ReviewBooks
Bryan Robertson: an engrossing book on a brilliant—but forgotten—maverick curator
This is the first publication about the man who put London's Whitechapel Gallery on the international map, but never gained the recognition he deserved
NewsExhibitions
National Gallery hopes Artemisia exhibition will inspire public to 'get through the Covid crisis'
Postponed by the pandemic, the show will reveal Baroque artist's recently discovered intimate letters and "unflinching" paintings
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Centre Pompidou could close for three years for 'essential' renovations
French government also considering option of a seven-year overhaul that would allow the Paris gallery to stay partially open
NewsFilms
Three decades of William Kentridge’s animations go online this week
Goodman Gallery launches video programme today—and you can exclusively watch the premiere of the artist's new film on The Art Newspaper website this Saturday
News US politics
Artists are "Biden the bullet" to support the 2020 Democratic ticket in the lead up to the US election
Pat Steir, Betye Saar and Julie Mehretu are among hundreds of artists donating work to raise funds as the art world rallies to support the Biden-Harris campaign
NewsAndres Serrano
Donald Trump, the brand: a history of the real estate tycoon turned US president in 1,000 objects
Andres Serrano tells us about his multifaceted portrait of the US president in book form, created from his archive of memorabilia
NewsGrand Palais
Grand Palais's long-awaited renovation curtailed over soaring costs
Following government intervention, the historic Parisian exhibition space will now undergo a more 'sober restoration'
AnalysisControversies
Philip Guston’s KKK paintings ‘are not asleep—they’re woke’: catalogue contradicts museum statement controversially halting show
Essays from African American artists such as Glenn Ligon and Trenton Doyle Hancock show that issues were being addressed
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Has Putin’s $1.6bn plan to build new cultural centres throughout Russia hit the rocks?
Foundation running the huge project has cut more than 80% of staff, but construction continues
BlogBook Club
An expert’s guide to Artemisia Gentileschi: five must-read books on the Italian artist
All you ever wanted to know about Artemisia, from the best biographies to a book about her place in early modern feminism—selected by Italian painting specialist Letizia Treves
InterviewArt market
'I'm always amazed, in this business, by how seriously some people take themselves': Stephen Friedman on 25 years as an art dealer
The Canadian came to London as a 22-year-old, fell in love with the city and never left
NewsAuctions
Los Angeles shows its love for Beirut with online charity art auction
Standout works include a haunting photograph by Rania Matar and an image of Muhammad Ali by French street artist Mr Brainwash
NewsArt market
Cowan’s auction house returns indigenous war god sculpture to a Zuni Pueblo
The figures, carved by tribal members every winter and left in ceremonial shrines atop a mountain, have regularly been stolen and made their into museums and private collections throughout the US and Europe
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Quebec Culture Minister promises overhaul of Montreal Museum of Fine Arts after independent report cites governance issues
The redacted report suggests major changes, including the creation of an ethics committee or a reduction in the board’s size
NewsObituaries
Robert Bechtle, Bay Area photorealist whose work captured the magic of everyday moments, has died, aged 88
The painter created hyper realistic images based on photographs he took in his Bay Area neighbourhood
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From a tribute to Breonna Taylor at Mitchell Innes & Nash to the Public Art Fund's portals placed through Central Park
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in London this weekend
From transgressive Tantra at the British Museum to a series of artistic interventions in Brent's libraries
NewsteamLab
TeamLab to open permanent installation in Shanghai nightclub
It is the latest move by the multimedia collective whose interactive works often attract large crowds
CommentMuseums & Heritage
The only way is ethics: US museums should not neglect provenance research in the funding crisis
Ethical institutional practices such as staff equity and due diligence are essential investments, "not merely a luxury for flush times"
AnalysisArt market
V.S. Gaitonde's £3.4m record-breaking painting leads strong South Asian sales season
Glut of collections have come to auction this month, with strong results for lesser-known Indian Modernists broadening a narrow market
CommentDeaccessioning
Done right, selling museum pieces can work—but probably not with Michelangelos
UK museums may deaccession collection objects with curatorial justification and transparency, but it cannot be treated as a quick financial fix
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Inside The Box: Plymouth’s £48m bid for cultural revival
Pandemic scuppers city’s celebrations of Mayflower anniversary and hopes for tourist crowds—but flagship museum project opens against the odds
NewsArt market
Art Basel in Hong Kong and Art Central—under one roof in 2021
The two fairs will take place at the same time in the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre in March
NewsPhilip Guston
Critics, scholars—and even museum’s own curator—condemn decision to postpone Philip Guston show over Ku Klux Klan imagery
Move is deemed “cowardly” and “patronising” after joint statement from host museums including National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and London’s Tate Modern
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
Gauguin claims credit for Van Gogh’s Sunflowers: the revelations of a rediscovered manuscript
In Avant et Après—just acquired by London's Courtauld Gallery—Gauguin details his tumultuous time with Van Gogh
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Royal Academy of Arts considers selling Michelangelo marble to plug financial hole—and not for the first time
Some academicians argue that instead of cutting almost half of the institution's jobs, it should consider selling the Taddei Tondo—worth several hundred million pounds
FeatureBook Club
Ka-boom! How art history is embracing the comic book genre
Publishers looking for ways to draw in wider audiences to the lives and careers of famous artists are increasingly turning to graphic novels
NewsPhilanthropy
Amid pandemic, foundations marshal $156m to support minority arts organisations in the US
Funds are intended to counter the devastation that the coronavirus has wrought in the national arts landscape
CommentPolitics
Philip Guston drew Richard Nixon's face as a hairy scrotum and phallus—what would he make of President Trump?
The physiognomy of deviousness, greed, ruthless opportunism, risible self-importance and gobsmacking albeit garden variety stupidity provides artists of Guston’s bent and calibre with a virtually bottomless well of imagery
NewsVideo, film & new media
New Jersey artist residency turns their campus into a free drive-in theatre
Gardenship in Kearny Point has been hosting video art exhibitions and film screenings during the pandemic, including the Jean Michel-Basquiat cult classic Downtown 81 this weekend
PreviewExhibitions
What can we learn from the Salem Witch Trials?
A historical exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum traces the political and religious forces that led to the executions of innocent people
NewsThe Art Newspaper Live
Sign up for our third and final 'New Models for New Times' event on 22 October: Clare McAndrew in conversation with Georgina Adam
In the culminating talk of our latest event series, economist Clare McAndrew and Georgina Adam discuss the future of the art market. Presented in partnership with Cromwell Place
NewsThe Art Newspaper Live
Sign up for our first 'New Models for New Times' event on 8 October: Is the new spirit of collaboration lip-service or game-changing?
Galleries are increasingly teaming up to stay afloat—but for how long? Featuring Pilar Corrias, Caroline Douglas, Sunny Rahbar and Neil Wenman. Presented in partnership with Cromwell Place
NewsThe Art Newspaper Live
Sign up for our second 'New Models for New Times' event on 15 October: Breaking boundaries—local is the new global
Globalisation has shaped the art market we know today, but will the current shift to the local be a help or hindrance to emerging markets in Africa and Asia? Featuring Rachel Lehmann, Sundaram Tagore, Rakeb Sile and Ayo Adenyinka. Presented in partnership with Cromwell Place
NewsThe Art Newspaper Live
The Art Newspaper Live returns! Registration now open for 'New models for new times: Rethinking the art market in a changing world'
Join industry thought leaders like Sunny Rabhar, Ayo Adeyinka and Clare McAndrew in conversation with our art market experts in a three-part series of events beginning 8 October. Presented in partnership with Cromwell Place
NewsPublic art
New public art project in London will show works by Ai Weiwei and Eddie Peake on Europe's largest billboard
The digital art platform CIRCA will commission a new artist every month to create a work that reflects on the year 2020
NewsRestitution
Police search for Benin Bronze protestor—found guilty of 'threatening behaviour'
Isaiah Ogundele, who demonstrated outside the Museum of London, Docklands for the objects' repatriation, failed to appear at his court hearing earlier this month
NewsConservation & Preservation
National Trust for Historic Preservation lists 11 most endangered historic sites in US
Locations range from the Chicago church where Emmett Till’s body was viewed, galvanising the civil rights movement, to a ‘Hall of Waters’ in Missouri
BlogDiary
Auction in aid of pioneering Hospital Rooms charity goes live from London
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Discover Raphael’s creative process with new state-of-the-art renovation of V&A's Cartoons Court
New 3D imagery reveals secrets of the Renaissance masterpieces as space reopens in time for 500th anniversary of Old Master's death
NewsAuctions
This $80m Botticelli could be one of the most expensive portraits ever sold at auction
The painting, to be offered at Sotheby's New York in January, is estimated to sell for 100 times more than the owner paid for it in 1982
NewsLawsuits
Insurers fight $107m claim for Modigliani paintings seized by Italian police
A US dealer says he is owed millions by insurance brokers for 12 works that were confiscated by authorities from the Palazzo Ducale in 2017 as suspected fakes
AnalysisProtest
Student flash mobs in Thailand target ‘art scene run by elite old men’
Recent demonstrations break a long-held taboo–criticism of the Thai monarchy, an institution which protesters believe is the main obstruction to democracy
NewsMuseums & Heritage
As US blocks TikTok, Italy's Uffizi claims the platform has doubled its number of young visitors
Experts predict that alternative platforms such as Byte App and Dubsmash will now go mainstream and museum's director says it is "ready to jump onto new social media"
NewsLaw
Robert Indiana’s Star of Hope reaches deal with Morgan Art Foundation to end ongoing legal battles
The two organisations will work together to settle the artist’s estate and get his charitable foundation up and running in Maine
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Stone, bronze, glass, pathways: Princeton University Art Museum unveils David Adjaye's design
Pavilions linked by transparent “lenses” will dispense with hierarchies and display renowned collection on a single level
NewsAcquisitions
American Folk Art Museum announces gift of over 500 works by self-taught artists
Trove donated by collector Audrey B. Heckler includes examples of European Art Brut and works by African-American artists
NewsAuction houses
Hedge fund manager Alexander Klabin buys stake in Sotheby's financing arm
Now the chairman of Sotheby's Financial Services, Klabin was previously approached to back a competing offer to block last year's buyout of the auction house by Patrick Drahi
NewsArt market
Class of 2020: five picks from Art Basel's online viewing room (another one)
The latest virtual fair, OVR:2020, limits 100 galleries to showing six works each, all produced this year—we pick our highlights
NewsAcquisitions
What Beatrix Ruf did next: former Stedelijk director oversees new fund that will donate works to the Netherlands
Dutch entrepreneur Rob Defares has donated €10m to the new initiative
PreviewExhibitions
‘If they don’t have a story behind them, what’s the use?’ Elijah Pierce's woodcarvings portray America in the 20th century
Images of the Kennedys, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Watergate scandal go on show at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia
NewsArt crime
Two Manhattan antiquities dealers arrested on charges of fraud
Authorities have accused Erdal Dere and Faisal Khan of running an alleged scheme to swindle buyers by using fake provenances
NewsBrazil
Court-ordered auction of works from disgraced Brazilian banker's collection prompts new controversy
The Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of São Paulo claims it is owed $3.6m for conserving and storing around 1,600 works repossessed from bankrupt Banco Santos president Edemar Cid Ferreira
Newsdiversity
Rockefeller Brothers Fund plans $1.5m in grants to help New York museums promote diverse artists
Financial aid will help eight institutions “disrupt dominant narratives” and “build back a more equitable culture” after Covid lockdown
ReviewExhibitions
Virtual photography show reveals modern Lebanon's many layers of tragedy
Lebanon Then and Now: Photography from 2006 to 2020 hosted by Washington, DC's Middle East Institute is both timely and prescient
NewsPolitics
Activist groups condemn 'unjust' imprisonment of Sudanese artists including award-winning filmmaker Hajooj Kuka
Human Rights Watch among the organisations criticising the decision by Khartoum court to convict pro-democracy collective that were rehearsing a performance
NewsMuseums
Paris court case shines a light on growing cosiness between curators, state museums and galleries
Marlborough gallery and a retired Guimet Museum curator are accused of bribery in their promotion of the artist Chu Teh-Chun—but say they broke no rules
BlogDiary
Down the rabbit hole—V&A brings Alice in Wonderland to life in virtual reality sneak preview
NewsDiscoveries
Sculpture by Arno Breker—one of Hitler’s favourite artists—found buried in Berlin museum garden
Missing for 75 years, the large marble head, one of the artist's best-known works, was uncovered by chance during construction work at Kunsthaus Dahlem
NewsMuseums
Plans for world's biggest Picasso museum in south of France scuppered
Aix-en-Provence city council says that sale fell through after negotiations with artist’s stepdaughter broke down
NewsMonuments
Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be memorialised with statue in Brooklyn
Governor Andrew Cuomo has suggested a site for the monument of the Supreme Court justice, overlooking the Statue of Liberty
NewsDonald Trump
US President Donald Trump’s angry tweets recorded in tiny pricks
How one woman’s frustrations inspired an army of needlework artists—and a series of exhibitions
NewsFeminism
Vancouver painter’s $100 Facebook portraits raise more than $150,000 for residency project
Proto-Riot Grrrl Jean Smith plans to launch space to support international artists
NewsThe Art Car Boot Fair
‘Viral’ online art fair crashes and is postponed after proving too popular
The launch of the first virtual edition of the Art Car Boot Fair was cancelled after users overwhelmed the website
NewsFunding
New £25m fund aims to help UK museums ‘get back on their feet’
The Garfield Weston foundation is offering grants of up to £2m while Historic England is launching a £7.4m initiative for artist projects that help boost high streets
ReviewExhibitions
The Big Review: Gauguin and the Impressionists at the Royal Academy of Arts
The London exhibition has many highlights, but viewing this long-planned show is unlike anyone could have envisaged before the coronavirus pandemic
NewsMuseums
Chair of Montreal Museum of Fine Arts steps down as former director sues over unfair dismissal
Michel de la Chenelière is not seeking term renewal as controversy over Nathalie Bondil's departure rumbles on
NewsArt fairs
Online market place for art continues to grow as new digital fair announced during Frieze week
Daata fair is dedicated to video and digital works and aims to reach collectors who “simply don’t have the patience” to watch films at real-life fairs
NewsPaul Gauguin
Rediscovered Paul Gauguin manuscript written in his Polynesian hut reveals artist's hidden secrets
Original book with nearly 30 images has been acquired by London's Courtauld Gallery and will go on display next year
BlogDiary
Cattelan’s notorious banana finds a home at the Guggenheim
NewsWhitney Museum of American Art
Artists urge the Whitney to review its ethical practices following backlash over cancelled exhibition
An open letter calls for the Whitney to “commit to a year of action—of mobilisation and introspection”
PreviewBiennials & festivals
Rosewater soda and a coronavirus memorial: what to see at the Brent Biennial
From Dawn Mellor's George Michael mural to Rasheed Araeen's anarchic library installation
NewsMuseums
Citing pandemic, V&A and Smithsonian drop plan to co-curate a gallery in London
After cancellation of project for V&A East, the institutions say they still plan to cooperate on an internship programme
PreviewExhibitions
Japan's leading photography festival comes to Kyoto this weekend
The eighth edition of Kyotographie will include exhibitions in venues ranging from traditional wooden townhouses to shopping arcades
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in London this weekend
From Jadé Fadojutimi's purposeful paintings at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery to Trevor Paglen's floral AI animations at Pace
NewsPhotography
Photographers fear steep costs and little payment for covering protests
A lack of protections for—and an increase in domestic dangers to—photojournalists is becoming increasingly visible amid the pandemic and political rallies
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From Brian Clarke's light-filled stained glass at the Museum of Arts and Design to Dan Herschlein's dark horror movie tropes at JTT gallery
NewsOpenings
Pack your goggles! France to open three underwater sculpture parks this autumn
Visitors will need to swim to see new exhibits submerged off the coast of Corsica, Marseille and Cannes
NewsFilm
A new documentary chronicles the revolutionary power of Mexican artist and activist David Siqueiro's murals
"Siqueiros: Walls of Passion" includes voice work by actor Cheech Marin and explores the restoration of the artist's iconic and controversial LA mural "América Tropical"
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
High school student leads archaeologists to lost Inca settlement
A local boy pointed out the spot in northwest Argentina where researchers discovered the previously unrecorded site Cerro Quemado
ReviewArt & Technology
Cammie Staros evokes environmentally apocalyptic scenarios on the Lux Art Institute app
An expert view brought to you by our XR Panel of artists and storytellers
BlogThe Buck stopped here
Cartoon constellations and deserted deserts: hop on board Andy Holden's ghost train ride
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
Van Gogh exhibitions return—exclusive news all the way up to 2024
From olive groves to peat moors: shows coming up in Dallas, Amsterdam, Detroit, Vienna, Assen, Columbus and Santa Barbara
NewsRoyal Academy of Arts
London’s Royal Academy of Arts plans to slash 40% of jobs
Cuts have been announced as the institution aims to make savings of £8m a year and awaits news on government grant
PreviewNalini Malani
'The past is being weaponised': Nalini Malani's anti-fascist animations come to the Whitechapel Gallery
Eighty-eight of the artist’s iPad drawings will be projected across the gallery's walls for her first UK solo show
NewsArt market
Controversy erupts over Fiac cancellation
Paris's major contemporary art fair has been scrapped due to Covid-19 fears, but galleries are divided over whether the decision was wise or "lacking courage"
NewsMuseums
Indian museum celebrating Muslim dynasty renamed after Hindu king
The museum, located in Agra, will show art, jewellery and fashion of the Mughal Empire
NewsDeaccessioning
Cranach, Courbet and Corot: a closer look at what the Brooklyn Museum is selling off
The institution is deaccessioning its only Cranach and 11 other works to finance care of its collection
NewsConservation & Preservation
As the world contends with Covid, World Monuments Fund makes a bet on sustainable tourism
Taking a lesson from how the pandemic dispersed crowds, the organisation selects seven sites for preservation and promotion
NewsMuseum trustees
Groups call for removal of Lacma trustee tied to ‘exploitative’ telecommunications company
Organisations target Tom Gores, whose firm invests in a corporation accused of charging prison inmates “egregious” rates for calls
NewsArt market
Lisson, Sadie Coles HQ and Stephen Friedman to open (temporarily) on London's Cork Street during Frieze week
In lieu of an October fair, the blue-chip galleries will congregate around the Mayfair street during what would—under normal circumstances—be the London art market's busiest month
NewsBanksy
Banksy loses trademark battle over his famous Flower Thrower image
The street artist opened a pop-up shop in Croydon last year in a bid to protect his image rights, but was found to have “acted in bad faith”
NewsArt market
UK High Court ruling could be 'welcome news' for arts organisations denied Covid-19 insurance payout
Judgment this week ruled in favour of the Financial Conduct Authority's test case seeking clarification of policies as many insurers refuse to pay out during the pandemic
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Fotografiska complex in London—world’s ‘largest photography venue’—is dropped
Investment group behind the project blames Brexit and Covid-19
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Activist employee group demands resignations of three Guggenheim leaders
But support for the statement, alleging “oppressive behaviours” by director, chief operating officer and chief curator, is unclear
NewsElection 2020
Wake up call: artist Hank Willis Thomas wants to spur voter turnout with the Wide Awakes group
Based on the 1860 Wide Awake movement that mobilised against slavery and helped elect Lincoln, the new network of artists and creatives has launched Kickstarter's largest collaboration to date
BlogThe Buck stopped here
The Art Car Boot Fair goes online—with virtual studio visits and a surprise mother-daughter double act
NewsMumbai
Street art by ‘India’s Banksy’ defaced by right-wing youth group in Mumbai
Tyler Street Artist had painted the names of pro-government public figures onto a road for a collaborative public shaming project
AnalysisArt market
The fairs are back in town: greater China reopens for business
Art021, West Bund Art & Design Fair and Art Taipei among fairs due to open in the region this autumn despite travel restrictions, shipping woes and Covid-19 fears
Comment US politics
For the arts, there’s only one choice in this election
The Biden-Harris campaign has pledged funding and support for arts and culture as a key policy issue
Tanya Selvaratnam