Museums & Heritage

Richard M. Barancik, the last living Monuments Man, has died, aged 98

He was part of a group that saved thousands of artworks during the Second World War from destruction and seizure by the Nazis

MoMA trustee Leon Black settles lawsuit with the US Virgin Islands over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein

He will pay $62.5m to exempt him from legal claims related to Epstein’s sex trafficking

Republican lawmakers move to block funding for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino

Under a new bill, the planned museum, which was created by an act of Congress in 2020, would be banned from receiving federal funding

Joe Biden to establish US national monument honouring Emmett Till, whose 1955 murder shocked the nation

The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument will include sites in Mississippi and Illinois

‘This is about celebrating everyone’: London's V&A opens new Thomas J Price exhibition

The display includes a version of a sculpture that sparked debate in the Netherlands last month

Russian attacks on Odesa damage Orthodox cathedral

The bombing of several buildings including in the historic city centre—a World Heritage Site—has been strongly condemned by Unesco

The Buffalo AKG Art Museum’s $230m transformation privileges its public and permanent collection

A decades-long process resulted in an ambitious reorientation of the museum’s campus around people and art

Maya skull carving found in German antique shop returned to Mexico

A skull relief carving hailing from the ancient Mayan city of Chichén Itzá has been repatriated

South London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery to get new sculpture park in £4.6m overhaul

The institution’s first major redevelopment in 25 years will also include a new building for families and schools

Smithsonian under fire for abrupt cancellation of Asian American literary festival

The institution cited “unforeseen circumstances”, leaving angry participants with debt and many unanswered questions

‘Do you want a clap?’: tour guide who filmed tourist defacing Colosseum reveals how he caught vandal

The unidentified Swiss teenager is the second person to make headlines this summer for carving letters into the walls of the ancient site

Last resort: antiquities Israel loaned to Trump are stranded at Mar-a-Lago

Originally loaned to the White House in 2019, the items followed Donald Trump to his Florida residence and have yet to be returned

Dallas Museum of Art reveals six shortlisted architectural designs for campus revamp

The museum is encouraging public input on the proposals and will announce a winner in August

Iraqnews

Outrage over demolition of 300-year-old minaret in Iraq

Cultural heritage officials are calling for greater protections of historic structures as the Siraji minaret in Basra is torn down for road expansion

Floodsnews

As floods level Vermont, its arts community takes action

Extreme weather conditions continue to roil the East Coast, putting arts communities at risk

Philadelphia's historic First Bank building to become museum thanks to $22.2m in federal funding

After being closed to the public for 50 years, the historic institution is getting an interactive update

Whitney Museum of American Art raises ticket prices and becomes most expensive New York museum

Admission fees have increased by 20% for adults and 33% for seniors and students, matching (and even exceeding) those at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Unesconews

The United States officially rejoins Unesco

Following a five-year absence, one of the founding members of the UN's cultural agency is readmitted as the organisation's 194th member state

First week of Italy's Pantheon price hike nets €200,000

Previously free, a standard tourist ticket to the ancient site now costs €5

Mo’ better news: Spike Lee exhibition coming to the Brooklyn Museum

The museum will showcase more than 300 objects related to the famed Brooklyn film-maker’s life and work

Lawnews

Poet and translator to sue British Museum for copyright and moral rights infringement

Vancouver-based Yilin Wang has raised more than £15,000 via Crowd Justice to begin legal proceedings

Guild Hall, one of the Hamptons's leading art institutions, is transformed after $29m renovation

Shuttered for two years, the East Hampton institution has reopened with a major Renée Cox solo show

British wartime control tower to become holiday home after £3.1m restoration

Conservation charity Landmark Trust plans to transform derelict building into unique four-bedroom house, due to open in 2025

Chinese Canadian Museum opens with timely reflection on national identity

Marking the centennial of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the museum’s inaugural exhibition is “the story of the Chinese community’s darkest period in Canada”

American Women’s History Museum founding director Nancy Yao withdraws from role

Yao, who was picked to lead the new Smithsonian museum through design and construction, said she needs to prioritise her family

Young V&A accused of removing trans-affirming books and poster from display

Former employees of the newly reopened London museum have joined a chorus of criticism over the removal of materials related to trans rights and queer identities

US museum returns centuries-old Bakor monolith to Nigeria

The Chrysler Museum of Art repatriated the ancient sculpture following the recent discovery of photographic evidence

Netherlands to repatriate nearly 500 looted objects to Indonesia and Sri Lanka

The Rijksmuseum will return six colonial artefacts, for the first time in its history

Maasai families receive cows in recognition of 'culturally sensitive heirlooms' in Pitt Rivers Museum

After taking guidance from the community's traditional elders and religious leaders, the Oxford museum presented the "symbolic gift" on the weekend