Latest
Sam Gilliam, a painter revered for draped canvases rich in colour, has died, aged 88
The abstract painter associated with the Washington Color School achieved global renown beginning in the 1970s for his unique uses of colour and canvas
FBI raids Florida museum, seizing 25 Basquiat paintings amid questions regarding their authenticity
The works had purportedly been sitting in a storage unit for 30 years before resurfacing in 2012 and eventually going on view at the Orlando Museum of Art
Reversing course after shakeup, San Francisco school board votes to keep controversial George Washington murals on view
Previously destined to be painted over, then simply covered up, the WPA frescoes have been at the centre of debates about US history, education and representation for four years
Cuban government sentences dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara to five years in prison
After more than a year in prison, Otero Alcántara was convicted of “insulting national symbols” for using the Cuban flag in is work in what the government considered a disrespectful way.
From Whitechapel to Saudi Arabia: Iwona Blazwick takes up a new post as AlUla public art supremo
Drive to rebrand Middle Eastern country as a cultural destination underpinned by human rights concerns
Art market
Galleries bring out the 'big guns' for Tefaf Maastricht—but sales are slower than usual
Dealers say that the two-year gap between the Dutch fair's editions has helped galleries to bring higher quality works
Su-suit-io: Alamo experts sue authors of a book suggesting they sold phoney artefacts from the battle to British pop star Phil Collins
The authors of the book imply that antiquities dealer Alexander McDuffie and historian Joseph Musso faked inscriptions and fraudulently authenticated artefacts that were set for a revamped Alamo site
South London galleries join forces and relocate to Fitzrovia as emerging art market matures
Castor and Indigo+Madder are jointly taking a space and will share offices and viewing rooms—though will operate separate exhibition programmes
Art Basel is not just an art fair, it is a technology platform
The emergence of NFTs has ignited the concept of "platforms" in the art world, but they are already everywhere
‘No one can interfere with our offensive’: Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovsky compares Russian export of culture to country’s ‘operation’ in Ukraine
St. Petersburg museum also announces “a one-year moratorium on exhibitions in Europe and the US”
British Council teams up with Ukrainian Institute to provide nine-month platform for creatives from besieged nation
The initiative marks 30 years of formal cultural relations between the two countries
One of Ukraine's leading avant-garde artists to get major presentation at Tefaf Maastricht
Works by Oleksandr Bohomazov, priced up to €1.75m, will be presented by James Butterwick and Modernism galleries
New St Petersburg fair launches during Art Basel as Russia’s art scene copes with new reality
The new 1703 contemporary art fair, sponsored by the Kremlin-controlled Gazprom, overlaps exactly with the Swiss fair, which has long been a destination for Russian collectors
Museums & Heritage
Faculty at the ArtCenter College of Design in Southern California vote to form union
Faculty at the school voted 60% in favour of forming the union, which will represent some 700 people
Historic Beirut house damaged in city's devastating port explosion is reconstructed at Victoria & Albert Museum in London
The work charts an architect’s personal crusade to restore one of the finest remaining examples of Ottoman-Venetian homes in Old Beirut.
Indigenous tribes will co-manage Utah’s long-contested Bears Ears National Monument
The governance and size of the monument have been disputed for years, and Utah Republicans are still trying to block president Biden's 2021 expansion of its boundaries
New dam could drown ancient Iraqi city of Ashur
Having survived Islamic State, Assyrian capital is under threat once again
Diary
Exhibitions
Slow down and consider Katherina Fritsch’s first Greek exhibition—a ‘retrospective’ with a difference
This perfectly formed show at the George Economou Collection in Athens provides a complex self-portrait of one of our most thoughtful contemporary artists
Fish scales, nettles and banana leaf? Exhibition of traditional Japanese garments made with unusual materials opens in Minneapolis
A show at the Minneapolis Institute of Art displays more than 120 Japanese textiles made from the stuff of nature
Move aside Paul McCartney! Ai Weiwei and Ai-Da the robot to debut work at this year's Glastonbury Festival in England
At the Somerset music event, the Chinese dissident artist is screening a film about his family's history as prisoners of conscience
More than 100 artists will feature in the 2022 edition of the Carnegie International, America’s longest-running recurring exhibition
The exhibition, titled ‘Is it morning for you yet’ and curated by Sohrab Mohebbi, opens in Pittsburgh on 24 September
Documenta drama: the six most controversial (and confusing) things we saw at the Kassel exhibition
The opening of the quinquennial, curated by Indonesian collective ruangrupa, featured overworked employees and a BDSM party with a provocative entry policy
Books
Rich volume examining knights and their shining armour goes beyond popular romantic notions
Book provides excellent overview of the history of and meaning behind orders, tournaments and armour
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.
London's 'spectacular' 2024 Van Gogh show will focus on the artist’s greatest period—we delve into the details
“Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers” at the National Gallery will be presented in themes, tracing the story of his stay in Provence
The Week in Art
A podcast bringing you the latest news from the art world, every week
Documenta 15: why is the show so scandalous?
Plus, the Warhol-Prince copyright dispute, and Juan Muñoz at Spain’s Centro Botin
Book Club
Old Master meets YBAs: James Cahill tells us all about his debut novel
The author explains why his new coming-of-age novel is set against the backdrop of the 1990s art world and what drew him to the paintings of the titular Tiepolo
An expert's guide to Piet Mondrian: four must-read books on the Dutch artist
All you ever wanted to know about Mondrian, from a comprehensive biography to a book about his various studios—selected by the curator Ulf Küster
June book bag: the marvels of marble, the latest on Marina Abramović and the memoir of forgotten dealer Berthe Weill
Our roundup of the latest art publications
What is the life of a muse like? Not as amusing as you may think
The subjects of great works of art have not always led the romanticised life we imagine, as examples from a new book show
Meet Blaise Cendrars: the one-armed poet who worked with Sonia Delaunay, Fernand Léger and Robert Doisneau
New overview brings Modernism trailblazer to the fore
Our guide to the Venice Biennale
The stuff of dreams: Cecilia Alemani delivers a perfectly judged Biennale
The Milk of Dreams is a "show of ripples and resonances, one that honours its artists"
The gossip from the Venice Biennale: Tinie Tempah takes on Tintoretto and totes too many totes
Plus, Sir Normal Rosenthal and Macron becomes an art meme
Venice Biennale 2022: the worst art on show in the city
There's a lot to see in Venezia—save precious time and skip these
Venice Biennale 2022: the must-see collateral exhibitions around the city
Writhing bodies in a deconsecrated church, BDE at the Ducale and an entirely improvised pavilion—what to see beyond the Arsenale and Giardini
Venice Biennale 2022: the must-see pavilions in the Arsenale
From a Gauguin impersonation to fire raining from the sky, here are the best exhibitions in the city's former shipyards
A brush with... podcast
A podcast that asks artists the questions you've always wanted to
A brush with... Megan Rooney
An in-depth interview with the artist on her cultural experiences and greatest influences, from Maxine Kumin to Henry Moore