Analysiselection 2020
What the presidential election means for the US art market—no matter who is in the Oval Office
A dwindling middle market faces a stingy Senate while rising inequality and public unrest could prompt even more private sales
PreviewPrivate view
Our pick of must-see gallery shows opening around the world in November
From new works by the emerging artist Collins Obijiaku in Accra to a pre-election tribute to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg in Los Angeles
NewsCovid-19
Exclusive survey: how small US galleries are surviving the coronavirus crisis as Trump tables relief plans
With a second federal aid package stalled until after the election, our study reveals the financial straits some galleries are finding themselves in—and how they are responding
NewsArt market
Giacometti, De Chirico and Alfa Romeo cars lead Sotheby's $283m New York sales after major museum works abruptly pulled
Following weeks of controversy, the Baltimore Museum of Art withdrew two paintings just hours before the auction while many other works sold near low estimates
NewsArt market
Miami Beach launches residency programme to help artists and businesses in lieu of Art Basel tourism revenue
The initiative encourages property owners to lend their vacant spaces for free and offers $2,500 stipends to artists—but they may still need to pay rent
NewsArt market
Sotheby's to offer monumental Giacometti bronze in rare 'sealed bid' sale with a minimum bid of $90m
Last sold at auction for $4.9m, offers will be reviewed ahead of the auction house's contemporary and Impressionist and Modern art evening sales on 28 October in New York
Newscoronavirus
New York lawmakers to discuss the economic impact of Covid-19 on cultural institutions
"The arts and cultural sector has been especially hard hit," says Senator José Serrano
NewsStolen art
Stolen Mao Zedong scroll worth $300m found cut in half after being resold for $65
Hong Kong police have arrested three men in relation to a $645m heist that included calligraphy by the Communist leader and other revolutionary art and ephemera
NewsAuctions
T-Rex takes on Twombly at Christie's $341m 20th-century evening sale
Unusual $32m Jurassic-era offering stole the high-tech livestreamed show in New York, but buyers kept bids cautious elsewhere
NewsProtests
Social media advocacy group calls for a boycott of all US museums in October
The @changethemuseum Instagram account is demanding rapid change to address inequality in institutions, but even with the support of the Guerilla Girls, their calls are being met with skepticism
PreviewPrivate view
Private view: must see gallery shows opening in October
From Theaster Gates's black bricks at Gagosian to Gillian Wearing's contemplative lockdown self-portraits at Maureen Paley
NewsArt market
A new online auction house wants to reduce speculation on emerging artists' markets
Founded by former Christie's vice president Shlomi Rabi, Greenhouse will also donate 5% from every sale to a scholarship fund for Black students studying art history
NewsArts funding
Leading New York non-profit for socially engaged art lays off full-time staff and announces multi-year restructuring
Following the financial fallout from Covid-19, A Blade of Grass—which has supported activist artists such as Dread Scott and Simone Leigh—will also end its influential fellowship programme
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
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
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
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
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
NewsCommercial galleries
Cancel art galleries? Staff take grievances against employers to Instagram
Anonymously posted incidents of racism and sexism are forcing greater scrutiny towards problematic behaviour within the industry
NewsLabour
It is not just artists who are starving: how the US can rebuild its creative industry post-Covid
A proposal issued to both presidential campaigns by Americans for the Arts outlines a national strategy to put creative workers back to work
NewsMoney laundering
Will US Congress finally pass anti-money laundering legislation?
A recent Senate report found that secretive art market enables sanctions circumvention
NewsUnions
With unemployment at an historic high, America's art workers band together
Labour organising is building across the culture sphere. Could an industry-wide arts union be next?
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend
From the Whitney's prelude to David Hammons's Day's End to Sharona Franklin's decomposing work at King's Leap
NewsArt market
Manhattan's first and only freeport to close
Arcis, a high-tech $50m art storage facility in Harlem, opened in 2018 and allows for tax-free transactions
NewsArt fairs
Art Basel cancels Miami Beach edition in December
The fair's organisers say they have "no other option" as Covid-19 cases in Florida stay stubbornly high and US travel restrictions remain in place
PreviewCommercial galleries
Private view: must-see gallery shows opening in September
From Danh Vo in London to Linda Stark in Los Angeles
NewsActivism
Hundreds of migrants removed from Banksy-funded rescue boat amid calls for immediate assistance
The British artist accused European authorities of "deliberately" ignoring distress calls issued by the overwhelmed Louise Michel, a vessel he financed to aid migrants crossing the Mediterranean
NewsMonuments
Having weathered protests, controversial Confederate statue is felled by hurricane
Officials voted recently to keep the monument on courthouse property in Lake Charles, Louisiana, but Hurricane Laura made an executive decision
NewsBanksy
Banksy funds refugee rescue ship in the Mediterranean
The boat, which has rescued 89 people so far, boasts work by the British street artist on its side
NewsEconomics
Covid-19 impact on US creative economy 'disproportionately' affects fine and performing arts, report finds
A new study from the Brookings Institution estimates losses of $150bn in creative industry revenue while calling for more federal support for cultural workers
NewsSexual assault
New York Academy of Art issues apology to Epstein accuser and alumna Maria Farmer after claims of 'victim blaming'
The statement comes after Naomi Watts and other female board members resigned, following a controversial investigation of Farmer's testimony
NewsLawsuits
Art adviser sues Rudy Giuliani for $15k in unpaid fees
The former New York City mayor and Trump's personal lawyer allegedly hired the firm to appraise the value of his collection during bitter divorce battle
Newscoronavirus
Tefaf cancels postponed autumn edition in New York
Citing international travel restrictions and the city's strict reopening plan following coronavirus lockdown, the fair's organisers say too many uncertainties remain
NewsArt crime
California man sentenced to five years in prison for $6m international art fraud scheme
Philip Righter pleaded guilty to selling works fraudulently attributed to Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, among others
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Museums in western Massachusetts reopen
Big campuses and outdoor displays at Mass Moca and the Clark allow for easier social distancing
NewsRacism in the art world
How the art industry is grappling with its systemic race inequality
Galleries, fairs and auction houses are issuing solidarity statements and re-evaluating the diversity of their staffs. But "performative wokeness” will not fix the market’s whiteness
NewsOnline sales
Online marketplaces proliferate as the coronavirus pandemic continues
Dallas Art Fair and Design Miami/ have launched their own year-round sales platforms as art fairs grapple with uncertain futures
NewsArt market
Blue chip artists and dealers benefit from coronavirus relief packages, a federal report reveals
Pace, David Zwirner and Jeff Koons named among the top recipients of US taxpayer-funded forgivable loans, as smaller galleries seek additional aid
AnalysisBlack Lives Matter
Reform or reset? How cultural institutions are facing a reckoning over racism
US and UK museums have been accused of tokenism, hypocrisy and fake solidarity for rushing to declare support for Black Lives Matter. Where do they go from here?
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in New York, London and online this weekend
From Vanessa Thill's mixed-media sculptures at Deli Gallery to Ella Kruglyanskaya's figurative works at Thomas Dane Gallery
News US politics
Art history fact check: Trump can’t tell the difference between Teddy Roosevelt and an anonymous Remington cowboy
In a defence of racist statues as educational opportunities, the US president misidentifies a famous bronze as a portrait of a president in a Fox News interview
NewsAuction houses
Christie's merges Impressionist, Modern and contemporary art departments into one as it restructures and cuts costs
New 20th and 21st Centuries department will be led by Alex Rotter and Giovanna Bertazzoni
PreviewCommercial galleries
Private view: must-see gallery shows opening around the world as lockdowns lift
From Michael Wolf's lush images of Hong Kong to the minimalist works of Alice Tippit in Chicago
NewsCoronavirus resources
Could a Nixon-era employment scheme get artists back to work?
The Comprehensive Employment and Training Act provided a lifeline for thousands of artists during the 1970s economic crisis
NewsProtest
Art world workers join protests against injustice in New York—and aim to change racist systems in the culture sphere
Activists working at museums and galleries are bringing the fight for equality from the streets back into institutions
NewsLawsuits
New York dealer Adam Lindemann sues real estate titan Aby Rosen to get out of his lease
The owner of Venus over Manhattan gallery is withholding rent and demanding his $365,000 security deposit back due to coronavirus lockdowns that have shuttered the space
NewsPublic art
'Victimised and rejected': new work explores the history of artists working in New York and the need for public art
Julia Weist's project embedded in the New York public records reveals the uneven relationship between the city and its creatives
NewsArt market
Art dealers across the US struggling to survive as new report projects a 73% loss in revenue
A survey conducted by the Art Dealers Association of America also reveals a 74% reduction in employment of contractors and freelancers due to coronavirus
NewsArt market
Untitled, Art turns to virtual reality to improve the online fair experience
The organisers are using video game technology to recreate the “element of discovery” of wandering the aisles of a physical event
NewsArt fairs
Nada launches new collaborative fair model to help support galleries
Opening 20 May, the online fair requires no upfront fee and features around 200 galleries, all of which will share their profits
NewsAuction houses
Allan Schwartzman leaves Sotheby's following restructuring under new ownership
The co-founder of Art Agency, Partners will transition to a consultant role as Nina del Rio takes the helm of the auction house's advisory services
NewsLawsuits
Former Paddle8 chief executive sued for $1m
Following the online auction house's bankruptcy filing, creditors claim Valentine Uhovski mismanaged funds from online sales and charity auctions
FeaturePersonal stories of coronavirus
Tara Rynders turns dance into a wellness tool for healthcare workers overwhelmed by coronavirus
After her performance in a New York City hospital was delayed due to the pandemic, Rynders started working full-time as a nurse specialist at a medical centre
AnalysisArt market
Frieze New York exhibitors bring a domestic touch to online viewing rooms
Why some galleries are trying to make the sterile virtual environment more homely, plus some early sales
NewsArt market
Flash sale: Darren Bader launches online platform Inventory for artists and galleries
Prices are clearly marked under each work and some are even marked down by anywhere from 30% to 90%
InterviewArtist interview
Eva and Franco Mattes: ‘Technology does not create the social problems we so often criticise’
As the lockdown forces the art world to migrate online, the Italian duo, who embraced the internet in its infancy, are moving in the opposite direction
FeaturePersonal stories of coronavirus
Shaun Leonardo pushes for prison reform as coronavirus devastates New York's infamous Rikers Island jail
After his performance based on prisoners' experiences was delayed due to the pandemic, Leonardo pivoted his practice to support inmate release programmes
AnalysisOnline sales
As the art world urgently moves online, some galleries fear digital displacement
Just as mega dealers have bought up prime real estate, so too are they dominating bandwidth in the virtual landscape
NewsArt market
Sotheby's launches Gallery Network online sales platform
Featuring galleries like Petzel, Lehmann Maupin and Jack Shainman, the buy-now marketplace transacts sales through the auction house at publicly listed prices
Analysiscoronavirus
‘Emergency grants are not going to rid us of this crisis’— is there hope for a new New Deal in the US?
A new survey reports 95% of American artists have lost income due to coronavirus as the nation's unemployment rate rises to Great Depression-era levels
NewsEarth Day
Art meets (indoor) activism to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day
Judy Chicago launches Create Art for Earth with the Serpentine Galleries while a new documentary foregrounds how Indigenous peoples are fighting climate change
Newscoronavirus
Brooklyn Academy of Music expects $7.4m shortfall due to coronavirus shutdown
Announcing it will cancel programming through June, the oldest interdisciplinary arts centre in the US must layoff and furlough staff
NewsAuction houses
Christie's settles $16.7m in tax claims with New York District Attorney
Manhattan prosecutors say the auction house failed to collect sales tax on $189m in private sales over five years
NewsArt market
Hauser & Wirth announces new art and technology division with the launch of a custom-designed virtual reality platform
The ArtLab initiative will also offer a new tech residency programme for artists as blue-chip galleries race for digital dominance amid coronavirus lockdown
NewsCoronavirus resources
Coalition of US arts organisations launch ongoing relief fund for artists affected by coronavirus
With $10m in funding already, Artist Relief will offer individual $5,000 unrestricted grants through September
PreviewPrivate view
Available online or by appointment: the best new commercial exhibitions to check out during lockdown
From a virtual tour of William N. Copley's Surrealist-inspired paintings to Joshua Citarella's exploration of young political online spaces
NewsCoronavirus resources
Warhol Foundation offers $1.6m in emergency relief grants to artists affected by the coronavirus crisis
Grants will be allocated to artists in 16 US cities through the foundation's regional regranting partners and can be used to cover expenses like food and rent
NewsArt fairs
Frieze offers full refunds to exhibitors after cancelling its New York fair due to coronavirus
The fair will also launch a new online viewing room feature at no cost to planned exhibitors and will apply reimbursements to future editions
NewsArt market
New York galleries seek rent relief from state government in the wake of coronavirus shutdowns
Some dealers are "prepared for a rent strike" if Governor Cuomo does not address a new bill offering rent suspensions to small businesses before 1 April
Analysiscoronavirus
New York galleries turn on the cameras as they turn off the lights during coronavirus lockdown
As programming and expansion plans are halted, innovation kicks in with virtual performances and tours
Newscoronavirus
Masterpiece London cancels 2020 June edition as UK cracks down on coronavirus spread
The move follows news that Art Basel will postpone its 50th anniversary edition until September and New York's major auctions pivot to June
FeatureMedia
Are commercial galleries the next big content producers?
The top dealers are increasingly becoming audio and video makers and magazine publishers—is it all still about sales?
FeatureVideo, film & new media
Criminally artful heist films to take your mind off the coronavirus this weekend
Heat up some popcorn and find a welcome distraction with some decidedly non-pandemic viewing
NewsCovid-19
Frieze New York cancels its ninth edition due to coronavirus
The fair is the latest to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic as cases in the city rise to 1,339
NewsArt market
As Art Basel in Hong Kong launches online, we look at how the art market is using cyberspace to combat coronavirus
From VIP virtual viewing rooms to grassroots digital action
NewsCommercial galleries
Lisson Gallery to unveil new space in New York this May
The gallery will takeover the storefront next door to its current Chelsea outpost as neighbouring blue-chip galleries continue to expand
NewsArt market
Armory Show will move to New York's Javits Center in 2021 and switch from spring to autumn
The shift of venue and date follows ongoing issues with the city's west side piers and marks a significant change to the art world calendar
NewsArt fairs
New York's Armory Show sees solid sales despite coronavirus risk
Liberal amounts of hand sanitiser and a consistent base of US buyers dominated the fair's opening day
NewsArt fairs
Boutique before it was cool: did the ADAA Art Show set the precedent for future fairs?
The annual New York art fair remains a uniquely community event but with a "broad" reach
Commentracism
The US has a big racism problem and the art world is not helping
A looted Kaws sculpture and museums' silence reveal a predatory not progressive industry as protests flare following the killing of George Floyd
Margaret Carrigan