Printmaking skills of Manet, Van Gogh and more celebrated in Bath show

An exhibition titled *Beyond Impressionism* at the Holburne Museum in Bath showcases over 50 prints by artists such as Édouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, James McNeill Whistler, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Pablo Picasso. The show, running from 23 May to 13 September, highlights how impressionist, post-impressionist, and cubist painters revived printmaking in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, elevating it from commercial reproduction to a respected artistic medium. Works are drawn from public collections including the Courtauld Gallery and Ashmolean, as well as private collections.

TEFAF New York Opened to Crowded Aisles, Bullish Collectors, and Strong Booths

TEFAF New York opened at the Park Avenue Armory with unexpectedly strong crowds and a buoyant mood, defying the typical afternoon lull. Dealers reported heavy foot traffic and sustained conversations, with gallerist Sean Kelly calling it the best edition in years. The fair, running through May 19, features a mix of antiquities, design, modern, and contemporary art, with standout booths including Alison Jacques’s pairing of Dorothea Tanning, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Gordon Parks, and Sean Kelly Gallery’s display of works by Shahzia Sikander and Sam Moyer. The newly launched Pace Di Donna Schrader Galleries made its TEFAF debut with works by Eugène Delacroix, Willem de Kooning, and Alexander Calder.

Megadealer Larry Gagosian Is the Subject of Unauthorized Documentary In the Works from Director Barry Avrich

Director Barry Avrich is producing an unauthorized documentary titled "Shadow Man: Inside The Secret World of Larry Gagosian" about the legendary art dealer. The film, confirmed by Avrich via email, promises to feature interviews with former employees and artists sharing insider stories about Gagosian's rise from selling posters on LA streets to running a global gallery empire with 18 locations. Avrich previously directed art-world documentaries including "Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art" about the Knoedler & Co. forgery scandal and "Blurred Lines: Inside the Art World."

The Can’t-Miss Moments at TEFAF New York 2026

TEFAF New York 2026 opened to packed crowds at the Park Avenue Armory, showcasing a mix of historic and contemporary works. Highlights include Gagosian’s solo booth of Kathleen Ryan’s bejeweled “Bad Fruit” sculptures, Thaddaeus Ropac’s presentation of monumental canvases by Danish painter Eva Helene Pade, and Axel Vervoordt Gallery’s spotlight on overlooked Italian painter Ida Barbarigo. The fair also features collectible design and perennial favorites like Alexander Calder mobiles and Alighiero Boetti tapestries.

One Erased Vermeer, Two Books, and No Consensus

Two new books examine the legacy of Johannes Vermeer from contrasting angles. Ruth Bernard Yeazell's "Vermeer's Afterlives" (Princeton University Press) explores how the artist's open-ended, figureless interiors have inspired later creators, from painter George Deem to novelist Tracy Chevalier. Andrew Graham-Dixon's "Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found" restores the historical and religious context of 17th-century Delft, arguing that modern readings have overlooked the original meanings of Vermeer's works.

Rothko from Robert Mnuchin’s Estate Sells for $85.8 M., Leading Sotheby’s New York’s $433.1 M. Contemporary Art Sale

Sotheby’s New York held a $433.1 million modern and contemporary art sale at its Madison Avenue headquarters, led by Mark Rothko’s *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957), which sold for $85.8 million. The auction opened with 11 works from the estate of legendary dealer Robert Mnuchin, totaling $166.3 million, including a second Rothko and pieces by Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, and Pablo Picasso. The contemporary art segment followed, with Jean-Michel Basquiat’s *Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)* (1983) selling for $52.7 million. The overall sale was described by advisers as robust but not particularly exciting, and it significantly exceeded the $186.1 million equivalent sale from last year.

The Met and Neue Galerie Embark on Historic Merger

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Neue Galerie in New York have announced a historic merger set for 2028. The Met will acquire the Neue Galerie's Beaux-Arts mansion, renaming it the Met Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie (or Met Neue Galerie), while preserving its museum experience. The merger comes ahead of the Neue Galerie's 25th anniversary and its renovations from May to August 2026. Founder Ronald S. Lauder will remain involved, and the Met will supplement the Neue Galerie's programs, research, and digital initiatives. Major fundraising is underway, with the endowment target of $200 million already 80 percent met, supported by Lauder, his daughter Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, and trustee Marina Kellen French.

David Hockney, giant of British art, 1937-2026

David Hockney, the towering figure of British painting whose career spanned six decades, has died. The artist studied at the Royal College of Art in 1959 and soon moved to Los Angeles, where he created iconic works such as *A Bigger Splash* (1967) and *Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)* (1972), the latter becoming the most expensive artwork by a living artist sold at auction in 2018. Hockney continually embraced new technology, from photo collage in the 1980s to iPad paintings in the 2000s, and maintained a prolific output of over 400 solo shows worldwide.

Art, Death, Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp, known for his nonchalant attitude toward the material status of his artworks, paradoxically exerted meticulous control over their afterlife. The article examines his detailed instructions for the posthumous installation of his secret sculptural environment *Étant donnés* (1946–66) at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, including a four-ring binder of notes specifying everything from architectural dimensions to lightbulb wattage. It also highlights his earlier role as cofounder of the Société Anonyme, Inc., where he balanced artistic control with delegation, selecting artists like Louis Eilshemius for exhibitions despite their differing sensibilities.

Marianna Simnett’s Furry Friends

Marianna Simnett’s exhibition at Société, Berlin, features a provocative mix of film, painting, and sculpture that revels in grotesque, erotic, and fantastical transformations. Works like *Hyena and Swan in the Midst of Sexual Congress* (2019) and the films *Leda was a Swan* (2025) and *Blue Moon* (2022) reimagine classical myths and fairy tales through a feminist, body-horror lens, using AI-assisted visuals and stop-motion to explore themes of animality, abjection, and pleasure. The show includes taxidermy-inspired animations, BDSM-inflected live-action shorts, and sculptures that ensnare human figures in animal forms.

Citing “Unfixable” Gallery Model, Pace Makes Deep Cuts to Artist Roster, Staff

Pace Gallery has cut fifty artists from its roster of 135 and eliminated fifty of its 250 staff, according to a New York Times report. The layoffs were announced before staff were notified, with a town hall scheduled for the following morning. CEO Marc Glimcher stated that the current gallery model is "unfixable" and that Pace is returning to its roots by focusing on around 80 artists, including an intergenerational mix. Among the dropped artists are Glenn Kaino, Keith Coventry, John Gerrard, TeamLab, and several others, while the gallery retains its blue-chip status alongside Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and Zwirner.

Lost Leonora Carrington Work to Make Public Debut

A long-lost painting by British Mexican Surrealist Leonora Carrington, titled *Villa Pilar* (1940), will make its public debut at London’s Freud Museum this summer. The work was rediscovered with an heir of Dr. Luis Morales, the psychiatrist who treated Carrington at a psychiatric hospital in Santander, Spain, where she was institutionalized after a mental breakdown following her partner Max Ernst’s arrest by the Nazis. The painting will be featured in the exhibition “Leonora Carrington: The Symptomatic Surreal,” which has been extended through August 10, and will later travel to the arts center Faro Santander in September.

Spanish Government Threatens to Fire Director of Museo Reina Sofía

Manuel Segade, director of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Spain, has been threatened with removal by lawmakers if he does not complete a full inventory of the museum’s over 25,000 artworks by December 31, 2025. The pressure comes from Spain’s Court of Auditors, which has criticized the museum’s cataloguing methods for years, and is backed by the far-right and the conservative Popular Party. Segade, appointed in 2023, has been overseeing a multi-year renovation and has increased the representation of women artists to 35%, though only 15% of the collection’s 26,000 pieces are by women. The museum recently refused to lend Picasso’s *Guernica* to the Guggenheim Bilbao, and a pro-Israel group filed a complaint over a Palestinian flag display and a seminar series.

The Top Exhibitions To See In London: June 2026

London's June 2026 art scene features a diverse lineup of exhibitions, including Japanese photography at Japan House and the Photographers' Gallery, the opening of the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration with debut shows, a Marilyn Monroe centenary at the National Portrait Gallery, Rachel Maclean's AI-themed exhibition at Josh Lilley Gallery, and a celestial-themed show at Saatchi Gallery. These exhibitions span photography, illustration, pop culture, and contemporary art, offering free and ticketed options across the city.

Hayward Gallery announces major Nan Goldin exhibition.

The Hayward Gallery in London has announced a major solo exhibition of American artist and activist Nan Goldin, titled "You Never Did Anything Wrong." Running from 24 November 2026 to 7 March 2027, the show will mark Goldin's first institutional exhibition in the UK since 2002, featuring her intimate photographs and slideshows that document personal relationships, addiction, and queer communities over five decades. The exhibition rounds off the Southbank Centre's 75th anniversary year and includes works such as "Flowers with cup and Gaja" (2024) and "Diana in the bath" (2024).

Art Movements: Sam Gilliam Foundation Names Its First Director

The Sam Gilliam Foundation has appointed Dr. Steven Nelson as its inaugural executive director. Nelson, formerly of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art, will oversee the foundation's mission to preserve Gilliam's legacy while supporting emerging artists and civic activism. Separately, Aperture will open its new permanent headquarters on New York's Upper West Side on September 18 with an inaugural exhibition titled "Aperture Loves New York." The article also reports that five artists—Diana Al-Hadid, Jordan Ann Craig, Lavar Munroe, Ronald Rael, and Kiyan Williams—received VIA Art Fund's spring 2026 Artistic Production Grants, and that the New Museum has partnered with Penske Media Corporation to launch an event called "Art Week NYC."

È morto Duane Michals, il fotografo che ha trasformato l’immagine in racconto

Duane Michals, the influential American photographer known for transforming photography into a narrative and poetic medium, died on June 9, 2026, at age 94 in New York. Born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, in 1932, Michals began his career as a freelance photographer for magazines like Esquire, Mademoiselle, and Vogue after a trip to the Soviet Union in 1958. He rejected the dominant photojournalistic tradition of the "decisive moment," instead developing sequenced images, double exposures, and handwritten texts that turned photographs into hybrid works of storytelling, philosophy, and autobiography. His work entered major collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and he participated in Documenta 6 in 1977. His archive is housed at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

A Basel without Art Basel?

"Ein Basel ohne Art Basel?"

The article reports on several art-world developments. The board of trustees of the KHM Museum Association in Vienna has reaffirmed its confidence in directors Jonathan Fine and Paul Frey after an independent investigation by labor law expert Sieglinde Gahleitner found that allegations of mobbing and bossing by Veronika Sandbichler were not substantiated, though communication deficiencies were noted. Separately, Luisa Taliento explores unusual Italian 'Casa-Musei' (house museums) as an alternative to overcrowded major museums, highlighting the Museo Casa Mollino in Turin, Casa Museo Lodovico Pogliaghi in Varese, and Casa Museo Remo Brindisi as total works of art. In architecture news, Hanno Rauterberg reflects on the renovation of Schloss Bellevue and the move of the German president to a new building by Sauerbruch Hutton, while critics Gesine Borcherdt and Tobias Timm offer opposing views on the exhibition 'Freiraum Kunst' at the palace. Finally, Claude Bühler investigates whether Basel is losing relevance as Art Basel expands into Paris, citing concerns from Basel gallerist Stefan von Bartha.

Beer With a Painter: Samia Halaby

Hyperallergic's "Beer With a Painter" series features Palestinian-American abstract painter Samia Halaby in her longtime Tribeca studio. Over sage tea, Halaby discusses her seven-decade career, her experimentation with color, and how she "accidentally stepped into abstraction." The article covers her early life—born in Jerusalem in 1936, displaced during the Nakba, and moving to the U.S. in 1951—as well as her Marxist philosophy, her activism for Palestinian rights, and the evolution of her work from geometric still lifes to kinetic digital paintings. It also notes that her first museum survey was held in 2024 at the Broad Art Museum, but Indiana University canceled its half of the show, which many view as suppression of Palestinian voices.

Nayland Blake Doesn’t Believe in Fixed Selves

Nayland Blake, a nonbinary and pansexual artist known for their cerebral, kinky, and humorous work, is featured in Hyperallergic’s 2026 Pride Month series. The interview covers their coming out, their artistic process of making work to understand identity, and their belief that identity is unfixed and continually remade. Blake discusses their early inspirations from theater and literature, and how they interrogate their own creations to explore who they are. They are a co-director of the Studio Art program at Bard College and have exhibited at major institutions including SFMOMA and the Whitney Museum.

Danielle Mckinney's Portraits of Black Women at Rest

Danielle Mckinney's exhibition "Forest for the Trees" at Marianne Boesky Gallery in Chelsea presents portraits of solitary Black women in states of leisure and repose, rendered in both watercolor and oil. The works feature recurring motifs like red nails, metallic eye accents, and cigarette smoke, creating intimate scenes of private domestic space. The exhibition coincides with a survey of Mckinney's work at the Norton Museum of Art, running through October 4.

Inside Chicago’s Obama Center

The article reports on the upcoming opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago's Jackson Park, a new $850 million campus designed to embody the legacy of Barack and Michelle Obama. It features artworks by Idris Khan, Maya Lin, and others, and is set to open to the public later this month. The piece also covers a planned nationwide strike by Italian cultural workers on June 12, demanding better working conditions and solidarity with Palestine, and notes controversial renderings of a Penn Station redesign that prominently display Trump's name.

The World That Held Peter Hujar and Paul Thek

Andrew Durbin's new dual biography, *The Wonderful World That Almost Was: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek* (2026), explores the intertwined lives of photographer Peter Hujar and visual artist Paul Thek. The book traces their relationship from their first meeting in Florida in their early 20s through their artistic development, shifting from lovers and confidantes to a more complex bond marked by longing and resentment, ending with both dying of AIDS in the late 1980s. The review highlights a renewed interest in the artists, citing recent exhibitions and a film.

Sanford Wurmfeld’s Unstable Geometry

Hyperallergic reviews Sanford Wurmfeld's exhibition "Squares 1971–74" at Ceysson & Bénétière in New York, featuring six paintings and one study from 1971 to 1974. The show highlights Wurmfeld's methodical exploration of color through gridded compositions of one-inch squares, using a limited palette of four hues to create optical interactions that shift as the viewer looks. Wurmfeld, who was the youngest artist in MoMA's 1968 "Art of the Real" exhibition, has long operated under the radar of the New York art world.

"Ohne die Künstler sind wir als Galeristen alle nichts"

A recent art news roundup from Monopol covers several stories: a debate in 'Frieze' criticizes contemporary art for ignoring digital misogyny and the 'manosphere'; the AfD's cultural policy in German states promotes a 'patriotic turn' and rejects modern art like Bauhaus; a possible lead in the Louvre jewel heist points to Belgium, with photos of the Galerie d'Apollon found on suspects' phones; and Marion Ackermann discusses cultural polarization and defending artistic freedom.

It's Art-World Summer in NYC

Hyperallergic's New York newsletter celebrates the unofficial start of summer in the art world, highlighting key exhibitions and events. These include Betye Saar's personal collection of Black dolls on view at the New York Historical, a promised gift for her 100th birthday; Roberto Lugo's hand-painted portraits in Madison Square Park; and Pioneer Works's annual 3D-printed boat regatta. The newsletter also features performance artist Linda Mary Montano's home-shrine tour, an MFA show confronting Columbia University over Gaza, and critical reviews of Ceija Stojka at the Drawing Center and Karla Knight at Andrew Edlin Gallery.

How Betye Saar Set Black Dolls Free

An exhibition at the New York Historical celebrates Betye Saar’s promised gift of her collection of over 100 Black dolls to the institution, coinciding with her upcoming 100th birthday. The show, on view through October 4, features dolls alongside Saar’s paintings, prints, and sculptures, including works like “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima” (1972) and “Indigo Mercy” (1975). Saar began collecting Black dolls in 1949 and has incorporated them into her art since the 1970s, using watercolors during the COVID-19 pandemic to reimagine them in mystical scenes.

Where to go on Pentecost weekend?

Wohin am Pfingstwochenende?

This article from Monopol presents a curated guide to art exhibitions and events across several European cities for the Pentecost weekend. Highlights include Christina Kubisch's comprehensive survey 'The Emergence of Sound' at the Ludwig Forum Aachen, Pierre Huyghe's solo show at the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, an artist talk with Jorinde Voigt at Galerie Judin in Berlin, the outdoor exhibition 'Ecologies in Motion' in Düsseldorf's Malkastenpark, Elmgreen & Dragset's intervention at the Städel Museum and Liebieghaus in Frankfurt, and 'Eine Stadt als Atelier' at the Kölnischer Kunstverein in Cologne, among others in Ludwigshafen, Warsaw, and Vienna.

Remembering F. John Sierra, Valie Export, and Mary Lovelace O’Neal

This week's In Memoriam column honors seven figures from the art world who recently passed away, including muralist and Chicano art champion F. John Sierra (1942–2026), Austrian feminist performance and film artist Valie Export (1940–2026), and painter and Civil Rights activist Mary Lovelace O'Neal (1942–2026). Also remembered are Maltese coin and monument designer Noel Galea Bason (1955–2026), Iranian-Irish gallerist and polymath Jamshid MirFenderesky (1947–2026), Philadelphia painter and educator Peter Paone (1936–2026), and Italian sculptor and installation artist Remo Salvadori (1947–2026). Each entry highlights their key contributions, from founding institutions and participating in major biennials to shaping cultural identity and challenging societal norms through art.

Independent Art Fair Trades Downtown for the World

The Independent Art Fair has moved to Pier 36 on the Lower East Side waterfront for its 17th edition, running through May 17. The fair features 76 booths with a more spacious, warehouse-like layout, and a noticeably older, glossier crowd compared to previous years. Exhibitors include Los Angeles-based ATLA and Diane Rosenstein galleries, as well as international participants like Bogotá's SGR Gallery, showcasing solo presentations by artists such as Yoshikazu Tanaka, Kuniko Kinoto, and Johan Samboní. The fair has also announced partnerships with Sotheby's for its 20th-century edition and with the nonprofit Henry Street Settlement, signaling a tension between upscale ambitions and local community ties.