Museums & Heritage

Investigation shines fresh light on British Museum’s looted, Dürer-inspired diptych

The piece, one side of which is an enamel copy of a 16th-century woodcut, the other side crafted in Ethiopia, reveals how European icons became incorporated into the African country’s traditions

Donald Trump begins second term as US president following fundraising galas at Washington museums

Trump spoke to donors at the National Building Museum one day after JD Vance hosted supporters at the National Gallery of Art

Sara Raza to lead revamped Centre for Contemporary Art in Tashkent

The London-born curator, who has previously organised shows at events such as the Venice Biennale, has been appointed as the artistic director and chief curator of the museum in Uzbekistan’s capital

Vancouver Art Gallery gifted collection of 122 Modern and contemporary works

The gifted works, collectively valued at C$10m ($7m), come from Vancouver collectors Brigitte and Henning Freybe and include pieces by Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, Julie Mehretu and more

Elizabeth Catlett bust of Martin Luther King Jr goes on view for first time in 40 years

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco recently acquired the work, which is being exhibited at the de Young Museum ahead of Martin Luther King Jr Day

New art trail for pedestrians and cyclists to connect museums in the Berkshires

The 9.3-mile bike and pedestrian path will connect the Clark Art Institute, Williams College Museum of Art, Mass Moca and other cultural and historical sites in western Massachusetts

Ancient Incan tunnel system discovered in the Andes

A Chinkana, or labyrinth, with three branches has been found beneath the ancient city of Cusco

Out of this world: the Moon features on World Monuments Fund’s list of threatened sites

For the first time, the list of threatened heritage sites raises awareness beyond Earth’s atmosphere

New Alexander Calder institution in Philadelphia sets opening date

Calder Gardens, which will be housed in a Herzog & de Meuron-designed building on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, has also appointed a senior director of programmes

Union alleges London museum guards face ‘discrimination, victimisation and unlawful pay cuts’

Around 100 members of United Voices of the World, who are employed by the external contractor Wilson James, will take strike action later this week

Who will save South America’s vast, ancient earthworks from destruction?

Industrial farming in Brazil and off-road racing in Chile continue to threaten geoglyphs that are so big, they can only be properly appreciated from the air

Inside Tate St Ives' plans for Barbara Hepworth's former dance hall

Semi-derelict for almost 50 years, the Palais de Danse—where the sculptor created some of her most famous monumental works—will aim to engage the local community in the Cornish town as well as housing an exhibition about the artist

Mary Miss and Des Moines Art Center settle lawsuit over Land art piece's demolition

The artist had sought to force the museum to repair her 1996 outdoor installation, while the institution claimed it could only afford to tear it down

Dallas Museum of Art will undergo $6m repairs to fix damage from 2022 rainstorm

The museum's Impressionist collection galleries and interactive education facility have been closed since for more than two years

Ancient petroglyph irreparably damaged in Mexico

Someone attempted to dislodge a drawing of a hand from a rock with more than 150 motifs dating back thousands of years

National Trust announces plans to address UK's mental health crisis

As part of its ten-year strategy, the heritage organisation will work with mental health charity Mind

Hawaiian tsunami museum fights to stay open amid economic woes

The Hawai'i shoreline fixture is struggling to keep its doors open amid post-pandemic costs

Police seize Sally Mann photographs at Texas museum amid accusations of child pornography

A 1990s culture-war déjà vu at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth—with the same photographs causing a stir decades later

Deadly wildfires destroy Los Angeles art spaces as museums and galleries close

Even art spaces far from the raging wildfires have closed and cancelled events amid a citywide state of emergency, dangerous smoke and high winds

New York takes first step towards landmarking Breuer building's interior

Sotheby’s, which bought the former home of the Whitney Museum last year, promises to respect the building’s “architectural significance” in its upcoming renovations

Los Angeles wildfire reaches Getty Villa grounds but ‘staff and the collection remain safe’

Cultural organisations around the Los Angeles have been forced to close and some "expect the worst"

Trump claims he will replace the head of the US National Archives

The agency’s previous leader raised concerns in 2022 about Trump’s handling of documents after his first term in office

Hamburg art centre condemns ‘politically motivated vandalism’ of art installation referencing Palestine

The Kunstverein in Hamburg said the incident is currently being investigated by authorities as a hate crime

Behind Ukraine and Russia's battle over 19th-century seascape painter

Both countries lay claim to Ivan Aivazovsky and his works, many of which were in Crimea when it was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014

New York’s Climate Museum secures permanent location

The new, 24,000 sq. ft museum will be part of a recently announced $1.35bn mixed-use development near Hudson Yards

Jimmy Carter, the US president and Renaissance man who believed in art and rock and roll, has died, aged 100

The Southern Baptist peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia, was a dedicated amateur portraitist and made a deep cultural impact when in office

SFMoMA fires contemporary art curator Eungie Joo amid misconduct allegations

Joo had joined the museum in 2017 as its first contemporary art curator and most recently organised an ambitious project by Kara Walker

New perspectives: Annabelle Selldorf brings a fresh angle to the National Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing

A tour of the remodelled building, five months before its reopening, shows the New York architect has created a spectacular main entrance closely integrated with the rest of the London institution and with the public space of Trafalgar Square