Benjamin Sutton

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

The US’s largest Raphael exhibition is opening at the Met next year

“Raphael: Sublime Poetry” is being curated by Carmen Bambach, who organised the Met’s hugely popular Michelangelo exhibition in 2017-18

More than 150 US arts organisations pledge to resist political pressure

The joint statement, which does not name Donald Trump, comes as the US president seeks to remake the Kennedy Center and dictate programming at the Smithsonian

Artist’s doobie-ous Snoop Dogg collaboration tokes in $148,100 at auction

The artist Erica Kovitz used the remainders of blunts smoked by Tha Doggfather to make a series of mixed-media works

Dallas Museum of Art picks director wrapping up another institutional expansion to guide it through campus overhaul

Brian Ferriso will inaugurate the expansion of the Portland Art Museum on 20 November and start his new job in Dallas on 1 December

Trump accuses Smithsonian of being too focused on ‘how bad slavery was’

The US president’s criticisms come as the White House begins a review of the Smithsonian’s programmes and exhibitions

White House launches review of Smithsonian museums and exhibitions

In a letter to the Smithsonian leader Lonnie G. Bunch, members of Trump’s administration said they want to “ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism”

Museums in New York and Los Angeles receive collection of 63 Modern works

Works by Cézanne, Manet, Degas, Van Gogh and others from the Pearlman Foundation are headed to the Brooklyn Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and New York’s Museum of Modern Art

Smithsonian museum removes label referencing Trump impeachments

The label had been added to a display at the National Museum of American History about checks on presidential powers in 2021 following Trump's second impeachment

Robert Wilson, experimental playwright, director and artist, has died, aged 83

Over a six-decade career, he created elegantly stylised performances and images with collaborators including Marina Abramović, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson and Lady Gaga

George Lucas reveals new details of Los Angeles museum at Comic-Con panel

The Star Wars director, appearing at the famed conference for the first time, described the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art as “a temple to the people’s art”

Metropolitan Museum trustee among victims of deadly Manhattan shooting

Wesley LePatner, a senior managing director at the investment firm Blackstone, was elected to the Met’s board in February

US Senators propose anti-money-laundering legislation for the art market

The Art Market Integrity Act proposed by a bipartisan group of US lawmakers would bring US regulation in line with Europe and the UK

Trump’s bill to cut taxes and social safety net programmes includes $40m for patriotic sculpture park

The president’s signature bill, approved by the US Senate on 1 July, is expected to add trillions of dollars to the national debt

Frankenthaler Foundation awards grants totalling $3.4m for new climate initiatives

In addition to revealing the 74 recipients of new Frankenthaler Climate Initiative grants, the foundation announced it will extend the initiative another five years

Lacma will plant towering, flowering Jeff Koons sculpture outside new building

The artist’s 37ft-tall “Split-Rocker” was donated to the museum by collectors Lynda and Stewart Resnick

Climate protester splashes pink paint on Picasso work at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

The activist from Last Generation Canada said “more resources have been put in place to secure and protect this artwork than to protect living, breathing people”

Edward Burtynsky’s photographs convey the force of mankind’s reordering of the environment

A retrospective at the International Center of Photography in New York chronicles more than 40 years of the artist’s work

Trump administration violated the law by withholding museum and library funding, government watchdog finds

The non-partisan Government Accountability Office says the Trump administration illegally impounded federal funding that had been approved by Congress

Kim Sajet, director of US National Portrait Gallery whom Trump tried to fire, resigns

Sajet said it was “not an easy decision” but “the best way to serve the institution I hold so deeply in my heart”

More than 200 galleries are signed on for The Armory Show's next edition

The fair’s September 2025 edition will include a new design sector and have a focus on artists from the American South

US National Gallery of Art receives trove of Modern and contemporary drawings

The gift, from longtime benefactors Lenore and Bernard Greenberg, includes works on paper by Ed Ruscha, Franz Kline, Susan Rothenberg, Philip Guston and others

Smithsonian asserts authority to make ‘all personnel decisions’ following Trump attempts to fire gallery director

In response to the president’s targeting of National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet, the organisation has issued a strategically broad statement, touting its independence and governance by a board and secretary

Metropolitan Museum and watchmaker Vacheron Constantin launch artist residency

The 18-month residency includes time to explore the New York museum’s collection and meet with staff and scholars, plus opportunities to work with Vacheron Constantin’s experts in Geneva

Whitney Museum pauses Independent Study Program amid accusations of censorship

The cancellation of a performance addressing the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza has also sparked an open letter by alumni of the programme

Trump claims he has fired director of US National Portrait Gallery

It is not clear the president has the authority to make staffing decisions for the gallery, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution

‘A major win for our field’: conservators rejoice at development of new ‘spaghetti-like’ adhesive for treating paintings

Developed by New York University and the University of Akron, with grant funding from Getty, the new adhesive addresses sustainability and safety issues, and can be easily shipped in multiple forms

Lee Ufan donates eight paintings to Dia Art Foundation

The Mono-ha master’s works will be featured in 2026 solo exhibition at Dia Beacon

The empire cuts back: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art lays off 14% of full-time staff

In addition to letting go of 15 full-time employees, the museum—now expected to open in 2026—has cut seven part-time roles

‘Halo effect’ of powerful art dealers’ collections boosts Sotheby’s sale

Works from the estate of Barbara Gladstone and the home of Daniella Luxembourg—plus a litter of Lichtensteins—energised 15 May marquee auction of post-war and contemporary art

Metropolitan Museum receives 6,500 works from photography collector Artur Walther

The promised gift from Walther and the Walther Family Foundation includes photographs, albums and time-based works by artists including Malick Sibidé, Ai Weiwei, Thomas Struth, Stephen Shore and others