Benjamin Sutton

Benjamin Sutton is the Editor, Americas of The Art Newspaper.

In pictures: following the thread at Frieze New York

Textile-based art is abundant at the fair this year, from pieces approximating the forms of paintings but made of found fabrics to hand-woven, intricately beaded works and even a wearable, many-layered cape

'I do believe in love at first sight': plastic surgeon Charles Boyd on why his heart rules his head in matters of art

The Michigan-based collector shares which local show he is most excited about, his latest acquisition and one work that got away

In pictures: Frieze week public art puts Manhattan in the pink

From Lily Kwong's installation in Madison Square Park to John Chamberlain's follies at the Rockefeller Center, works are catching the eye across the borough

Friezepreview

Ten top shows to see in New York during Frieze week

Our pick of exhibitions includes Rashid Johnson's biggest ever show, Amy Sherald at the Whitney and hypermasculinity in Nigerian culture

Pharrell Williams’s auction platform Joopiter teamed with Martha Stewart for first contemporary art sale

The collector and lifestyle mogul highlighted works from the sale by Amy Sherald, Alex Katz, Louise Bourgeois and others

Art Institute of Chicago’s director on leave amid investigation into airplane incident

James Rondeau, the museum’s president and director, is on voluntary leave after reportedly removing his clothes on a flight from Chicago to Munich

To make up for NEH grants cancelled by Trump, Mellon Foundation gives $15m to US humanities organisations

The emergency funds will go to humanities councils in all 50 states and six US territories

British artist Thomas J Price brings a contemplative colossus to Times Square

The monumental figurative sculpture "Grounded in the Stars" is on show in New York until 17 June

Activity and optimism at Expo Chicago attest to the city's 'fearless' community of collectors and patrons

The fair's 12th edition opened with high spirits and swift business in the five-figure price range

Getty Museum acquires painting by Spanish Renaissance master Luis de Morales following extensive conservation

The painting, “Christ Carrying the Cross”, from around 1565, had been enlarged in the 18th century, work the Getty’s conservators had to painstakingly undo

Prizesnews

Artists including Theaster Gates, Miranda July and Martine Gutierrez receive Guggenheim Fellowships

Around 50 artists working across disciplines including photography, video, sculpture, painting and installation received the coveted fellowships

Trump administration will use humanities grant money to build patriotic sculpture park

Funds from cancelled National Endowment for the Humanities grants will help realise one of the US president’s pet projects

Warhol electric chair canvas could bring $30m during New York auction season

Christie's will offer the rose-hued “Big Electric Chair” from the collection of influential Belgian art patrons Roger Matthys and Hilda Colle

Union and association representing museum and library workers sue Trump administration

The American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees are suing to block the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services

National Gallery of Art marking 250th anniversary of US with loans to ten museums across the country

The initiative, already underway and continuing through May 2026, comes as the Trump administration has pressured arts funders and institutions to prioritise semiquincentennial projects

National Endowment for the Humanities cancels grants as Trump administration redirects agency’s resources

State humanities councils and other grantees received notices from the NEH and Doge this week that their grants were being cancelled immediately

Smithsonian leader: institution will continue to operate ‘free of partisanship’ following Trump attack

Smithsonian secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III has affirmed in a memo to staff that the institution will “remain steadfast in our mission to bring history, science, education, research and the arts to all Americans”

Yoko Ono’s acclaimed Tate Modern retrospective will travel to MCA Chicago

The museum will be the only US venue for the exhibition, which brings together more than 200 objects including participatory installations and performance documentation

MoMA picks chief curator of prints and drawings as next director

Christophe Cherix will replace Glenn Lowry, who has been the museum’s director since 1995 and guided it through two important expansions

Robert Rauschenberg's centenary celebrations are starting with old friends

Rarely seen works and other treats will go on show in worldwide exhibitions, starting in Milan and Munich this April

US agency that funds museums and libraries ‘cannot’ be unilaterally eliminated, advisory board warns

In a letter to the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ new, Trump-appointed acting director, the agency's advisory board emphasised that its activities are governed by Congress

Trump appoints deputy secretary of US Labor Department to lead museum-funding agency marked for elimination

Keith Sonderling, the new acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, plans to steer the agency to “promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country”

Trump signs executive order to ‘eliminate’ agency that funds museums and libraries

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is listed alongside six other ‘unnecessary’ organisations

Chair of National Endowment for the Humanities steps down ‘at the direction of President Trump’

Shelly C. Lowe, the first Native American to lead the federal agency, was nominated by Joe Biden and held the role for just over three years

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago receives $10m gift to support performance programme

The anonymous gift allows the museum to continue commissioning performance-art projects and expand efforts to collect and archive performances

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

Guggenheim Museum lays off 20 employees

Cuts at the New York institution will affect 7% of its staff

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art’s director will depart before institution opens

George Lucas, the “Star Wars” film-maker and co-founder of the museum, will take on a programming role following Sandra Jackson-Dumont’s departure

Manhattan’s New Museum will reopen this autumn following $82m expansion

The new seven-storey, 61,930 sq. ft building will effectively double the museum’s gallery space

Copyright-infringement lawsuit over Jeff Koons’s infamous ‘Made in Heaven’ series is dismissed

The creator of a sculpture that Koons and the politician and pornstar Ilona Staller posed on for the series sued 30 years after the series’ debut