Martin Bailey

Theftsnews

French decorative art stolen from 17-century country home in Sussex—for second time

Police appealing for information after five items, including a pair of Sèvres vases and a clock with a bronze figure of Apollo, were taken from Uppark on the South Downs

Where was Van Gogh originally buried? We still don’t know

In an extraordinary scene, reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Vincent’s skull was held aloft and moved in 1905

Maqdala treasures looted by British troops returned to Ethiopia in 'largest single restitution'

At the ceremony in London, the Ethiopian ambassador renewed calls for museums to return Maqdala objects

First Cupid, now a wine glass? More revelations emerge from restored Vermeer painting in Dresden

Major restoration on Girl reading a Letter at an Open Window shows a large studded goblet later covered by a green curtain

Recently restored Cupid joins nine Vermeer masterpieces for blockbuster show

Dresden exhibition will include Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window along with key international loans and works by other Dutch Golden Age artists

Van Gogh’s mysterious Wheatfield with Crows—what does it really mean?

Long assumed to be Vincent’s final painting, this foreboding scene is also full of life

a blog by Martin Bailey

Tate’s Tahitian Gauguin is suspected fake

Catalogue raisonné rejects unusual part-painting, part-sketch, as expert says the “colonial” nature of the composition is not the artist’s style

Caught: the drug baron who claims to have bought €20m stolen Van Gogh paintings for 'their artistic value'

Arrested in Dubai, the story of Mafia suspect Raffaele Imperiale confirms long-suspected links between the drugs trade and art theft

a blog by Martin Bailey

Looted 2,700-year-old bricks—discovered in Swiss warehouse—are returned to Iran

Before the discovery of the more than 50 painted blocks, “the richness of Mannaean civilisation had not been appreciated”, expert says

Secrets of the two unknown Van Gogh Sunflowers

One has been always been hidden away in private collections and will fetch a fortune when it emerges; the other was destroyed by an American bomb

a blog by Martin Bailey
Afghanistaninterview

'Do leopards change their spots?': Taliban threat to heritage in Afghanistan could be worse than in 2001

In an exclusive interview with The Art Newspaper, a very well-informed anonymous source tells us how museums are protecting their collections as militants sweep the country

Ten surprising facts about Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, his greatest masterpiece

From a brothel garden to Nazi leader Hermann Göring’s fake—all part of the sunflower story

a blog by Martin Bailey

Exuberant Van Gogh landscape—featuring his beloved olive and cypress trees—could well make $40m at Christie's New York

Always hidden away in private collections, the painting will probably sell to a someone in the Far East

a blog by Martin Bailey

Discovered: a very early photograph of the trees in Van Gogh’s final picture, painted just hours before he fired the fatal shot

On the anniversary of Vincent’s death, his picture can be seen as “a suicide note in colour”

a blog by Martin Bailey

The Harvest: painted in a single summer's day, here's why this is Van Gogh’s finest landscape

Vincent needed to recover from his intensive work with a stiff drink and his beloved pipe

a blog by Martin Bailey

Gambling den identified in drawing by Albrecht Dürer

Expert matches painter's journal entry detailing trip to Zum Spiegel in Aachen with sketch which is currently on show in major exhibition

Exclusive: Rescued from an attic, lost Van Gogh landscape surfaces in Japan—here it is in colour

Vincent's watercolour of a Dutch meadow with cows was exhibited once, in 1903, and is known only from a small black-and-white photograph

a blog by Martin Bailey

London's National Gallery appoints architect Annabelle Selldorf for its major renovation

First phase of the work is due to be completed by May 2024, in time for the gallery’s 200th anniversary

Albrecht Dürer's wonderful Renaissance road trip explored in major travelling exhibition

Five centuries after the German artist took a year-long journey around the Low Countries, his remarkable journal and drawings go on show in Aachen before travelling to London

Van Gogh’s self-portraits: what do they really reveal?

An exhibition at London’s Courtauld Gallery will be the most comprehensive ever held of Vincent's paintings of himself

a blog by Martin Bailey

When the US was accused of ‘plundering’ Berlin’s museums: new show reveals murky history

An exhibition opening at the Cincinnati Art Museum reveals how 14 major museums found themselves caught up in a “morally dubious” ­tour of Germany's art treasures after the Second World War

How Van Gogh helped set up a brass band in his village

Dutch trombonist discovers documentary evidence revealing that Vincent supported a musical group which still plays today

Opening of London’s V&A East Museum delayed again because of pandemic

The Victoria and Albert Museum outpost is now due to open in 2025 but its open storage space is still on track for 2024

Cash-strapped museums unable to stop treasures from leaving UK

Export licences likely to be granted on Italian roundel and German reliquary as institutions struggle with the fallout of the pandemic

A new Van Gogh work discovered hidden in a book

Reproduced here for the first time: a trio of sketches from Vincent’s village—designed as a bookmark

a blog by Martin Bailey
Arlesfeature

Destination Arles: must-see art and culture spots while on pilgrimage to the new LUMA creative campus

From Roman architecture to medieval streets that inspired Van Gogh, the historic city in the south of France is becoming a go-to destination

In partnership withLUMA Arles

Discovered: American couple buys a picture by Van Gogh’s friend Edmund Brooke for $45 in antiques shop

Vincent was fascinated by his Australian colleague’s links with Japan—and together they painted landscapes in the French village of Auvers-sur-Oise

a blog by Martin Bailey

Looted Maqdala objects—pulled from rural English auction at the last minute—will be returned to Ethiopia

Busby auction house confirms it has "negotiated a settlement" after Ethiopian officials requested the return of items stolen by British troops in a brutal 1868 battle

Will the Queen return her Benin bronze? How the African treasure was looted not once, but twice

The 17th-century oba head was plucked from the Nigerian National Museum and given to Elizabeth II as a thank-you gift

A Degas bought by the Van Gogh Museum sparks off an ethical debate: are female nudes OK?

The controversial pastel stars in a show of new acquisitions in Amsterdam

a blog by Martin Bailey