'Avignon* at MoMA, among others.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 10, 2025 visibility 29 link 29 artists

ex christies chief jussi pylkkanen works trends watch auction season

Jussi Pylkkanen, former Christie's chairman, analyzes the upcoming New York 20th and 21st Century Art sales, noting a return to market confidence after strong European auctions in London and Paris aligned with Frieze and Art Basel Paris fairs. Christie's London posted its best October sales since 2018, Sotheby's had its most valuable Paris season, and a Picasso portrait sold for $37 million at Hôtel Drouot. The season shows a shift from speculative buying toward established artists like Bacon, Freud, Picasso, and Klimt, with 27 works valued over $10 million, led by Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elizabeth Lederer* from the Leonard Lauder collection, estimated to exceed $150 million at Sotheby's.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 8, 2025 visibility 19 link 13 artists

how did van gogh influence matisse

The Van Gogh Museum has acquired Henri Matisse's 1905 painting *Olive Grove in Collioure* to illustrate Vincent van Gogh's influence on modern art. The work, painted 15 years after Van Gogh's death, shows Matisse's adoption of van Gogh's expressive, anti-naturalistic color and brushwork. The museum pairs it with van Gogh's *Trees in the Garden of the Asylum* (1889) to highlight how Matisse transformed van Gogh's reed-pen drawing techniques into his own Fauvist style. Matisse first encountered van Gogh's work in 1897 through Australian painter John Russell, who gave him a van Gogh drawing that Matisse hung in his Paris apartment alongside works by Cézanne and Gauguin.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 3, 2025 visibility 20 link 16 artists

kenneth griffin 13th amendment emancipation proclamation sothebys

Billionaire hedge funder and art collector Kenneth Griffin revealed he was the buyer of record-breaking copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment, both signed by President Abraham Lincoln, at a Sotheby's New York auction. The Thirteenth Amendment sold for $13.7 million, more than five times the previous record, while the Emancipation Proclamation fetched $4.4 million. Griffin, founder of Citadel, is an avid collector of rare historical documents and high-value art, having previously purchased a copy of the U.S. Constitution for $43.2 million and major works by artists like Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 30, 2025 visibility 15 link 8 artists

ken griffin 13th amendment copy sothebys

Billionaire hedge fund founder Kenneth C. Griffin has been revealed as the buyer of President Abraham Lincoln's handwritten copy of the 13th Amendment, which sold at Sotheby's for $13.7 million including buyer's premium. The document, one of only four privately held copies, was part of Sotheby's "Fine Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana" sale. Griffin also acquired a signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation for $4.4 million. The auction house announced the winner on Monday, noting that Griffin secured the amendment by phone after competitive bidding.

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gavel restitution schedule Mar 30, 2026 source 8 sources visibility 25 link 4 artists

Works by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse Snatched in Major Italian Art Heist

Four hooded thieves stole three valuable paintings from the Magnani-Rocca Foundation in Parma, Italy, in a swift nighttime heist. The stolen works include Paul Cézanne's 'Still Life with Cherries,' Henri Matisse's 'Odalisque on the Terrace, 1922,' and Pierre-Auguste Renoir's 'Les Poissons (Fish), 1917,' collectively worth millions of euros. The operation, described as highly structured and organized, took less than three minutes.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 7 link 11 artists, 2 galleries

Waddington’s Spring Sale Spotlights Canadian Masters

Toronto-based auction house Waddington's will hold its Major Spring Sale on May 28, 2026, marking its 176th anniversary. The sale comprises three sessions: Canadian & International Fine Art, First Nations Art, and Inuit Art. Highlights include works by Lawren Stewart Harris (Lake Superior Sketch, VI, est. $700,000–$800,000 CAD), David Brown Milne (Heavy Forms, 1913, est. $80,000–$120,000), Rudolf Ernst (Finishing Touches, est. $100,000–$150,000 CAD), Emily Carr (Somewhere, ca. 1942, est. $350,000–$450,000), and Norval Morrisseau (Young Shaman with Powers, 1978, est. $100,000–$150,000 CAD). The sale spans diverse periods and mediums, with a focus on Canadian masters and Indigenous art.

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trending_up market schedule Mar 30, 2026 visibility 25 link 18 artists, 6 galleries

Joan Mitchell becomes most expensive female artist at auction in Asia with US$17.6m Sotheby's sale

Joan Mitchell’s diptych "La Grande Vallée VII" sold for HK$137 million (US$17.6 million) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, setting a new record for the most expensive work by a female artist ever sold at auction in Asia. The 1983 masterpiece, part of a celebrated 21-painting cycle dedicated to a grieving friend, led a successful Modern and Contemporary Evening Auction that saw a 100% sell-through rate for its 54 lots. Other notable results included a Mark Rothko canvas that more than doubled its low estimate and significant sales for works by Sanyu and Zao Wou-Ki.

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trending_up market schedule May 14, 2025 visibility 28 link 35 artists, 4 galleries

At Sotheby’s, a $70M Giacometti Fails to Sell While Works By Munch and Cézanne Ignite Buyer Excitement

Sotheby’s Modern Evening Auction on May 13, 2025, achieved $186.4 million in sales but was overshadowed by the failure of its headline lot: Alberto Giacometti’s hand-painted bronze bust *Grande tête mince (Grande tête de Diego)*, estimated at $70 million. The work, consigned by the Soloviev Foundation, went unsold after minimal bidding, lacking a guarantee or irrevocable bid. Other highlights included a strong performance by Edvard Munch and Paul Cézanne works, with 40% of lots exceeding high estimates. Notable sales included Georgia O’Keeffe’s *Leaves of a Plant* ($12.97 million) and Alexander Calder’s *Four Big Dots* ($8.285 million), both fresh to market.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 17, 2026 visibility 48 link 11 artists, 1 gallery

Zurich’s controversial Bührle Collection is rehung, including five paintings by Van Gogh—plus one forgery

The Kunsthaus Zurich has unveiled a comprehensive new display of the Emil Bührle Collection, featuring 205 works including five significant paintings by Vincent van Gogh and one acknowledged forgery. This reinstallation marks a shift from previous thematic displays focused on provenance research to a denser presentation of the collection's breadth. Notable works on view include a 1887 self-portrait and the masterpiece 'The Sower at Sunset,' though one Van Gogh remains in conservation and another has been withdrawn due to Nazi-era ownership complications.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 20, 2026 visibility 32 link 59 artists, 1 gallery

us museum shows exhibitions 2026

Artnet News has published a preview of major museum exhibitions scheduled across the United States in 2026, highlighting five standout shows. These include "Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses" at the Cleveland Museum of Art, which examines the intersection of fashion and art from the Renaissance to today; "The One-Two Punch: 100 Years of Robert Colescott" at the Tacoma Art Museum, celebrating the centenary of the artist known for his provocative figurative paintings; "Containing Multitudes" at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, a photography exhibition marking America's 250th year; and "Frida: The Making of an Icon" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, focusing on Frida Kahlo's enduring legacy.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 5, 2026 visibility 25 link 33 artists

museum exhibitions shows europe 2026

Artnet News has published a preview of major European museum exhibitions opening in early 2026. Highlights include a monographic show on Paul Cézanne at Fondation Beyeler (January 25–May 25), featuring 80 works from his late career; “Yellow. Beyond Van Gogh’s Favourite Colour” at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (February 13–May 17), exploring the color yellow across art, fashion, and literature; a solo exhibition by conceptual artist Danh Vo at the Stedelijk Museum (February 14–August 2); and “The First Homosexuals” at Kunstmuseum Basel (March 7–August 2), examining the intersection of emerging homosexual identity and the arts in the late 19th century.

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article news schedule Dec 16, 2025 visibility 13 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

cai guo qiang arcteryx fireworks tibet

Artist Cai Guo-Qiang sparked a major controversy on Chinese social media after staging a fireworks display titled "Rising Dragon" in the Himalayas near Shigatse, Tibet, on September 19, 2025. The event, co-organized with outdoor brand Arc'teryx, drew dozens of art insiders and influencers but was quickly condemned by netizens, environmental scientists, and activists for threatening the fragile Tibetan plateau ecosystem and showing cultural insensitivity toward sacred Buddhist mountains. Both Cai and Arc'teryx issued apologies, and state media outlets like CCTV and Xinhua condemned the performance, leading to an investigation by local authorities.

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