NewsThe Year in Review 2019
From a Paris inferno to the Leonardo tussle: the art world's top stories of 2019
We look back at the major events that made the headlines this year
BlogThe Buck stopped here
Oscar Murillo hosts 'fun-raising' feast in London studio
NewsConservation & Preservation
Looted in Germany by Stalin’s brigades, a restored goddess goes on view at the Hermitage
Bronze sculpture gets new wings in a collaboration with Berlin’s Antikensammlung
NewsAppointments & departures
Frieze LA director Bettina Korek appointed chief executive of Serpentine Galleries
Los Angeles art veteran takes the reins at the London institution in its 50th anniversary year
NewsAccessibility
How to make museums more accessible for disabled people? Ask them
Research groups have designed new technologies and initiatives for the V&A, Kunsthistorisches Museum and Thyssen-Bornemisza
NewsAppointments & departures
Charles Saumarez Smith steps down as senior director at Blain Southern
Gallery is going through a “period of restructuring”, according to founder Harry Blain
NewsCensorship
Artists call for Kyrgyz minister of culture’s resignation in wake of censorship scandal
Open letter argues that censorship of the exhibition Feminnale violated a number of constitutional protections
Latest in Video
Anselm Kiefer on why size matters
Hammer Time: Sotheby's picks up the pace during a sluggish art week with $270.7m contemporary art sale
Hammer Time: records set but reserves remain low at Christie's post-war and contemporary art sale
Hammer Time: consistency and caution are key at Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern evening sale
Hammer Time: Christie's Impressionist and Modern evening sale November 2019
PreviewExhibitions
Welcome to the world of Rufus Porter: painter, publisher and prophetic inventor
Legacy of 19th-century artist and maverick, who founded longest-running US magazine and foresaw networking potential of technology, is examined in new show
NewsArts funding
Washington, DC’s mayor and arts commission locked in conflict
Muriel Bowser launches rival office of creative affairs and blocks access to the city’s public art vaults
NewsBanksy
Banksy transforms bench into Santa's sleigh in new mural highlighting UK homelessness
Street artist posts video of the work praising passersby in Birmingham for stopping and offering food and drink to a man sleeping rough
NewsAcquisitions
Permanent a-peel: $120,000 banana will enter museum collection
Miami collectors William and Beatrice Cox will donate the fruit piece to an unnamed institution
NewsMuseum attendance
Influx of millions of Chinese tourists wreaks havoc for Russian museums
Electronic visas pave the way for ever greater visitors numbers, creating major logistical problems at Tsarskoe Selo and the Hermitage
Latest in Podcast
Turner Prize shocker: what next? Plus, Teresita Fernández in Miami
Troy: the show and the problem with BP sponsorship
John Lennon wanted Hitler on cover of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album
Dora Maar and Jann Haworth: acclaim at last
Anselm Kiefer on why size matters
NewsPoland
Lublin governor files defamation suit against art historian sparking free speech fears in Poland
Case against Tomasz Kitliński follows row over installation that marked pogrom sites in the city
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Brighton Pavilion gets its glitter back as fanciful treasures return on long-term loan from the Queen
More of the startling objects collected by George IV will return from Buckingham Palace in early 2020
PreviewExhibitions
New perspectives on an Old Master: Andrea Mantegna show to open in Turin
Exhibition at Palazzo Madama promises an impressive number of works—and a fresh view of the Renaissance master's legacy
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach 2019
Get your shine on at Art Basel in Miami Beach
There is plenty to keep magpie collectors happy at the fair
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach 2019
Art Basel helps Hong Kong exhibitors offset extra costs
Fair organisers says the discounts are not "incentive to do the fair" but are "part of an effort to mitigate their additional expenses"
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach 2019
Text and slogan 'statement pieces' draw Instagram crowd to Art Basel
But it's not all about selfies, many art pieces with a motto carry a socially conscious message
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach 2019
From Miami to Margate: Ellen Harvey’s mural depicting a slice of South Florida travels abroad
The hand-painted designs for her permanent installation will be included in the artist’s solo show at Turner Contemporary next year
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach 2019
Montreal dealer Robert Landau to move his headquarters to Lucerne in 2022
He has secured a 40-year lease on a 35,000 sq. m castle-like complex, with plans to create a sculpture park and private freeport
NewsConservation & Preservation
Weaver uncovers hidden patterns beneath Old Master paintings
For artisan Helena Loermans, uncovering the intricate weaves of artists' canvases is like “a detective story”
NewsConservation & Preservation
Conserving canvas: from tear-mending to 'mist lining’, conservators share their techniques
Hundreds gather as the Getty convenes the first major international conference on the issue in 45 years
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in London this weekend
From the UK's hottest graduates to forgotten Indian masterpieces
NewsRestitution
Archaeologist launches private bid to retrieve priceless Egyptian treasures from European museums
Zahi Hawass, former Egyptian minister of antiquities, corrals international team of experts to press institutions for return of important artefacts
Podcast
Turner Prize shocker: what next? Plus, Teresita Fernández in Miami
We talk to Louisa Buck about the decision to award the Turner Prize to all of the nominees. Plus, Miami-born artist Teresita Fernández tells us about her homecoming show at Pérez Art Museum Miami. Produced in association with Bonhams, auctioneers since 1793
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
Ten myths about Vincent van Gogh
Why stories—from the mutilated ear to the eventual suicide—can distort our view of the art
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach 2019
Discounts give younger galleries a leg up at Art Basel in Miami Beach
A 20% fee reduction for new galleries exhibiting contemporary art has enabled smaller players to join the fair's main section
NewsCensorship
Censored queer photographs get second chance at Miami's Nada fair
City officials cancelled a planned display by Pacifico Silano in Bal Harbour last year
NewsPhotography
David Goldblatt's photographic legacy lives on through digital archive project
South African collection withdrawn from University of Cape Town over censorship row forms the heart of Goodman Gallery’s new initiative
NewsOpioid Crisis
Citing opioid crisis, Tufts University strips Sackler name from its buildings and programmes
Institution declares that the name “runs counter to the school’s mission”
NewsMuseums
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston names new director
Hesse McGraw has served at San Francisco and Nebraska art institutions
NewsMuseums
Freer/Sackler rebrands its identity as the National Museum of Asian Art
Museum officials say the decision is unrelated to protests over the Sackler family's ties to Purdue Pharma
NewsRepatriation
Penn Museum hands over fragments of 387 ancient clay tablets to Iraqi Embassy
Archaeologists say the tablets, unearthed nearly a century ago, are akin to receipts
NewsMuseums
The Leslie-Lohman Museum announces its first director of curatorial programmes
Stamatina Gregory will take the new position as the LGBTQ art museum undergoes a series of changes
NewsMuseums
'Xavier Bray, end low pay!': Wallace Collection staff fight for London Living Wage
Museum is in discussion with trade union after 'final offer' 1.5% salary increase was deemed too low
FeatureArt Basel in Miami Beach 2019
Design Miami is a real glass act
The material is hot at the design fair, where the line between decorative and fine art is becoming increasingly blurred
NewsMusee du Quai Branly–Jacques Chirac
Quai Branly to send fragment of feather belt worn by first King of Tahiti back to Polynesia
Rediscovered maro 'ura will go on show at Museum of Tahiti and the Islands on long-term loan from 2021
NewsThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in Miami this weekend
From the Rubell Museum’s inaugural display to Sterling Ruby’s first solo museum exhibition
NewsCensorship
UN condemns threats against Kyrgyz museum director who staged feminist art exhibition
Museum hosted a 'Feminnale' that included performance work highlighting plight of sex workers
FeatureMusic
The artist’s composer: Steve Reich's percussive experiment returns to the Hayward Gallery this week
Drumming was first performed at the London venue in Mark Rothko's 1972 exhibition—now it will be surrounded by Bridget Riley's show
AnalysisArt market
'Christmas dinner without the turkey': little festive cheer at Sotheby's Old Masters sale
December auction generates less than half the total of last year's sale, with several lots failing to sell
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach 2019
Immigrant artist residency launches—steps from Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort
The Peru-born, North Carolina-based painter Renzo Ortega is the inaugural artist-in-residence at Palm Beach’s New Wave Art Wknd festival
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach 2019
South American galleries face down turmoil
Civil unrest and economic shifts have Latin American dealers doubling down on Miami's international market
NewsFeminism
Women artists fight for reproductive rights with US election fundraising show
"I want to normalise abortion as a life-saving medical procedure, mentally and physically," says Marilyn Minter
NewsMuseums
Strikes hit France: here are the museums that are affected
Several institutions have closed, others have cut back their opening times as protests against Macron's retirement reforms sweep the country
BlogThe Buck stopped here
Gavin Turk gives a load of bull at the Christmas Art Car Boot Fair
NewsControversies
German art activists apologise for upsetting Holocaust survivors with monument containing human remains
Centre for Political Beauty concedes “mistakes,” says it will veil monument
NewsObituaries
Stephen Garrett, inaugural director of the Getty and the Hammer, has died, aged 96
“Bon vivant” took over at museum villa and expanded its mission after J. Paul Getty died in 1976
NewsAwards
Hepworth Wakefield to stage 'long overdue' survey of Hannah Starkey with £100,000 Freelands Award
Show comes "at an exciting moment" as the photographer is reassessing her art in light of recent political events, museum's director says
NewsExhibitions
#MeToo show manages to evade authorities in Shanghai
Previous iterations of the show were closed early by authorities
NewsChina
Yuz Museum and Lacma confident they can show Middle Eastern art in China—despite crackdown on Islam
Joint exhibition programme under way between Shanghai and Los Angeles will soon involve Qatar Museums
AnalysisChina
Why museum partnerships between China and the West are booming
Cultural institutions have embraced mutual benefits of collaboration, despite challenges of communication and censorship
CommentTurner Prize
Could the joint win sound the death knell for the Turner Prize?
Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo and Tai Shani's decision to share the prize reflects the collective nature of their work, but how this could impact the future of the award remains to be seen
AnalysisArt market
Tiepolo and Giovanni di Paolo spark excitement in underpowered Christie’s Old Master sale
Auction raised more than last year but supply still limited as Brexit-dominated general election looms
NewsClimate Change
Climate emergency in Miami: large-scale protest march planned during Art Basel fair
With Miami Beach predicted to be 30% underwater by 2045, the convention centre where the fair currently takes place could soon become an island
NewsArt market
Rare Tahitian painting by Gauguin sells for €9.5m at Artcurial in Paris
Te Bourao II, which went to an international collector, was on loan to the Met in New York for ten years
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach 2019
Maurizio Cattelan presents first new work for a fair in 15 years—and it is a banana priced at $120,000
The piece of fruit taped to a wall at Art Basel in Miami Beach "offers insight into how we assign worth", Perrotin gallery says
NewsEnvironment
Ai Weiwei confronts Amazon destruction in new film work
Dissident artist is exploring the disappearance of the Brazilian rainforest alongside China’s growing influence in South America
NewsTurner Prize
In shock move, all four nominated artists win Turner Prize 2019
Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo and Tai Shani will share the UK’s most prestigious art prize
NewsDiscoveries
Conservator discovers secret scrawls hidden beneath Derek Jarman painting
Pleasures of Italy canvas on show at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin throws light on late activist’s lovers and interests
ReviewExhibition catalogues
Vienna museum's Caravaggio and Bernini catalogue presents the artist's studio as a theatrical site
Exhibition at Kunsthistorisches on the two Baroque heavyweights helps to clarify the relationship between Roman painting and sculpture of the period
NewsUK politics
The UK's culture secretary conveyor belt: who will be next?
As the election looms this month and Nicky Morgan announces she is standing down, the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport prepares for its latest secretary of state
NewsTurkey
Court ruling converting Turkish museum to mosque could set precedent for Hagia Sophia
Decision that Kariye Museum must become a Muslim house of worship again could imperil its Byzantine art and have repercussions for other early Christian monuments
ReviewArt Basel in Miami Beach 2019
New documentary offers unvarnished view of Clyfford Still
Lifeline/Clyfford Still sheds light on the Abstract Expressionist who despised critics, condemned the work of his contemporaries, and was admired by many
NewsControversies
Art activists anger Holocaust survivors with Berlin monument containing ashes
Centre for Political Beauty says action targets conservatives open to allying with far right
NewsMiami
Welcome to Allapattah: two spaces open this week in Miami’s new arts district
Local collectors Jorge Pérez and the Rubells head west of Wynwood in search of more space to show their art
InterviewArt Basel in Miami Beach 2019
Interview with Pepe Mar on his work safeguarding queer histories
The Mexican-born Miami-based artist is presenting Varla TV, a tribute to the South Beach painter and drag performer Craig Coleman, in Art Basel in Miami Beach’s Meridians show
NewsMuseums
Michael Rakowitz wants to pause his video work at MoMA PS1 as a protest against museum's ties to 'toxic philanthropy'
"It's censorship", the artist says of curators' denials to suspend work that is part of show on the artistic legacy of the Gulf War
NewsValie Export
Valie Export: ‘Female artists are disadvantaged because the market is determined by men’
Austrian performance artist is showing her 1980 Venice Biennale installation for the first time in 40 years in London
CommentPolitics
Chile’s neoliberal ideology has co-opted artist’s creativity
The failed economic experiments of the 1970s laid the groundwork for today’s socio-economic crisis
Ignacio Gatica