San Francisco

After San Francisco loses Gagosian, the city's galleries are collaborating to survive

Mega-gallery's closure will not affect Californian city's small but vibrant art scene, local dealers say—this is "not a place that responds to grandiose braggadoci"

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet, painter, and founder of San Francisco’s City Lights bookstore, has died, aged 101

Throughout his life, he continued to paint and write books, showing his literature-infused art in New York just last year

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

San Francisco Art Institute says it is reinstating degree programmes

Decision follows the resolution of contract disputes with tenured faculty and an infusion of funds

San Francisco university in talks with US government about preserving New Deal-era murals slated for destruction

The General Services Administration considers paintings by Bernard Zakheim federal property on loan to the school, it says

Suspected arson damages Andy Goldsworthy’s Spire in San Francisco’s Presidio park

The 100ft-tall sculpture is still standing after a major blaze, but crews will determine if it can remain in place

Mayors of major US cities urge Congress to provide additional support for the arts and culture sector

Spearheaded by the San Francisco Arts Alliance, more than 20 mayors have signed a letter requesting additional aid in its next relief package

Artists explore the dark side of AI in Silicon Valley's backyard

The exhibition of 13 artists, at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, will include works about automation and machine bias

Championing African American abstraction: inside the collection of Pamela Joyner

The San Francisco-based philanthropist tells us what she's bought and why

San Francisco fairs reflect the Bay Area's widening wealth gap

While Fog Design+Art and Untitled continue to draw established dealers, younger galleries opt out due to concerns over the wider cultural economy

Street artist paints ginormous portrait of eco warrior Greta Thunberg in San Francisco

Cobre defends use of spray paint in creating eight-storey mural, saying his materials are environmentally friendly

Postcommodity plays the soundtrack of destruction in San Francisco

The city’s Millennium Tower is sinking, so the arts collective created an ASMR record from data recording the skyscraper’s plunge to be played until the building is fixed or torn down

San Francisco selected an artist to create a monument to Maya Angelou—then rejected her

Two weeks after winning a competition from more than 100 submissions, Lava Thomas’s commission offer was rescinded and the city said they would restart the process anew

James Tissot: the 19th century painter who swapped high society for the Holy Land

Long dismissed for its religiosity, Tissot’s biblical work will be given new context in San Francisco

Grant will help restore two long-lost frescoes in San Francisco

The conservation project contrasts with a decision to cover up a controversial 1930s school mural in the same city

Oakland’s ‘museum of the people’ launches $85m capital campaign

Renovation aims to reflect the demographic diversity of the birthplace of the Black Panthers

San Francisco school board votes to preserve but conceal a controversial mural

Its 4-3 decision reverses an earlier vote to paint over a 1930s work that some parents and board members found racist and damaging to students

African American leaders object to erasure of controversial school mural in San Francisco

Local figures defend portrayal of the nation’s blemished early history

Podcastspodcast

Top of the Pods: the world of Warhol, as told by Jeremy Deller and Donna De Salvo

With the Pop artist's blockbuster retrospective currently on show at SFMoMA, we delve into the life and legacy of the ever-popular painter with artist Jeremy Deller and curator Donna De Salvo. Produced in association with Bonhams, auctioneers since 1793.

Chinainterview

An artist’s memories of Tiananmen Square

The Bay Area artist Stella Zhang was a senior at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing during the student-led protests. She has created a new work based on those memories—and the government’s efforts to silence them

Three exhibitions to see in San Francisco this weekend

From a Modernist community on California's northern coast, to the kimono's continuing influence on international fashion

San Francisco’s Van Gogh is the real deal

The still life of fruit and chestnuts, until recently dismissed as a fake, was painted in Paris

a blog by Martin Bailey

Dealers cash in on San Francisco’s wealth of museums at Untitled Art and FOG fairs

The Bay Area collector base may be known for its tech-mined millions but institutions fuelled sales at the growing West Coast fairs

The slow and meticulous work of Vija Celmins zooms into view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Artist’s retrospective encourages viewers to take their time when looking in the modern age

San Francisco show celebrates diversity of Muslim fashion

As debates on the burqa rage worldwide, De Young Museum exhibition explores complexities and range of Islamic dress

What René Magritte did when Surrealism was trumped by ‘Nazi idiots’

Exhibition at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art explores Belgium artist's lesser-known late period

San Francisco promotes pro-immigrant projects

The programming series comes as Trump’s administration is fighting California over its "sanctuary state" laws

History repeating itself? Three major US shows look at 1930s art and political climate

Exhibitions of Grant Wood, Precisionism and interwar Europe draw parallels with today

Are there any artists left in San Francisco?

City survey investigates the effect of tech boom rent rises on the arts sector