Latest
Art trade figures voice major concerns over new EU import licensing regulations
The restrictions will focus on imports of non-European cultural property
Exclusive: international museum attendance figures back to pre-pandemic levels
In 2023, many of the world’s major museums equaled—or surpassed—their 2019 attendance figures. However, some UK institutions are still lagging behind, finds The Art Newspaper’s annual survey
Arts Council England under the microscope in government review
Mary Archer to try and identify how arm’s length funding body can make 5% saving
Shiver me timbers: AI speeds up repair of historic British warship HMS Victory
Technology is being used to create an image database of vessel—as acres of wooden planking damaged by time, water and insects are to be replaced
Russian authorities interrogate and detain artists on eve of presidential election
The homes and studios of more than 30 artists in at least seven cities across the country have been raided
Diary
The woman who riled Picasso finally gets an exhibition in Paris
Picasso Museum is showing a display of works by Françoise Gilot who walked away from the Spanish master
A snapshot of Rocket Man at the V&A
A sneak peek into the mammoth photo collection of Elton John and David Furnish
Praise Be—Damien Hirst is building a chapel in France
The holy installation at Château La Coste comprises a huge bronze hand pointing to the heavens
We could weep—Francesco Vezzoli to unveil teary masterpieces in Venice
Museo Correr will be filled with works embroidered by the Italian maverick
Art market
Global art market value fell by 4% in 2023 amid ‘inflation and wars’, Art Basel/UBS report finds
Last year saw a drop in sales of ultra high-value works but an increase in trading volume
Francesca Woodman’s posthumous path to A-lister
Exhibitions at Gagosian in New York and National Portrait Gallery in London confirm late photographer’s arrival
The art market counts the logistical cost of the Red Sea conflict
Houthi rebel attacks on cargo ships are creating headaches for dealers and auction houses who need to ship art
The Gray Market: Anyone wrestling with money's influence on art has 800 years of company
A show at the Morgan Library & Museum traces the modern economy's emergence in the Middle Ages—and how it influenced art from the start
Christie’s marathon evening sales in London make a within-estimate £163m
The 20th/21st century and Art of the Surreal auctions were up 18.5% by value on their March 2023 versions
Museums & Heritage
Developer’s $325m gift will help create new museum in Seattle
Richard Hedreen is donating a collection valued at $300m and $25m cash to create an art museum at Seattle University
How the US’s Black cemeteries are being made visible once more
A cemetery hidden under a Florida air base is the latest African American burial site rediscovered following decades of erasure
How ancient cave art is rewriting Puerto Rican history
Recent study shows that humans inhabited and made art in the archipelago thousands of years earlier than previously thought
Germany to replace Nazi-loot advisory panel with binding arbitration
The changes will allow Germany to better meet its commitments under the Washington Principles, the country's culture minister says
In open letter, Metropolitan Museum employees call on the institution to ‘stand in defence of Palestinians’
More than 150 people have signed onto the letter, which was delivered to museum director and chief executive Max Hollein this week
Exhibitions
French connection: how post-war Paris lured US artists
'Americans in Paris' is the inaugural exhibition at Grey Art Museum's new location at 18 Cooper Square, New York
Théodore Rousseau, the early eco-warrior, gets Paris show
The leader of the Barbizon School was a cultural and social rebel, and a precursor of environmentalism
Exhibition reveals how artists processed the trauma of a racist mass shooting
Writers, poets and artists create work for show at Buffalo AKG Art Museum after 2022 mass shooting in the city that killed ten Black people
Dramatic turn: how the theatre was integral to Rembrandt’s art
A new exhibition in Amsterdam explores how the Old Master's paintings and drawings were inspired and informed by the art of acting
Jeffrey Gibson and Jennie C. Jones will transform the Metropolitan Museum's outdoor spaces in 2025
The artists' forthcoming façade and rooftop installations at the museum will explore the intersections of identity and art history
Adventures with Van Gogh
Adventures with Van Gogh is a weekly blog by Martin Bailey, our long-standing correspondent and expert on the artist. Published every Friday, his stories range from newsy items about this most intriguing artist to scholarly pieces based on his own meticulous investigations and discoveries.
Van Gogh’s potatoes: few artists would choose this subject for a still life
Vincent borrowed a casserole from his brother’s kitchen for the painting, which has just been acquired by Rotterdam’s art museum
Books
Catalogue for Royal Academy’s ‘Entangled Pasts’ show unpacks the institution’s problematic past
A collection of essays and biographies takes an innovative approach to exploring the RA’s role in creating a canon of art founded in empire and enslavement
Israel-Hamas war
Neon work in Whitney Biennial features unexpected ‘free Palestine’ message
The biennial’s curators were unaware of the statement in a work by Demian DinéYazhi’ prior to the exhibition preview
Israel in contravention of UN court ruling as it carries out ‘genocidal military campaign’ in Gaza, new Forensic Architecture report says
Report refutes Israel’s claims in The Hague that it has implemented "humanitarian measures" to prevent the loss of civilian life
German museum director at centre of row over cancelled Candice Breitz exhibition steps down
Andrea Jahn will leave her post four months after Breitz's show was cancelled over her views on the conflict in Gaza
More works pulled from Barbican show over Gaza 'censorship' row
Artists Yto Barrada and Cian Dayrit will remove their work from major textile survey, after two collectors withdraw their loans over centre's decision to not host talk on Palestine and the Holocaust
Renowned Palestinian artist Fathi Ghaben, unable to leave Gaza for medical treatment, dies aged 77
The artist, hailed as the "Van Gogh of Gaza", suffered from chest and lung issues that needed urgent care
Opinion
Being ‘discovered’ late in life can be maddening—but it can have advantages
The Buffalo AKG Art Museum just opened a Stanley Whitney retrospective—the 77-year-old artist's first museum survey
It’s time to end the predatory practices of 'sleeper hunters'
Sleeper hunter dealers must recognise they have an asymmetrical relationship to vulnerable people pressured by circumstance to sell off their treasured heirlooms
How much should museums pay artists for events such as the Whitney Biennial?
Compensating participants for group exhibitions is an important but taboo subject, as is the fee amount institutions provide
Keith Piper's thoughtful response to Tate Britain's racist mural avoids the usual get-out clauses
The artist's research-based video exploring Rex Whistler's The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats benefited from the museum's collaborative approach
Is the Royal Academy's 'Entangled Pasts' exhibition radical? Yes—for the Royal Academy
The London institution may have woken up to its responsibility of presenting its role in Britain’s imperial past. But please don't go back to sleep...
The Week in Art
A podcast bringing you the latest news from the art world, every week
Keith Piper on tackling Tate Britain’s racist Whistler mural
Plus, the top takeaways from the new Art Basel/UBS report and a weaving by Anni Albers
Technology
News, background and analysis on the latest tech developments—artificial intelligence tools; Web3, the blockchain, NFTs; virtual and augmented reality; social media platforms—and how they affect the art market, museums, artists and curators.
Ten years on: art world is still in search of its virtual reality Eden
In March 2014, Facebook bought Oculus VR, heralding a new era in extended reality. Will the arrival of the Apple Vision Pro move the medium from artistic experiment to widespread use?
Ten art world things that have happened in VR since Meta bought Oculus 10 years ago
Virtual reality has not taken the art world by storm in the past decade, despite the attention given to the format during the global pandemic of 2020-21, but the advent of powerful new mixed-reality headsets, led by the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest, promise a new experience for creators and users
Harold Cohen's pioneering AI works provide essential context for conversations about generative art
The Whitney Museum of American Art is spotlighting the late art and technology innovator's prescient "AARON" series
Net art pioneer Shu Lea Cheang wins $100,000 LG Guggenheim award
The Taiwan-born interdisciplinary artist’s work spans coding languages, hacking tactics, gaming engines and more
Tipping point: how new immersive institutions are changing the art world
Digital art venues are a global phenomenon, attracting massive audiences with radical new forms of immersive experiences. Are they a threat or an opportunity for traditional galleries and museums?
Book Club
The rise of a queer art history: three new publications and the stories behind them
Recently published books aim to bring a deeper understanding of the canon, from the work of LGBTQ+ photographers to the pioneers who paved the way for later generations
‘Have you ever been sat on before?’ What it's like taking part in a (surprisingly) private view
An exclusive extract from a new book by Bianca Bosker that lifts the lid on the secret life of the art world
An expert's guide to Constantin Brâncuși: five must-read books on the Romanian sculptor
All you ever wanted to know about Brâncuși, from a landmark catalogue to a comic retelling of his run-in with US Customs—selected by the Centre Pompidou curator Ariane Coulondre
March Book Bag: from a collection of ‘disruptive’ women painters to a biography of the eccentric Piero di Cosimo
Our round-up of the latest art publications
Tefaf Maastricht
Focus, not faff: considered adjustments prove welcome at TEFAF Maastricht
A shorter runtime, a new Focus section and outreach to young buyers show promise as a way forward for the venerable Dutch fair
Maastricht’s historic Tefaf fair bets on new attractions
With contemporary works, fresh initiatives and a shorter runtime, Tefaf hopes to extend its appeal while keeping its special magic alive
Must-see shows in and around Maastricht during Tefaf
From an Isaac Julien retrospective and an artist’s haunted hotel to the story of the city's 17th-century siege
Tefaf’s new Focus stands aim to be more than just another ‘special’ section
Made up of ten main fair exhibitors doing double duty, the section offers the space to experiment.
Tefaf Maastricht: the wish list
An ancient sculpture of Dionysus, a pivotal Van Gogh and a coral lace Magdalene are among this year’s gems
A brush with... podcast
A podcast that asks artists the questions you've always wanted to
A brush with… Nalini Malani
An in-depth interview with the artist on her cultural experiences and greatest influences, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland to her time in 1970s Paris
Jacob Rothschild (1936-2024)
The banker, philanthropist and collector was one of the most consequential figures in the British art world for the last five decades of his life
Remembering Jacob Rothschild, banker, collector, philanthropist, and a towering figure in the British art world
A scion of the famous banking dynasty, he led the National Gallery, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Waddesdon Manor
Photography and feminist activism, Jacob Rothschild remembered and Robert Ryman
We speak to the curators of the South London Gallery's latest show and to our founding editor about the legacy one of the UK's leading philanthropists. We also discuss Robert Ryman's work Adelphi on show at the Musée de l’Orangerie
From the archive | Jacob Rothschild retires from banking in a flurry of art projects
The Waddesdon Treasury opens at the Buckinghamshire family mansion managed and financed since 1988 by Rothschild—a man who has been an eminence grise of the British art world for the past 30 years
From the archive | Jacob Rothschild restores Spencer House, the Princess of Wales’s family house in London
Some of the house's 18th-century furniture has been lent back by the Victoria & Albert Museum but other pieces and paintings integral ot its design have left Britain for good
From the archive | A shared pride: the Rothschilds yesterday, today and tomorrow
Jacob, Lord Rothschild, is one of the great benefactors of the English museum scene in both time and money
Obituaries
Antoine Predock, architect of distinctive museums in the US and Canada, has died, aged 87
His Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Tang Teaching Museum and Tacoma Art Museum were typical of an approach that melded modernism and post-modernism into a characteristically unpredictable aesthetic
Lucas Samaras, tirelessly adventurous New York artist, has died, aged 87
The Greek American artist was always willing to try new forms and materials, working across sculpture, photography, performance, installation and more
Remembering Jacob Rothschild, banker, collector, philanthropist, and a towering figure in the British art world
A scion of the famous banking dynasty, he led the National Gallery, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Waddesdon Manor
Remembering Pope.L, the self-proclaimed 'friendliest Black artist in America'
His 50-year career was filled with transgressive performances, including the Times Square Crawls, which interrogated race and class
Günter Brus, central figure of Viennese Actionism, has died, aged 85
Brus was the last surviving founder of the movement, though he abandoned performance art after 1970