Museums & Heritage

Developers threaten San Francisco’s loved and loathed concrete colossus

Skateboarders and Brutalism enthusiasts are among those joining forces to save the Vaillancourt Fountain from urban-renewal obliteration

Interiors of former Whitney Museum building landmarked ahead of Sotheby's move-in

Marcel Breuer's Brutalist gem on the Upper East Side is to undergo a partial renovation as part of its auction house revamp

Three ancient artefacts from Metropolitan Museum returned to Iraq

Collectively valued at $500,000, the Mesopotamian relics are believed to have been looted and at least one was linked to the dealer and suspected trafficker Robin Symes

2,500-year-old bird bone tubes used to snort hallucinogens discovered in Peru

The finding provides a psychedelic trip into the heart of pre-Incan power at Chavín de Huántar, where psychoactive substances were used in elite ceremonial rituals

Recently discovered and restored Artemisia Gentileschi painting will go on view at the Getty in Los Angeles

Newly attributed painting to be unveiled after a heroic conservation effort following serious damage from the Beirut explosion in 2020

Lee Ufan donates eight paintings to Dia Art Foundation

The Mono-ha master’s works will be featured in 2026 solo exhibition at Dia Beacon

Comment | Are museums ‘guilt tripping’ their visitors? No, they aren’t doing enough

Engaging with the difficult histories behind objects has deepened, not dampened, my experiences at cultural institutions—and the fact it is different for everyone is a good thing

Private museum in Pakistan becomes the first to honour a rich textiles heritage

The Haveli will showcase the country's traditions in Indigenous weaving, embroidery and dye work

Washington, DC Jewish Museum ‘heartbroken’ by deadly shooting

The museum's directors have issued their first statement since two Israeli embassy staff were shot dead outside the building yesterday evening

The empire cuts back: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art lays off 14% of full-time staff

In addition to letting go of 15 full-time employees, the museum—now expected to open in 2026—has cut seven part-time roles

Artists accuse Whitney Museum of censorship for cancelling pro-Palestine performance

The artists, members of the institution’s current Independent Study Program cohort, decried the decision as an act of cowardice, while a museum representative said it was “clear and necessary”

Artist couple open north London not-for-profit in former Zabludowicz gallery

Husband-and-wife artist duo Philip and Charlotte Colbert have opened Camden Arts Projects, which kicks off its programme with a show of works by Martin Creed

Celebrating its bicentenary, London's National Gallery makes three major acquisitions

Works by Edgar Degas, Carl Gustav Carus and Floris van Dijck have entered the gallery's collection

Manhattan District Attorney's Office returns eight artefacts to Peru, including golden Moche mask

Many of the antiquities being returned were looted from northern Peru in the 1960s and 70s

Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art repatriates ancient silk manuscript to China

The museum’s fragments of the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts were looted from a tomb in Hunan Province and smuggled into the US nearly 80 years ago

Family of Prussian kings settles century-old dispute with Germany over royal treasures

Art, furniture, porcelain and other objects that once belonged to Prussia’s rulers will now become the property of a charitable foundation and will remain in museums

Magna Carta ‘copy’ once sold at Sotheby's is an original, say UK professors

The document was consigned to the auction house in 1946 then, later the same year, purchased by Harvard Law School for just $27.50

Metropolitan Museum receives 6,500 works from photography collector Artur Walther

The promised gift from Walther and the Walther Family Foundation includes photographs, albums and time-based works by artists including Malick Sibidé, Ai Weiwei, Thomas Struth, Stephen Shore and others

More than 160 Tutankhamun treasures have arrived at the Grand Egyptian Museum

Conservation work will be carried out on on key objects ahead of the museum's long awaited launch on 3 July

How Javier Milei’s war on history is threatening art spaces in Argentina

After effectively shutting down two cultural centres, the Argentine president appears to have the ESMA Museum, a Unesco World Heritage Site, in his sights

Mexican authorities decry ‘distorted information’ in MrBeast video filmed at ancient Mayan sites

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History released a statement praising MrBeast's mission while correcting some moments of "theatricality" in his video

Behind the scenes of the Met’s revamped Rockefeller Wing with its acclaimed architect

Kulapat Yantrasast has a design philosophy of “cultural Pad Thai”—multiple perspectives combined into something unique and approachable

‘There is not enough money for education’: French philanthropist to fund museum visits for 100,000 UK children

Frédéric Jousset will provide £1m over four years to send school children to cultural venues, including the British Museum

Opinioncomment

Comment | The greatest failure of PST Art: its successes are not travelling

As the Getty wraps up its third edition of this initiative, it is time to address a persistent problem

In Rotterdam, a new art museum explores the city's rich history of migration

Opening on 16 May, Fenix addresses the arrivals and departures that have given the Dutch port its energy and modernity

Prizesnews

Artist Alison Saar wins High Museum’s 20th annual Driskell Prize

The renowned sculptor, whose distinctive public work was most recently featured in the Desert X biennial, will be formally honoured with the $50,000 prize at a gala in September

Chile to get a new contemporary art museum

The New Museum of Santiago will highlight Latin American artists with more than 1,000 works from the Chilean businessman Claudio Engel’s private collection

5,000-year-old woman uncovered in Peru with hair and nails still intact

The exceptional find at Áspero reveals women’s high status in the ancient Caral civilisation

UK government bans export of £10m Botticelli painting

The work was previously held in a private collection for 120 years