Martin Bailey

Theftsnews

‘Rathkeale Rovers’ gang jailed over £57m UK museums thefts

Much of the haul, which includes Chinese antiques and rhino horn, has probably ended up in China, making recovery unlikely

Loansnews

Rembrandt’s Portrait of Catrina Hooghsaet to go on view in Wales

The anonymous foreign buyer of the painting has lent it to the National Museum Cardiff for three years

Sekhemka to leave the UK as export licence deadline passes

A matching offer was not made in time to keep the Egyptian statute, controversially sold off by Northampton Museum in 2014, in the country

Museums beware: Irish gang that stole £50m of antiquities is still on the loose

Fourteen members of “Rathkeale Rovers” gang convicted, but many remain at large

How David Bowie show went from hard-sell to record-breaker

After initially failing to interest international venues, the V&A’s travelling show is due to become its most popular ever

Lawnews

UK places export bar on £15m Veronese drawing

Museums may have difficulty matching steep price of remarkable work on paper

UK government publishes its first Culture White Paper in half a century

Key proposals from culture minister Ed Vaizey’s statement include widening access to the arts and a protection fund for cultural heritage in combat zones

Hands off, it’s ours: French buyer refuses to return Joan of Arc ring to UK

Arts Council insists export licence is required for relic of the martyred Maid<br>

London Design Museum’s new venue to open in November

With three times as much space, museum will have a free permanent exhibition for first time

France and Britain prepare for battle over Joan of Arc’s ring

Jewel sold in UK for £300,000 last month has left the country—but did it have an export licence?

British Museum nearly cancelled 1980 Olympics exhibition

Director and trustees worried that show would anger Thatcher government after Britain officially boycotted Moscow Games

Van Gogh’s sunflowers may be restored to their original bloom

Star attraction of Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum has suffered from pigment deterioration and addition of later varnish

Portland Collection opens to public for first time with rarely seen Michelangelo drawing

Harley Gallery in Nottinghamshire will house one of the finest aristocratic collections in England

Egyptian ambassador proposes plan to share Sekhemka

Embassy offers to take ownership of the sculpture and lend it to British Museum and Egyptian Museum in Cairo

Gabriele Finaldi says why London's National Gallery can’t just stop at 1900

Interview with the National Gallery's new director, who wants to "ramp up" the exhibition programme and rewrite deal between it and the Tate

Lawnews

Criminal gang convicted of stealing antiquities and rhino horn from UK museums

The international burglary ring targeted objects for a growing Chinese black market

Georgia O’Keeffe blockbuster show to open newly expanded Tate Modern this summer

Key loans include the most expensive work by a female artist ever sold at auction

Prado responds to Bosch downgrades by cancelling Dutch loans

Madrid museum still allows The Haywain to be centrepiece of blockbuster show in artist’s home town

All of UK’s publicly owned art to go online

Sculptures and works on paper to be added to database of oil paintings

Chelmsford Museum gold coin theft linked to national security alert

Museums across UK were warned about gang making “reconnaissance visits”

Francis Bacon’s first and last paintings to go on show in Monaco

Study of a Bull, from a "very private collection", has never been exhibited before

US academic takes the helm of London’s Soane museum

Bruce Boucher taught at UCL for 24 years before becoming director of Fralin Museum in Virginia

Prado pulls two works from landmark Bosch exhibition

Dutch doubts over attribution led to tough action against retrospective in the artist's birthplace

France and Netherlands finalise €160m 'Rembrandt Treaty'

Louvre and Rijksmuseum acquire portraits of husband and wife with a little help from Christie's<br>

The bee’s knees: UK’s Expo pavilion to come to Kew Gardens

Wolfgang Buttress’s installation on the honey-makers was on show in Milan

Kansas City museum's painting attributed to Hieronymus Bosch

Temptation of St Anthony in the Nelson-Atkins Museum was believed to be by a pupil of the great Dutch artist

More foreigners than Brits to visit UK’s top museums

Boost for tourism as rising numbers of visitors flock to London and beyond