Museums & Heritage
Raise a glass: long-hidden image of soldier returns to Pieter de Hooch painting
The figure has been painted back onto the work at the Maurithuis after being removed at some stage in its history
Lidar analysis reveals more than 20,000 pre-colonial earthworks under Amazonian rainforest
A new study based on aerial surveys suggests the pre-Columbian Aquiry civilisation had a much more developed and dispersed footprint than previously thought
Seven Smithsonian museums shut down due to cooling system failure
The closure affected a number of the institution’s buildings along the south side of the National Mall in Washington, DC
Louvre to lend Islamic art treasures to the Smithsonian
Upcoming exhibition at the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, DC, will feature 26 works from the Louvre, some of which have never been shown in the US
Valerie Hillings appointed inaugural director of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
Currently the director of the North Carolina Museum of Art, Hillings worked on the Abu Dhabi project from 2009 to 2018
The Australian Museum returns remains of Rapa Nui ancestors to Easter Island
The restituted human remains include 17 skulls and one sample of hair, which were taken from the island during a German expedition in 1882
Fra Angelico’s earliest surviving altarpiece returns to Fiesole after restoration reveals hidden throne
The work, created by the young friar-artist and updated later by Lorenzo di Credi, has undergone careful repair and cleaning
London mayor Sadiq Khan calls for city's public museums to remain free to enter
‘Free museums and galleries are a fundamental part of London life’, says the long-serving Labour mayor in a new op-ed
Reconstruction of legendary Sutton Hoo ship takes shape
The seventh-century Anglo-Saxon burial ship is due to take to the water in May 2027, following a lengthy reconstruction process working from decayed remains
‘It would represent an irreversible loss to Scotland's cultural record’: potential sale of Glasgow art centre’s archive sparks outcry
There have been protests and a petition since the archive of Glasgow's Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) was listed among the assets of the insolvent organisation
Royal Museums Greenwich workers vote to strike over pay and working conditions
The strike across the east London museums will occur on 11 and 12 August as Prospect union pledges to step up industrial action across the heritage sector this summer
Collector Bernardo Paz plans new museum in Brazil next-door to Inhotim
Although no longer involved with Inhotim, Paz appears to be reviving its model of art pavilions in a botanical landscape
UK artist Conrad Shawcross sounds alarm on Jodrell Bank Observatory funding cuts
The Unesco World Heritage site, located in northwest England, is home to the UK's largest telescope
Family of donor who helped establish Canadian Museum for Human Rights to pause support over Palestine exhibit
The Asper family’s foundation last donated to the museum in 2023, and Gail Asper says she has indefinitely paused a personal gift of C$50,000 over a display about the violent displacement of Palestinians
Comment | The Obama Presidential Center aims high, like a Gothic cathedral
The building’s epic art commissions play a big role, compelling visitors upwards
Lessons from Notre-Dame inform reconstruction of Copenhagen Stock Exchange building
After fire destroyed half of the historic red-brick structure in 2024, its owners’ ambitious goal is to rebuild even faster than the French did with the Paris cathedral
Sites in Iran, Lebanon and Palestine among 25 new additions to Unesco’s World Heritage List
Three new properties were inscribed under emergency procedures and simultaneously placed on the World Heritage in Danger List
Culture minister Catherine Pégard reveals ‘national security plan’ following another major museum theft in France
The French Culture Ministry has budgeted €30m over three years to improve security at local museums and has issued a 33-point action plan
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi announces opening date
The latest museum in the Guggenheim network will open on 11 December 2026, twenty years after its original 2006 announcement
Trump orders signage to be erected outside Smithsonian museum warning visitors of political bias
US president’s executive order comes after the director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History was grilled by a congressional subcommittee
Possible ancient human remains and Maya ceramics found in Mexican cenote
The discovery deep inside a sinkhole in Playa del Carmen has prompted a new research project to date and protect the remains
Earthquake damages 16th-century church in Peru
A 5.1-magnitude quake on 18 July caused the collapse of the roof and part of the facade of the colonial-era Iglesia Apóstol Santiago, one of the oldest churches in the Peruvian highlands
Buffalo AKG Art Museum will split leadership duties in two and promote internally for new directors
Chief curator Cathleen Chaffee and deputy director Jillian Jones will serve as artistic director and executive director, respectively
Unesco adds ancient Greek city Tauric Chersonese in Crimea to World Heritage in Danger list
The decision comes after calls by Ukraine to protect the archaeological site, which is now managed by a Russian Orthodox cleric appointed by Vladimir Putin
Ecuador’s national museum picks new design for $100m home following pushback to original selection and resignations
After criticism on social media, the government scrapped the original selection of a design by Estudio Campo Baeza and Maoda, opting for a proposal led by the Japanese firm Sanaa
Three Ancient Egyptian tombs with ‘significant’ inscriptions discovered in Saqqara necropolis
Rare carvings may reveal important information about New Kingdom era connections to the Near East and ancient domestic life
Jessica Morgan named new Tate director
Currently the director of Dia Art Foundation in New York, Morgan will succeed Maria Balshaw as director of the UK museum network from January 2027
Lisbon's Museu Calouste Gulbenkian returns to its mid-century modern roots following major renovation
The Portuguese private art collection, which features fine and decorative art from antiquity to the 20th-century, reopened on 18 July
Museum acquisitions round-up: a Kandinsky ‘Improvisation’ and a canvas by Minimalist pioneer Agnes Martin
Our pick of the latest gifts and purchases to enter institutional collections worldwide
London mansion where ‘secret listeners’ spied on Nazi prisoners for intel opens as museum
Trent Park House of Secrets tells the story of how mainly Jewish refugees covertly transcribed conversations from the building's basement