Switzerland

Artefacts in Swiss museums were looted from the Kingdom of Benin, new report says

Many of the works investigated show a direct link to the violent 1897 raid by British forces, and may lead to the transfer of objects to Nigeria

Swiss dealers and collectors make their mark at artgenève—with optimistic advice for Brexit Britain

Local galleries at the Geneva fair welcome strong showing from Swiss-French and German buyers

Russian embassy takes offence at Vladimir Putin clown and rainbow picture

Russian officials in Switzerland say they are “outraged” by LGBTQ connection and “war criminal” label

Ukrainian artists stage war crimes exhibition at Russia House in Davos for World Economic Forum

Show opens ahead of Ukrainian President Zelenksy's address at the global summit

Swiss museum to part with 29 works from Gurlitt trove suspected of being Nazi loot

Kunstmuseum Bern announces results of in-depth provenance investigation of controversial 2014 bequest

Swiss parliament urged to take action on Nazi-looted art amid Kunsthaus Zurich controversy

Zurich museum's displays of the collection of arms dealer Emil Georg Bührle have prompted criticism and a national debate

Geneva museum director fights attempt to oust him

Around 100 scholars have signed a petition to the city’s mayor arguing that Marc-Olivier Wahler is not the right person to run the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire

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

A Bronze Age village is discovered beneath Lake Lucerne

Archaeologists find remains of houses on stilts, possibly dating to 1000BC, which indicates Lucerne was settled earlier than thought

Paul Klee’s grandson Alexander Klee, artist and arts patron, dies aged 80

Bern's Zentrum Paul Klee will devote an exhibition to the artist this summer

Swiss museums can reopen from 1 March as country eases lockdown restrictions

Fondation Beyeler will shows Arp and Rodin while Kunstmuseum Bern has a show on Latin American political art

Exhibitionsinterview

Mary Heilmann: My work follows 'no linear time. It's all a chunk'

As her Hauser & Wirth exhibition launches online, the 81-year-old artist tells us about her early influences, being taught by David Hockney, and why pink is punk

An arms dealer casts a shadow over Kunsthaus Zurich

Petition calls for more transparency in planned display of the collection of Emil Georg Bührle, who bought Nazi-looted art with a fortune built on weapons

Kunsthaus Zurich counts down to ‘quantum leap’ for Swiss art scene after Chipperfield expansion

City hopes the $230m new building will raise its profile as an art destination to match Basel

Blockbuster Edward Hopper show is relaunched as Swiss museums come out of 'recent slumber'

Museums in South Korea and Hong Kong have also started reopening after coronavirus lockdowns

New art space in Basel will offer free shows

The opening exhibition of the Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger, during next year's Art Basel fair, will focus on Caribbean artists

Aliph global protection fund announces 14 projects across multiple war zones

The Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, Syria’s Raqqa Museum and Mosul libraries all safeguarded

UK art market recovered in 2018, with hike in exports to UAE while trade with Switzerland declines

Global art and antiques imports and exports in and out of the UK increased last year but are yet to reach the levels seen during the 2015 peak

Artgenève bridges Switzerland's language divide

Eighth edition of fair attracts more blue-chip and German-speaking Swiss galleries keen to meet Geneva's Francophone collectors

Swiss prosecutor returns 'Mesopotamian' terracotta animal made by dealer's 11-year-old-daughter—along with 5,000 seized antiquities

A further 6,000 items belonging to Ali Aboutaam of Phoenix Ancient Art are still held by authorities in Geneva

Swiss centre set to open in Lens to honour Pierre Arnaud

The new arts centre will present two annual exhibitions, starting with 'Divisionism'

Unescoarchive

Switzerland to implement 1970 UNESCO Convention legislation on 1st June

Switzerland’s is known for its pivotal presence in the underground network that moves illicitly excavated artefacts from country to country

Art Baselarchive

Harald Szeemann remembered at Art Basel

At a function in honour of the prolific curator, friend Guido Magnaguagno recounted their time together fondly

Books: Restitution justice, American style

Two books reveal the complexities involved in restitution

Unescoarchive

Long the hub of the illicit antiquities trade, Switzerland is moving towards ratification of the 1970 Unesco Convention

Switzerland also debating new national legislation to make the movement of art and artefacts more transparent

Lettersarchive

Delacroix fraud warning from catalogue raisonné author

Lee Johnson advises that false documentation bearing his name is being circulated

Giacometti's expressions of moment-to-moment mortal experience to be subject of centenary exhibition at the Fondation de l'Hermitage

While the retrospective spans every stage of his career, his portraits of Robert Sainsbury and other members of the Sainsbury Family constitute the focal point

Collectorsarchive

Swiss say philanthropist collector is senile and have blocked his foundations, art and money

Legal battle over Dr Gustav Rau’s paintings, which he wants to give to Unicef, and which are on loan to Paris