NewsArt fraud
Former dealer Angela Gulbenkian is sentenced to three and a half years for defrauding art clients
Charges involved sale of a £1.1m Yayoi Kusama pumpkin sculpture that was never delivered and the theft of £50,000 that a friend had given her to invest
NewsArt fairs
Felix brings the in-person art fair back to Los Angeles
The fair, hosted at the glitzy Hollywood Roosevelt hotel, features 29 L.A. based galleries and is bolstered by the city's own gallery weekend and the Frieze online viewing room
NewsArtists
'I am honoured to be one of the first Black men to have my work sent to space': Amoako Boafo to paint triptych on rocket
The Ghanaian painter speaks about his plans for the work, which will be attached to the head of a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket when it blasts into space this autumn
NewsArt market
Douglas Chrismas arrested for allegedly embezzling over $260,000 from Ace Gallery’s bankruptcy estate
Chrismas, who founded the Los Angeles gallery in 1967, is accused of embezzling the funds while acting as the estate’s trustee and custodian
NewsArt market
Christie's to sell Texan oil tycoon Edward L. Cox's collection of Impressionist art
The collection is expected to make over $200m in New York in November
PreviewArt market
'If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough': vintage prints by war photographer Robert Capa to headline Photo London
Some of the earliest known prints by the mythological founder of Magnum to be shown from an unseen private collection
NewsArt market
UK art fairs breathe sigh of relief as government waives quarantine for vaccinated overseas exhibitors
Some US and European galleries at events such as Photo London in September had threatened to drop out due to added cost of isolating in hotels
NewsArt market
Follow the money: Christie's bets on Hong Kong with vast new headquarters as clients in Asia spend over $1bn so far this year
Auction house will move into Zaha Hadid-designed luxury tower The Henderson in 2024, where it will hold year-round sales and exhibitions
NewsArt market
What the US government sanctions of prominent Bulgarian art collector Vassil Bojkov mean for the art market
Oligarch is blacklisted as countries ramp up regulation and authorities move yet another step closer to the art world
Comment US politics
Under the Biden administration, can US cultural policy better reflect American values?
Building relationships with all stakeholders—from dealers and collectors to museums and archaeologists—is vital
NewsArt market
US galleries survive: despite a stark decline in revenue in 2020, many galleries have a positive post-pandemic outlook, report says
The Art Dealers Association of America 2021 survey shows many galleries intend to increase their artist roster in 2021 and slowly hire back employees
NewsArt market
Almost all galleries are back for Art Basel’s 2021 edition as Switzerland eases travel restrictions (for now)
Basel edition will continue hybrid model and satellite booths introduced in Hong Kong
NewsArt market
Autumn fair calendar is fit to burst as Fiac relaunches in new temporary Paris venue near Eiffel Tower
Dealers must decide which fairs to prioritise as Art Basel in Switzerland and Frieze in London are scheduled just weeks apart
InterviewArt market
Abuja, Miami, Seoul: gallery director Dolly Kola-Balogun maps out her path to African art’s world domination
The 27-year-old powerhouse founder of Retro Africa talks about her expansion plans and how she is helping to build a contemporary art scene in Nigeria
NewsArt market
Let's bid: David Bowie album artwork for sale, direct from the artist who created it
A 120-lot online auction of Edward Bell's collection of designs, photographs and proofs starts today
NewsArt market
Artmonte-carlo takes advantage of an open fair calendar to entice blue-chip galleries to Monaco
In addition to the fledging fair, the tax haven on the Côte d'Azur is hosting a week of exhibitions and auction house offerings
NewsArt market
Christie’s results for first half of 2021 show marked shift towards Asia, online and private sales—and female auctioneers
Auction sales, according to the analysts ArtTactic, are up 230% to a total of $5.9bn so far this year at the three major auction houses, Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips
NewsArt market
Can you build a national collection without actually buying any art? The Dubai Collection says you can
The state-backed online "museum" plans a physical exhibition later this year at the Ethihad Museum
NewsArt market
How did this gem—an ‘archaic Greek masterpiece’—end up for sale at Christie’s in New York after being banned from leaving the UK?
The Ionides Scarab sold for $250,000 in April—but it may not have been the auction house’s, nor the consigner’s, right to sell the object in the US
NewsArt market
Bellotto's view of Verona sells for record £10.5m at Christie's Old Master sale in London
Seven new artist records were set in tonight's auction, including for Georges de La Tour, while a second highest prices were set for female painters Angelica Kauffman and Artemisia Gentileschi
NewsArt market
Head of a bear sets new record for a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, selling on a single bid for £8.8m at Christie's
The tiny "Post It note" drawing was sold by Thomas Kaplan, owner of the Leiden collection of Rembrandts, who bought it in 2008 based on a fax
NewsArt market
Legal battle over €15m Leonardo discovery: owner, Tajan auction house and French government fight it out
An export ban was placed on the drawing in 2017 but the French culture ministry has not purchased the drawing as planned
NewsArt fairs
Relaxed summer vibes at Arco Madrid despite opening with a third fewer exhibitors and no Latin American galleries
The Spanish art fair, which usually takes place in February, has braved the Madrid heat with this year’s postponed edition
NewsArt market
Sotheby's will sell Christo's preparatory works for Arc de Triomphe wrap
Proceeds from exhibition will go towards funding the monumental Paris project
NewsArt market
Is performance art finally collectible? New London gallery event aims to move medium into mainstream market
Performance Exchange will show work this weekend by artists including Helen Cammock, Abbas Zahedi and Tim Etchells in collaboration with ten commercial spaces
NewsArt market
Noah Horowitz is stepping down as Art Basel’s director of Americas—next month
The Art Basel in Miami Beach chief will leave at the end of August, less than four months before the fair is due to take place in early December
NewsArt market
'An opportunity for bargain hunters' or a waste of time? Italy relaxes stringent export laws for Old Masters and antiques worth less than €13,500
Lower-value older works and those by artists who died less than 50 years ago no longer need an export licence to leave the country—but the process can still be slow
NewsArt theft
German socialite Angela Gulbenkian pleads guilty to theft in London court
The charges against her stemmed from the fraudulent sale of a £1.1m Yayoi Kusama pumpkin sculpture to a Hong Kong collector, while a similar claim against her over a Warhol portrait remains in German court
NewsArt market
England may be through to the Euro finals, but Sotheby's Old Master paintings sale scores an own goal
The auction house's £17.2m offering in London tonight was only 57% sold, overshadowed by the football
CommentArt market
Livestreamed or IRL, gallery weekends or satellite spaces—the art market faces a paradox of choice
Thanks to the pandemic, we have many alternative ways to buy, sell and enjoy art, and now this genie is out of the bottle, we don’t want to put it back
PreviewArt market
London Art Week finds the revolutionary in ancient relics with hybrid selling event
Collaborative shows from 2 to 16 July features over 40 galleries, with Florence’s Palazzo Strozzi chief curating an online exhibition for those who cannot make the trip
NewsArt market
Three women, two cities, and a sea of Asian bidders—Christie's London to Paris sale delivers 'strongest summer season' since 2017
All but one of the four auctioneers conducting the £153.6m marathon 20th- and 21st-century evening sale were women
CommentArt Market Eye
Why the figures bandied about in the art market are subject to caution
Estimates of the potential size of the art market are way off the mark
NewsArt market
Campeche, a new gallery in Mexico City, champions underrepresented artists in a country dominated by 'machismo'
"We are trying to build a programme that will be very female and queer oriented... that might be difficult for a Mexican audience, but it has to happen,” founder says
NewsArt market
Lucian Freud's portrait of David Hockney fetches £14.9m in strong hybrid sales at Sotheby’s in London
Asian bidders and British art boosted figures to make auction house's highest summer total since 2018
NewsArt market
Design Miami to launch Podium pop-up exhibition in Shanghai this November
Rather than a full fledged fair, the event will bring together works from galleries and independent design studios
PreviewArt market
Highlights from July's auctions: from a Leonardo bear to a Dürer-inspired hare
Our pick of the works coming up for sale in London and Los Angeles
NewsArt market
Forgotten Fragonard painting, deemed 'worthless' by its owners, fetches £6.6m at auction
Philosopher Reading is now the third most expensive work by the Rococo artist to sell at auction
NewsLondon
What to see during Mayfair Art Week in London
From portraits of Napoleon and his wife reunited after nearly 200 years to Rafael Nadal's buttocks
AnalysisArt market
JingArt fair returns to Beijing—with a new crop of young collectors
The fair was cancelled last year due to Covid-19 but this year was bigger than ever before, at 43 galleries
NewsArt market
Abstract art, mid-century furniture and contemporary design all under one roof at new London gallery
LAMB opens this week in the Georgian townhouse formerly occupied by Bernard Shapero rare books
NewsArtists
Damien Hirst secures £15m in government Covid-19 loans despite owing more than £100m to his parent company in Jersey
The companies that make Hirst’s art and manage his £183m collection are owned by the offshore parent Science
NewsCanada
Works by women artists reach new heights in Canadian auction
Two canvases by Carr blew past their estimate to become among the highest auction prices paid for her work, while a painting by 92-year-old Rita Letendre set a record for the artist
NewsArt market
Blast off! Painting by David Bowie sells for more than $87,000 in online auction
The painting was found in an Ontario thrift shop and purchased for just five Canadian dollars
NewsArt market
Sotheby's doubles down on private sales with Monte-Carlo gallery
Seasonal two-storey space is newest addition to Monaco's growing commercial art scene
NewsArt market
Records set for Cinga Samson, Avery Singer, Vija Celmins, Titus Kaphar and Julie Curtiss at Phillips's $118.2m evening sale
Auction house chose to hold its 20th century and contemporary art evening sale in New York during what is traditionally the London season due to "detonated" calendar
NewsArt market
Chinese gold sculpture breaks German auction record at €14m—almost triple the previous high
A Chinese collector bought the 15th century gold and bronze Ming-dynasty sculpture of the god Vajrabhairava earlier today
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Hoard of plundered ancient art—discovered by police in a Belgian dealer's home—is returned to Italy
The almost 800 rare archaeological artefacts are now on show at the Castello Svevo in Bari
NewsArt market
Los Angeles gallery Regen Projects brings on two new directors Bryan Barcena and Stephanie Dudzinski
Both Bryan Barcena and Stephanie Dudzinski have worked with major museums and galleries in the city
NewsArt market
Back to the beginning: author and art critic Frederic Tuten will have his first solo show in the Hamptons
Tuten was close friends with Roy Lichtenstein, who twenty years ago saw promise in the writer’s sketchbook.
PreviewObject lessons
June auction highlights: from a delicate Degas pastel to a Kandinsky painting once owned by the Guggenheim museum
Our pick of the best objects up for sale in London and New York
NewsMuseums
OCAT Shanghai closes after public outcry over Uglier and Uglier video that ranks women's attractiveness
The work by Song Ta consists of eight hours of secretly shot footage of 5,000 college women
NewsArt market
What happens when artists die without making a will? Dealer fights to save remains of Fred Yates’s estate
French government sold works by the intestate artist for a pittance; now the UK is set to follow suit
NewsArt market
Sun, sea and Esther Schipper: Berlin gallery pops up in Mallorca and Taipei this summer
This is the first time the Berlin-based gallery will open temporary spaces
NewsArt market
Sotheby's launches sales in Germany—against stiff competition from local auction houses
The opulent Palais Oppenheim in Cologne will host exhibitions and sales from September. Sotheby's says move is due to growing client base in country, not Brexit
NewsArt market
Satellite summer: Lehmann Maupin and Carpenters Workshop Gallery collaborate in Aspen, while Christie’s pays homage to the Hamptons
Galleries and auction houses continue to set up shop with niche exhibitions where their clients spend their vacations
NewsArt market
Casa Versalles, an initiative envisioned to benefit the Mexican cultural sector, opens second edition in Mexico City
A portion of the proceeds from the selling exhibition will benefit two regional museums, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey and the Zapopan Art Museum
NewsArt market
New French art market report finds auction sales dropped 19.5% to $25.5bn in 2020
The Conseil des Ventes Volontaires concludes that China dominates global auctions, accounting for $8.6bn of sales and 35% of the worldwide market
BlogDiary
Here are Magnus Resch's five simple rules to becoming a successful artist
NewsArt market
Anonymous peer-to-peer trading platform LiveArt Market launches with $5m of sales already—but how on earth does it work?
Buyers and sellers will never know each others identity when transacting through the online site, but its founders say such privacy encourages trust and transparency
NewsArt market
'Two cool older boys': Lucian Freud's portrait of David Hockney expected to sell for up to £12m
The work, which took four months to paint in 2002, will be auctioned at Sotheby's this month
NewsArt market
Sotheby's to offer Tim Berners-Lee's original code for world wide web as (you guessed it) an NFT
Berners-Lee says NFTs are the "ideal way to package the origins behind the web"
NewsSmuggling
New York investigators hand over 27 smuggled art objects valued at $3.8m to Cambodia
Charges are pending against two New York-based antiquities dealers linked to the objects
AnalysisArt market
As the Euros kick off, we ask…what has football got to do with art? Quite a lot, actually
The European Super League, an elite alliance betraying football’s roots, was scuppered by fans. These same power structures exist in the art world – so where’s the resistance?
NewsArt market
Sotheby's owner Patrick Drahi buys £2.2bn majority stake in BT
The cost-cutting French telecommunications billionaire has formed Altice UK to buy a 12.1% stake in the company
CommentArt market
Jobs for the boys…why I'm starting to feel old amid the new art world order
The thrusting land of NFTs and tech nomads favours the young—and has yet to shake off the old ties of nepotism
NewsArt market
Shoe designer's $18.9m 'Double Eagle' sets new world record for a coin at auction
The unique coin from 1933, part of a collection amassed by luxury shoe designer, Stuart Weitzman, sold at Sotheby's in New York yesterday
NewsArt market
Hauser & Wirth expands its already large footprint in Los Angeles
The gallery is opening a second space in West Hollywood, in a former car showroom
NewsArt market
New Shenzhen DnA event this autumn aims to fill southern China's dearth of contemporary art fairs
New art and design fair in the Chinese boom town of Shenzhen launched by organisers of Art021 in Shanghai and JingArt in Beijing
NewsArt market
If you sell art in the UK, you must register for anti-money laundering supervision by tomorrow—or risk prosecution
"Art market participants" who sell works of art worth €10,000 (£8,600) or more must register with the HMRC by 10 June
NewsArt market
Takashi Murakami organises Outsider art sculpture show in vast New York space
Collectors can still break into market for self-taught work, says fair founder
NewsArt market
US collectors aim to give Indigenous Australian curators 'a seat at the table' with fundraising sale of $1.5m Tommy Lowry Tjapaltjarri painting
L. John and Barbara Wilkerson are selling Two Men Dreaming at Kuluntjarranya via Melbourne gallery to fund new arts leadership education programme in the US
NewsArt market
Slash and burn: does artistic sabotage always pay off?
A slashed Velázquez and a burnt Banksy achieved notoriety, but vandalism in the name of the NFT faces ethical hurdles
BlogDiary
Crypto-crazed Sotheby's launches first virtual gallery in digital metaverse Decentraland
AnalysisArt market
Tokyo aims to take art trade crown from Hong Kong
Can reforms to Japan’s onerous tax system allow Tokyo to replace Hong Kong as the leading art trade hub in Asia, as it was during the “bubble period” of the late 1980s?
NewsArt market
Bonhams consignor withdraws looted Nepalese sculptures from auction
The five figures of Hindu gods once adorned a gilded temple gateway in a Unesco world heritage site
NewsArt market
Art Basel confirms it is happening this September IRL—but with some caveats
Collectors are told they must be fully vaccinated or supply a negative Covid-19 test in line with Swiss government regulations
NewsArt market
Galleries: London's oldest shopping mall needs you
Burlington Arcade has 12 empty units and its owners want art businesses to help fill them
NewsExhibitions
‘For every Malcolm, you need a Martin’: England rugby player Maro Itoje presents exhibition on Black histories missing from UK curriculum
Sports star says he aims to ‘show a fuller picture’ of African history with London gallery show
AnalysisArt market
From sneakers to Pokémon cards: here are five of the hottest collectibles
With baseball cards selling for $5.2m each and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s first ever tweet making $2.9m, people will collect anything if its rare and makes them nostalgic
NewsJulie Mehretu
Julie Mehretu donates major painting to Art for Justice Fund
The auction is estimated to raise $3m to $4m to support efforts to end mass incarceration
NewsArt market
Simon Lee Gallery announces worldwide representation of Venice Biennale artist Sonia Boyce
Boyce says bringing people together for her Venice commission has been like a “gargantuan puzzle”
PreviewLondon Gallery Weekend 2021
Our critic's choice of London Gallery Weekend shows: South
The spotlight turns on south London on 5 June where exciting young artists are getting their debut shows and veterans who represented Britain at the Venice Biennale are making a comeback
CommentLondon Gallery Weekend 2021
Why are there so few black-owned galleries in London?
Despite the stars of so many artists of colour rising in the West, the trend is not reflected within the dealer community
NewsArt market
Artists will not be subject to anti-money laundering regulations, UK Treasury says
After lobbying from art organisations, government has made last-minute decision that creators who sell their work direct to clients will not be classed as "Art Market Participants"
CommentArt market
Inflation is soaring in the US and UK—here's what it means for the art market
When prices rise, investors often buy art to lower risk and increase returns. But the market's buoyancy may be short-lived, as experience tells us
BlogDiary
No Fear in Trying: Unit London gallery launches NFT trading platform
NewsArt market
London gallery hub Cromwell Place partners with Abu Dhabi Art fair to show emerging artists
Fair will show works by Emirati artists Hind Mezaina, Afra Al Dhaheri and Afra Al Suwaidi in South Kensington this June
AnalysisArt fairs
'It’s impossible to compare 2019 and 2021; it’s a completely different world': what has sold at Art Basel in Hong Kong
Fair reaches full Covid capacity on VIP day and the big galleries report hefty sales, including a $19.5m painting by Joan Mitchell
NewsArt market
Artists Samson Young, Angela Su and Lee Kit donate works to fundraise for Hong Kong dealer Anthony Tao Xinshu's hospital treatment
The Gallery Exit founder was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm in December—now 43 artists are selling work to pay for his care
NewsAuctions
Newark Museum of Art’s much-disputed sale of Thomas Cole painting nets $988,000
Auction at Sotheby’s yields promising yet mixed results for museum’s drive to fund collections care
NewsArt market
Experiential art space Superblue (finally) opens in Miami
The inaugural program will feature immersive experiences by Es Devlin, teamLab, James Turrell
NewsArt market
Not laughing now: Banksy loses second trademark case over famous monkey image
Ruling slams British street artist for “sham efforts” in trying to mislead the European Union Intellectual Property Office
CommentArt market
Will gallery weekends replace art fairs?
There are advantages to staying local in a post-pandemic world
NewsArt market
Tefaf Maastricht 2021 cancelled after multiple delays
The cancellation of the Dutch art fair, scheduled for this September, casts some doubt on whether Art Basel will go ahead as planned just a fortnight later
NewsArt market
'Unity is survival': former Pace director Nicola Vassell to open a gallery in New York
Vassell's inaugural exhibition will feature work by the photographer Ming Smith
PreviewArt market
Art Basel in Hong Kong: fair still on track to open amid calls to boycott city and tough coronavirus restrictions
Exhibitors are down from 242 to 104 in a condensed fair that runs alongside Art Central in the same venue from 21 to 23 May
NewsArt market
Frieze got Seoul: fair to launch in South Korea next year
The first event, featuring 100 exhibitors, will run in September 2022 in partnership with Galleries Association of Korea
NewsArt market
Lehmann Maupin opens a summer popup in Taipei, expanding further into the spirited Asian market
The space will open in the Neri & Hu designed Kimpton Hotel Da An in Taiwan
CommentArt market
Why the art market must stop trying to predict the unpredictable and enjoy a well deserved #hotgirlsummer
Life is still uncertain but we know the industry can keep functioning against all odds through the pandemic, so enjoy the sun and save the questions for the autumn
Melanie Gerlis