Vasari Codex. A living chronicle of the art world.

article local schedule Jun 3, 2026

NYC’s most stunning cultural gems are tucked inside townhouses and galleries — and most locals don’t even know they exist

This article highlights ten underrated cultural gems in New York City that are often overlooked by tourists and even locals. These hidden spots include Lévy Gorvy Dayan, a contemporary gallery inside a historic Upper East Side townhouse; Salon 94, a sprawling mansion-turned-art space; the National Museum of the American Indian in the former U.S. Custom House; and SculptureCenter in a former warehouse in Long Island City, among others. Each offers free or low-cost access and a unique cultural experience away from the crowds at major institutions like The Met and MoMA.

article news schedule Jun 2, 2026

Stunning views of new George Lucas museum in LA revealed in flyover video ahead of highly anticipated opening date

New flyover footage reveals the striking exterior of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles' Exposition Park, designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects. The $1 billion project, co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, will open on September 22, 2026, featuring over 300,000 square feet of space, 30 galleries, and a collection of more than 40,000 works spanning comics, manga, children's book illustrations, and fine art. Inaugural exhibitions include "Star Wars in Motion," showcasing iconic props and vehicles, alongside thematic shows spotlighting artists like Norman Rockwell and Frank Frazetta.

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 2, 2026

First look inside George Lucas' new LA museum as life-size Star Wars battleships go on display soon

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles will open on September 22, 2026, revealing its inaugural exhibitions. Co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the $1 billion, 300,000-square-foot museum in Exposition Park will feature over 1,200 works from a collection of more than 40,000 pieces. The opening includes roughly 20 exhibitions across 30 galleries, headlined by "Star Wars in Motion," which displays vehicles, props, and costumes from the first six films, including Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder and General Grievous' wheel bike. Other exhibitions explore themes like family, community, and adventure, featuring artists such as Norman Rockwell, Frank Frazetta, Maxfield Parrish, Thomas Hart Benton, and N.C. Wyeth.

museum exhibitions schedule May 4, 2026

Exclusive | Met Gala 2026 and ‘Costume Art’ brashly transform flesh, bones and guts into too-cool couture

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute will debut its spring 2026 exhibition, “Costume Art,” on May 10, preceded by the Met Gala on May 4. The exhibition explores the dressed body in all forms—nude, pregnant, plus-size, disabled, aging, and internal—and features fashion designer Renata Buzzo’s hand-stitched “Corset Anatomia” from her 2024 collection “The Body.” Buzzo was personally selected by curator Andrew Bolton and donated her pieces. The exhibition will be housed in the new Condé M. Nast Galleries, an 11,500-square-foot space that will make fashion galleries the first thing visitors see upon entering the Great Hall. The Met Gala, co-chaired by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, raised a record $31 million in 2025 and will follow the dress code “Fashion is Art.”

museum exhibitions schedule Apr 28, 2026

It’s not all movies: LA’s art, museums and exhibitions are world class

Los Angeles is expanding its cultural offerings with several new and renovated art institutions. The Museum of AI Arts, called Dataland, is set to open this spring at the Grand L.A. complex, created by artist Refik Anadol. It claims to be the world's first museum dedicated to AI art, featuring immersive installations like an Infinity Room with AI-generated scents. Meanwhile, the Natural History Museum completed a $75 million renovation in 2024, adding a 60,000-square-foot wing and displaying a unique green-boned dinosaur named Gnatalie, along with Barbara Carrasco's previously censored mural. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is opening the David Geffen Galleries on May 4, a 110,000-square-foot space for its permanent collection.

museum exhibitions schedule Apr 25, 2026

Iconic 'Rocky' statue outside Philadelphia Museum of Art will now get its own exhibit -- and be moved indoors

The iconic Rocky Balboa statue, long stationed outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), is being moved indoors for a new exhibition titled "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments." Opening this weekend, the show examines how the fictional boxer and his statue became a symbol of Philadelphia's identity, tracing over two millennia of artists' engagement with boxing and celebrity. The exhibition includes works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol alongside the bronze statue, which attracts roughly 4 million visitors annually. After the exhibit ends in August, the city's statue will be permanently relocated to the top of the museum steps, replacing a temporary loan from Sylvester Stallone's private collection. A new statue honoring legendary Philadelphia boxer "Smokin'" Joe Frazier is being built at the statue's original location.

museum exhibitions schedule Apr 20, 2026

Size 2 who? Starry Met costume show features pregnant people, plus size models and dwarves for first time

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's upcoming Costume Institute exhibition, 'Costume Art,' will feature mannequins representing a diverse range of body types, including pregnant, disabled, and plus-size figures, instead of the traditional sample size 2. The mannequins were created using photogrammetry scans of real people, such as artist Michaela Stark and disability activist Sinéad Burke, and have reflective steel faces intended to allow visitors to see themselves in the display.

museum exhibitions schedule Apr 17, 2026

‘Ugly’ but ‘beautiful’: LACMA finally unveils controversial new Geffen Galleries — was it worth the wait?

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has finally unveiled its new David Geffen Galleries, a $724 million concrete and glass structure designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. Spanning Wilshire Boulevard, the 110,000-square-foot elevated gallery space will house 1,700 works from the museum’s permanent collection, including masterpieces by Francis Bacon, Henri Matisse, and Katsushika Hokusai. The building is scheduled to open to the public on April 19, marking the completion of a massive campus expansion that has been nearly two decades in the making.

trending_up market schedule Dec 14, 2025

Booming stock market is fueling a mega-billion return to classic art and a backlash to junk

A booming stock market and increased disposable income among the ultra-wealthy have fueled a $2.2 billion fall auction season in New York, led by Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer," which sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby's. Other major sales include Frida Kahlo's "El sueño (la cama)" setting a record for a female artist at $55 million, and Mark Rothko's "No. 31 Yellow Stripe" fetching $62 million at Christie's. The surge is attributed to a convergence of high-quality estates coming to market—including those of Leonard Lauder, Robert and Patricia Ross Weis, and Jay and Cindy Pritzker—and renewed confidence among wealthy buyers after a stagnant period for art prices.

trending_up market schedule May 15, 2025

Failed auction of $70M bronze bust stuns Sotheby’s bidders into silence

Sotheby's high-stakes Modern evening sale on Tuesday night ended in shock when Alberto Giacometti's bronze bust "Grand tête mince (Grand tête de Diego)," estimated at $70 million, failed to sell. Bidding stalled at $64.25 million, well below the reserve, and auctioneer Oliver Barker withdrew the lot. The consignment came from the Soloviev Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the late real estate mogul Sheldon Solow, who had declined an auction guarantee. The sale ultimately brought in only $152 million, far short of the $240 million low estimate, with the Giacometti representing nearly 30% of that target.

person New York Post