Qatari poet released from prison after royal pardon
Muhammad ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami was given a 15-year sentence for reciting a poem in support of the Arab Spring on YouTube
Who's afraid of Robert Mapplethorpe?
As a major exhibition on the New York photographer opens at Lacma and the Getty Museum, the question of what kind of work museums can show rumbles on
Art world’s billionaires are slightly less rich
Forbes’ annual ranking of the world’s wealthiest people reveals that personal fortunes may have taken a hit, but the same names stay at the top
Met clarifies ‘pay what you wish’ entry after legal settlement
The museum puts three-year-old lawsuit over entrance fees to rest and will change its signage to ask for 'suggested admission'
Facebook can be sued over censorship of nudes, Paris court rules
Meanwhile, Philadelphia Museum fights back after "suggestive" ice cream painting is removed from the site
Better late than never: Greek shipping magnate’s museum nears completion after 20 years
What you see is only half of what you get: five of the ten storeys will be underground
ARCHIVE Mapplethorpe’s images retain power to disturb
Los Angeles shows will include provocative portraits but not images of children
Last chance to see: Walid Raad’s magical realist performance at MoMA
A few lucky visitors can grab a spot on the Lebanese-American artist’s walkthrough tour of his work
Gagosian Gallery and Qataris wrangle over Picasso sculpture
New York law filings peek into the secretive dealings of private, multi-million-dollar international art sales
Our top ten most popular stories in 2015
We countdown the articles our online readers found the most interesting
Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, hits another roadblock
Stavros Niarchos Foundation’s €3m grant withdrawn, but institution plans to reapply for funding in new year
Christie’s to sell 2,000 photographs seized by US government in biodiesel fraud
Collection valued at more than $15m was used to launder money, Attorney’s Office says
Warning: you are under surveillance
The artist Trevor Paglen interrogates the world of mass surveillance and its increasing impact on society
A question of censorship: 25 years after the Mapplethorpe trial
The culture wars may be over, but the debate over what public institutions can show lives on
Chicago hits an architectural high
Our pick of the inaugural biennial, which opened to towering expectations
Alberto Burri’s Grande Cretto finally completed after 30 years
The massive Land Art project is a memorial to the Sicilian town of Gibellina, ruined by a 1968 earthquake
French appeals court dismisses lawsuit brought by Guggenheim heirs
The case is just the latest in a long-running dispute between the collector’s descendants and the foundation that manages her art in Venice
Images of war installed in abandoned Brooklyn naval hospital
An exhibition of battlefield photographs by the German artist and activist Bettina WitteVeen opens to the public this weekend
New Orleans, ten years after Katrina: Mary Ellen Mark’s last assignment
The photographer’s final series commissioned by CNN is on display on Governors Island and online
Doris Salcedo: silent witness
Doris Salcedo is devoted to making art about political violence in a world saturated with images of death and destruction. As a show opens at the Guggenheim, she says she hopes her elegiac sculptures might re-sensitise us
“I don’t have the illusion that art will save lives or diminish violence”
Doris Salcedo’s timely retrospective remembers victims of political violence
Artist interview: Doug Aitken
The Californian on Darwin, DNA, Ruscha’s cactus omelettes and never having enough time
Artist reveals lives of Sharjah's migrant workers
Melik Ohanian’s piece, originally commissioned for the Sharjah Biennial, can be seen in Unlimited at Art Basel
A tree grows in the Meatpacking District
Whitney director chooses a 'Red Sunset' maple planted outside new Renzo Piano-designed building
Director’s tour of the new Whitney Museum
Adam Weinberg points out his highlights of the building and inaugural show