Latest
University College London's art museum, housing works by Paula Rego and J.M.W. Turner, secures temporary home after academics protest
The news follows fears that the university’s bicentenary plans would force the museum’s collection into storage—though concerns remain over its long-term future
'America gives me no shortage of subject matter': Vincent Valdez on making art that connects communities
The artist's first major museum survey, "Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream..." at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, tracks 20 years of his identity-driven photorealism
Artists in the US feel impact of Trump’s tariffs in rising material costs
Tariffs of 20% on imports from China and 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada are causing havoc for artists, who rely on imported raw materials and overseas fabricators
Turmoil at Italy’s museums as ticketing contracts change hands
The announcement of new providers for services at leading cultural institutions has prompted an outcry from workers and opposition politicians
Christie's AI art auction outpaces expectations, bringing in more than $728,000
In all, 28 of the Augmented Intelligence sale's 34 lots found buyers, including pieces by Refik Anadol, Charles Csuri and Harold Cohen
Art Market Eye
The Saunders collection will be a real test of the Old Master market
Due to be sold at Sotheby's New York in May, the group of works includes pieces by Guardi and Canaletto and is billed as the "most valuable single-owner collection of Old Master paintings ever to appear at auction"
Art market
US taste for Surrealism boosts marathon £130m Christie’s auction
Double-header sale in London last night was led by René Magritte with strong prices for Paul Delvaux and Tamara de Lempicka
Los Angeles dealer Doug Chrismas puts off prison time, visits Frieze while awaiting appeal
The dealer’s two-year prison sentence for embezzlement was pushed back pending appellate court rulings
London contemporary art auctions kick off with £5.4m record for Lisa Brice, despite geopolitical chaos
Last night's sale at Sotheby's, which totalled £62.5m, also included a £4.3m Banksy sold by blink-182 frontman Mark Hoppus
Trump tariffs could hit Canadian art market hardest
‘A rippling impact across our sector’: Canada’s art trade is seeking to lessen its dependence on US buyers to soften the blow of 25% tariffs on imports
Works of uncertain authenticity offered at India Art Fair
Four pictures labelled as Modern masters were quietly removed midway through the event, as issues of genuineness continue to plague the market
Museums & Heritage
A battle for memory is playing out at Russia's Gulag Museum
As the Moscow institution is temporarily closed and its director, Roman Romanov, is dismissed, fears grow that Russia’s past is being glossed over
Art Museum of the Americas cancels shows of Black and LGBTQ+ artists amid Trump’s DEI crackdown
The Washington, DC institution had been due to open exhibitions about queer identity and the African diaspora in the Americas this month
Citing censorship, Pakistani artist Rabbya Naseer cancels show at Vienna museum
The artist's solo exhibition was due to open at the Belvedere 21 Museum of Contemporary Art last month
Cattelan gold toilet trial: defendant says he used the loo and it was ‘splendid’
The fully functioning 18-carat gold toilet was removed from an exhibition of Maurizio Cattelan’s work at Blenheim Palace in 2019
The Grand Egyptian Museum is due to finally open on 3 July, here’s a sneak peek
The Art Newspaper took a tour of this treasure-stuffed colossus and was impressed by its gargantuan scale and coherent layout
Exhibitions
Anne Imhof’s largest US project to date is a Shakespearean ode of doom and optimism
The German artist’s new project at the Park Avenue Armory is a collaboration with the curator Klaus Biesenbach
How artists have used the ‘uncanny’ as a feminist strategy
The eerie and uncomfortable new show at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC comes at a poignant moment for women in the US
Two UK exhibitions show there is no more keeping mum about art and motherhood
Shows in London and Dundee focus on work of women artists and their experience of becoming a parent
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s final curatorial project honours Indigenous community she championed for decades
A new exhibition at the Zimmerli Art Museum in New Jersey opened just days after Smith’s death
March's must-see exhibitions: Edvard Munch, Roman marvels and an overlooked artist who ‘revolutionised’ sculpture
The Art Newspaper's pick of the top shows to see around the world this month
Books
New book celebrates William Butterfield, a master of High Victorian Gothic architecture
Nicholas Olsberg’s publication offers a learned analysis of the architect’s work, which includes Oxford’s Keble College and central London’s All Saints church
A new volume explores the intimate art of drawing, as seen through a wider lens
This “alternative” history navigates the medium through artists on the margins, as well as established practitioners
Beetlejuice and beyond: the origins of Tim Burton’s world of gothic romance and its enduring influence
Catalogue accompanying exhibition at London’s Design Museum explores the US film-maker’s unique aesthetic
Intense repartee: a collection of letters that the critic John Berger exchanged with his artist son
The correspondence between John and Yves Berger is both moving and enlightening
Two books explore Piet Mondrian's journey into abstraction—and his posthumous influence on 1960s fashion
How, two decades after his death, did Mondrian become a brand icon, and make a lasting contribution to the “youthquake”?
Diary
Mickalene Thomas is bringing the glam to motorsport
The artist’s wrap design for a McLaren racing car is set to turn heads on the track
Frame is the name of the art game at Moco Museum star-studded soirée
Guests at UK artist Daniel Lismore's recent 40th birthday party were invited to come dressed as their favourite art movement
Fancy an ‘ultra-exclusive’ visit to Norway's Kistefos Museum? That'll be $26,000, please
The museum, based outside Oslo, is offering a bespoke—and pricey—programme for art lovers
Arte Povera giant Michelangelo Pistoletto is apparently up for the Nobel Peace Prize
According to his galleries, the Italian artist's nomination has been accepted by prize committee
British Museum attacked by eldritch horrors... in new video game
The challenges of managing the British Museum reach new highs in ‘Tides of Annihilation’
Opinion
Tristram Hunt: 'The government needs to cancel the British Council’s debt'
The V&A director on the dangers of the cash-strapped cultural organisation disappearing
Comment | Five years after opening, Cromwell Place looks more like a V&A piggybacker than a market disruptor
The London commercial gallery initially had big ambitions, but is now having more success feeding off the nearby Victoria & Albert Museum
Comment | For non-profits the bottom line is about impact rather than income—but that doesn't mean we are ‘for loss’
Adam M. Levine, the director of the Toledo Museum of Art, argues that non-profits must embrace sound financial practices as a strategy to sustain and amplify their missions
Comment | Sotheby’s fees fiasco displays terrible timing and a miscalculation of market dynamics
The auction house's swift reversal of its recently overhauled premium structure is an admission of how wrongly it read the runes, writes Melanie Gerlis
Comment | Why seeing art by train should be the next big thing
Flying to an exhibition is increasingly unjustifiable. But by choosing the train, visitors can enjoy endless, inspiring encounters with art and life
The Week in Art
A podcast bringing you the latest news from the art world, every week
Leigh Bowery at Tate Modern, Ukraine’s art world three years on, Max Beckmann and the Gothic Modern—podcast
Celebrating the life and work of the Australian performance artist, how Ukrainian artists and institutions are continuing to resist, and a close look at a pair of works from an Oslo exhibition
A brush with... podcast
A podcast that asks artists the questions you've always wanted to
A brush with… Renée Green — podcast
Renée, known for her installations, video pieces and texts, reflects on the nature of ideas, on subjectivity and perception, and on memory—personal and collective
Book Club
Don McCullin on swapping war zones for museums and why his ‘printing days are over’
The revered photojournalist has turned his focus to ancient statues for a new photography book
An expert’s guide to Anselm Kiefer: five must-read books on the German artist
All you ever wanted to know about Kiefer, from a deep dive into his studios to the poetry that inspires him—selected by the curators Emilie Gordenker, Edwin Becker and Leontine Coelewij
February Book Bag: from a history of Māori art to T.J. Clark’s essays on politics and art
Our round-up of the latest art publications
‘I thought I would be trampled to death’: travelling with Gilbert & George to put on a show in 1990s Beijing
An exclusive extract from a new book by James Birch who helped organise exhibitions for the artist duo in Communist Russia and China
Obituaries
Jack Vettriano, immensely popular artist whose market success reflected 'an appetite for the glamorous', has died, aged 73
The sale of “The Singing Butler” at Sotheby’s in 2004, for a record price for a painting by a Scottish artist, caused a sensation and turned attention on Vettriano's critical and institutional neglect
Serge Lasvignes, former president of Centre Pompidou, has died aged 70
The Centre Pompidou extended its international reach during Lasvignes's tenure
Mel Bochner, conceptual artist known for text paintings and wry humour, has died, aged 84
Bochner was a pioneer of conceptual art, creating works rooted in information systems and decontextualised language
Remembering John Mawurndjul AM (Balang Nakurulk), the Australian Indigenous artist whose meticulous bark paintings captured a hidden power
The painter was also a keen supporter of women artists
Walter Robinson, sharp-eyed painter and critic, has died, aged 74
Robinson, one of the Pictures Generation artists, made brightly irreverent paintings; as a writer, he chronicled the New York scene for decades and coined the term “Zombie Formalism”
Adventures with Van Gogh
Adventures with Van Gogh is a weekly blog by Martin Bailey, our long-standing correspondent and expert on the artist. Published every Friday, his stories range from newsy items about this most intriguing artist to scholarly pieces based on his own meticulous investigations and discoveries.
A Van Gogh drawing—with what is almost certainly the artist's fingerprint—goes to auction at Sotheby's
The sketch reproduces a long-lost painting of the public garden outside the Yellow House
Technology
News, background and analysis on the latest tech developments—artificial intelligence tools; Web3, the blockchain, NFTs; virtual and augmented reality; social media platforms—and how they affect the art market, museums, artists and curators.
Semi-autonomous artists can offer society new means of working with AI
Artists have a history of giving cultural and social relevance to new technology. Recent exhibitions of artificial intelligence art and a sale at Christie's New York highlight new approaches to collective ownership and governance that are applicable to the wider community
Art world looks to Bluesky as Meta and X shift right
With social media owners cosying up to Donald Trump, creatives are looking for alternative platforms
Strangers' things: why Moka Lee is a social media scavenger
The Korean artist creates haunting art using anonymous selfies
Artists can copyright works made using AI as an ‘assistive tool’, US Copyright Office concludes
The Copyright Office’s new report also concluded that “the incorporation of AI-generated content into a larger copyrightable work” is acceptable
Comment | How technology can help the art world take a big step towards sustainability
A new report published by the virtual reality platform Vortic makes clear the environmental benefits of going digital—and a hybrid approach could a way forward in the short term