An Art Historian’s Riotous Novel Melds Medieval Art with Monica Lewinsky
Julia Langbein’s new novel *Dear Monica Lewinsky*, published by Doubleday, reimagines the 1998 Clinton‑Lewinsky scandal as a modern saint’s tale. The narrative follows Jean Dornan, a middle‑aged art historian haunted by past cruelty toward Lewinsky, who seeks redemption through a visionary encounter with a haloed Monica. Langbein draws on her PhD in medieval art history, weaving references to the Golden Legend and Romanesque church iconography. The book blends memoir‑like confession with scholarly research conducted in French cathedrals, creating a hybrid of literary fiction and art criticism.
LA’s The Box Gallery to Close After 19 Years
Los Angeles’ The Box gallery announced it will close after 19 years, marking the end of one of the city’s most daring experimental spaces. Its final exhibition was a two‑venue show with Parker Gallery honoring late California artist Wally Hedrick,...
How an Artist and Museum Conspired to Give a Delivery Worker What the Apps Won’t: PTO
Fields Harrington, a Brooklyn artist and cyclist, began documenting the personalized aesthetics of delivery bikes after witnessing a crash that revealed the algorithmic nature of gig work. His 35mm photographs expose a subculture of flags, stickers, and reflective tape that...
Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani, a New Sort of Street Artist, Rises From Art History’s Margins
Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikatani, a Japanese‑American collagist who spent decades on the margins of art history, is now the focus of a solo exhibition at the Spencer Museum of Art in Kansas City through June. Curators Maki Kaneko and Kris Imants...
Collector Justin Sun Sues Trump’s Memecoin Company, World Liberty Financial
Collector and crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun has filed a federal lawsuit against World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s memecoin venture, accusing the firm of illegally freezing and threatening to burn his $45 million worth of $WLF tokens. Sun, who invested $100 million...
World Press Photo of the Year Depicts a Family Torn Apart by ICE
The World Press Photo foundation named Carol Guzy’s image "Separated by ICE" the 2026 Photo of the Year. The photograph shows two young girls clinging to their father’s shirt as ICE agents detain him in New York’s Jacob K. Javits...
What Is the Venice Biennale? Everything You Need to Know
The 61st Venice Biennale opens May 9 and runs through November 22, 2026, drawing an anticipated 800,000 visitors. The edition features 100 participating nations—a 16% increase over 2024—and 111 artists in the central exhibition. Curator Koyo Kouoh, who died in May 2025, left the “In...
Dartmouth Students Turn to Moldy Beef Jerky Installation in Renewed Bid to Remove Leon Black’s Name From Arts Center
Dartmouth art students removed a provocative installation called *Something Rotten*—20 moldy beef jerky sticks forming a smiley face—from the Black Family Visual Arts Center’s dedication wall after a week on display. The piece, created by Erik Siegel, Roan Wade and...
The Turner Prize Has Revealed Its 2026 Nominees—And Already Courted Controversy
The Turner Prize has announced its 2026 shortlist—Simon Barclay, Kira Freije, Marguerite Humeau and Tanoa Sasraku—along with a £25,000 (~$33,800) cash award for the winner. For the first time, the exhibition will be staged at Teeside University’s Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, moving...
Top Collector John Phelan Fired as Navy Secretary, After Reports of Pentagon Infighting
Navy Secretary John Phelan was removed from his post after months of clashes with senior Defense Department officials over the Navy’s shipbuilding overhaul, including his controversial "Golden Fleet" battleship plan. Acting Undersecretary Hung Cao will assume the role as the...
An Auction Without Bidding: Loïc Gouzer’s Latest Bet on How to Sell Art
Art tech founder Loïc Gouzer is launching "No Warning," a new sales format on the Fair Warning auction app that eliminates traditional bidding. Buyers see a fixed price, can either purchase instantly or submit a single, binding offer that remains...
Dutch Commission Recommends New Guardianship for ‘Orphaned’ Nazi-Looted Art
A Dutch government‑appointed committee has recommended transferring guardianship of the Netherlands Art Property (NK) Collection’s orphaned Nazi‑looted works to a Jewish foundation, ideally housed at Amsterdam’s Jewish Museum. The plan provides an annual budget for exhibitions and a wall label...
Marian Goodman Gallery to ‘Pause’ Operations in Los Angeles
Marian Goodman Gallery announced it will pause operations at its Los Angeles outpost after a two‑and‑a‑half‑year run, ending with Tacita Dean’s solo show on April 25. The four partners said they are consolidating programming in their historic homes in New York and Paris...
Twombly Foundation to Exhibit Rare Rauschenberg Works at Gagosian
The Cy Twombly Foundation is loaning six early Robert Rauschenberg works to Gagosian’s new 980 Madison Avenue gallery, opening on April 25. The group includes a 1950 twig-and‑glass assemblage, a cyanotype made with his then‑wife Susan Weil, a Black Painting from 1952, and a...
Christie’s to Offer $35 M. Renoir Painting Owned by Whitney Family For Nearly a Century
Christie’s will auction Pierre‑Auguste Renoir’s 1876‑77 portrait *La femme aux lilas* on May 18, marking the first public sale of the work in 97 years. The painting, long held by the Whitney Payson family, carries an estimate of $25 million to...
Catalan Museum Has Yet to Follow Through on Court Order to Return Contested Murals to Aragon Monastery
Spain’s Supreme Court ordered the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) to return the 13th‑century Sijena Monastery murals to the Royal Monastery in Aragon, but the museum has still not complied a year later. The frescoes, removed during the 1936...
Sotheby’s Paris Notches a $41 M. Modern and Contemporary Sale, Led by a $12 M. Monet Unseen for a Century
Sotheby’s Paris modern and contemporary auction generated €35 million ($41 million), an 84% jump from last year and the second‑largest total ever in France for the category. The sale was anchored by Claude Monet’s *Vétheuil, effet du matin*, which fetched €10.2 million ($12.1 million),...
Turkey Notches Another Successful Restitution After Denver Art Museum Returns 1500-Year-Old Marble Head
The Denver Art Museum has returned a 5th‑century BCE marble head from ancient Smyrna to Turkey, where it will be displayed at the İzmir Archaeology Museum. The repatriation follows a series of high‑profile returns, including Canadian manuscripts and dozens of looted...
Jennifer Gilbert Consigns Blue-Chip Works to Sotheby’s to Fund Detroit Arts Space
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Jennifer Gilbert is consigning a select group of high‑value post‑war American works to Sotheby’s, with the May contemporary and June design auctions featuring Joan Mitchell’s *Loom II* ($5‑7 million estimate) and Kenneth Noland’s *Circle* ($4‑6 million estimate). The proceeds are...
Edmonia Lewis Was the Earliest Known Black Artist to Depict Emancipation. This Is Her First Retrospective.
The Peabody Essex Museum has opened “Said in Stone,” the first comprehensive retrospective of 19th‑century sculptor Edmonia Lewis, a Black and Indigenous artist who broke racial barriers in marble. The show reunites more than a dozen of her works, including...
Lorna Simpson’s David Adjaye–Designed Brooklyn Home and Studio Remains On the Market—At a Much-Reduced Price
Renowned artist Lorna Simpson’s light‑filled Brooklyn townhouse, designed by architect David Adjaye, has been relisted at $5 million—a roughly 25% reduction from its August 2025 asking price of $6.5 million. The 3,300‑sq‑ft, three‑bedroom, 2.5‑bath home features a double‑height great room, floor‑to‑ceiling glass,...
Artnet Makes Significant Layoffs Following Consolidation with Artsy
Artnet and Artsy have been unified under Artsy CEO Jeffrey Yin, prompting a wave of layoffs that hit Artnet's editorial staff and its Berlin sales team. Senior reporters Sarah Cascone and Eileen Kinsella were among those let go, and the...
Foundation, a Prominent NFT Platform of the 2021 Boom, Shuts Down After Failed Sale
Foundation, the invite‑only Ethereum NFT marketplace that rose during the 2021 digital‑art boom, announced it will wind down after a planned sale to Blackdove collapsed. The platform, which has facilitated roughly $230 million in sales—including a $600,000 Nyan Cat auction and a...
Joyce Awards to Relaunch After Yearlong Pause with $100,000 Unrestricted Grants for Great Lakes Artists
The Joyce Foundation is reviving its Joyce Awards with a new model that awards four Great Lakes artists a $100,000 unrestricted grant each. An additional $40,000 will be directed to a regional nonprofit selected by the winning artist to expand...
Native Americans Played Dice Games Far Earlier Than Previously Known, Study Shows
A Colorado State University study published in American Antiquity reveals that Native Americans were using dice on the western Great Plains as early as 12,800 to 12,200 years ago, predating the previously accepted origin of dice in Mesopotamia by roughly...
Artists Criticize Somalia’s First-Ever Venice Biennale Pavilion: ‘This Pavilion Does Not Speak for Us’
Somalia’s inaugural pavilion at the Venice Biennale, titled “SADDEXLEEY,” has sparked controversy as local art collectives accuse organizers of sidelining Somali‑based artists. The pavilion, curated by Mohamed Mire and Fabio Scrivanti, features three diaspora creators—Ayan Farah, Asmaa Jama, and Warsan...
2026 Guggenheim Fellowships Go to Sonya Clark, John Miller, and American Artist
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation announced its 2026 fellowship class, awarding 223 scholars and artists across 55 disciplines. The cohort, the foundation’s 101st, was chosen from nearly 5,000 applicants and includes notable fine‑arts winners such as Sonya Clark, John...
Sharjah’s Barjeel Art Foundation Is Building Its First Museum
The Barjeel Art Foundation broke ground on its first dedicated museum in Sharjah, a 38,750‑square‑foot facility slated to open in January 2028. Designed by Abdelmoneam Essa of Architecture Corner Consultants, the building draws on Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi’s sketches of the Al Rigga neighbourhood. The...
Walker Art Center Restaurant Cuts Front-of-House Staff as QR Codes Take Over
The Walker Art Center’s in‑house restaurant, Cardamom, is moving to a fully QR‑code ordering system, eliminating its front‑of‑house staff. Sixteen hosts and servers will be laid off while kitchen staff and bartenders remain. Management cites uneven visitor traffic and rising...
European Commission Tells Venice Biennale to ‘Clear Its Name’ Regarding Russian Pavilion or Risk Losing $2.3 M. Grant for 2028
The European Commission gave the Venice Biennale 30 days to address the inclusion of a Russian pavilion in the 2026 edition, threatening to suspend a €2 million ($2.3 million) grant for the 2028 edition. The Commission argues the pavilion breaches EU sanctions...
Sotheby’s Tries Again to Sell $40 M. Picasso Painting That Didn’t Make It to Auction in 2008
Sotheby’s will auction Pablo Picasso’s 1909 Cubist work *Arlequin (Buste)* in New York on May 19, estimating it around $40 million. The painting, bought for roughly $12,000 in the 1940s, has surged in value and now carries a seller’s guarantee and an irrevocable...
New York’s Newest Triennial Lines Up 39 Artists for Star-Studded First Edition Along the Erie Canal
The Medina Triennial, a new three‑yearly art exhibition in the Western New York village of Medina, opens on June 6 near the Erie Canal with a roster of 39 artists from around the globe. Curated by co‑directors Kari Conte and Karin...
Gagosian to Open New Upper East Side Gallery with a Duchamp Show, a Rarity in a Commercial Setting
Gagosian is reopening on Manhattan’s Upper East Side at 980 Madison Avenue after being displaced by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The new space launches on April 25 with a solo Marcel Duchamp exhibition, featuring rare replicas such as the only non‑museum version of...
Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Painter Who Used Her Art to Fight for Justice, Dies at 46
Celeste Dupuy‑Spencer, a Los Angeles‑based painter known for confronting racism, political upheaval, and queer identity, died at 46. Her work ranged from stark depictions of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to intimate scenes of lovers, often flattening pictorial space to critique...
What Made Marcel Duchamp’s Readymades So Revolutionary?
Marcel Duchamp’s Readymades, first coined in 1915, transformed ordinary manufactured objects into art simply by the artist’s designation. Early examples such as a bicycle wheel mounted on a stool and a spiky bottle‑drying rack set the tone for a series...
Tensions Rise Over Proposed New Zealand Statue Commemorating ‘Comfort Women’ Japan Forced Into Sexual Slavery, Have a Bartering Breakfast with...
A bronze statue of a seated girl, donated by the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance, is slated for Auckland’s Barry’s Point Reserve to honor an estimated 200,000 women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military between 1932 and...
Louvre Museum Jewel Heist Inspires Latest ‘Law & Order’ Episode
The latest Law & Order episode “Beyond Measure” borrows heavily from the Louvre Museum jewel heist, in which thieves escaped with $102 million of jewels using a cherry picker. The fictional Brooklyn museum storyline centers on the contested 16th‑century Crown of...
Italian Winemaker Ornellaia Reveals Marina Abramović’s Designs for Its 2023 Vintages
Italian super‑Tuscan producer Ornellaia unveiled its 2023 vintage bottles featuring designs by performance artist Marina Abramović. The collaboration, part of the Vendemmia d’Artista project, includes artwork on standard 750 ml bottles and ultra‑rare 3 L, 6 L and 9 L formats, of which only...
A Piece of the Eiffel Tower Is Heading to Auction
A 14‑step fragment of the Eiffel Tower’s original spiral staircase will be auctioned in Paris on May 21, with estimates ranging from $140,000 to $175,000. The piece, nearly nine feet tall, was installed for the 1889 Exposition Universelle and removed in...
Portland Museum of Art Buys New Building For $14 M., Freeing Up Space For Exhibitions
The Portland Museum of Art (PMA) finalized a $14 million purchase of a former MaineHealth building and two adjacent parking lots in downtown Portland. The acquisition will relocate PMA’s administrative offices, freeing valuable space in the main museum for additional galleries....
Proposed Restitution Law in France Advances in National Assembly
The French National Assembly’s Cultural Affairs Committee approved a restitution bill that the Senate’s counterpart cleared in January, setting a plenary debate for April 13. The draft empowers the Minister of Culture to order the return of African artifacts by decree,...
Can a Slimmed-Down Expo Chicago Still Throw Its Weight Around?
Expo Chicago, now led by Kate Sierzputowski, has trimmed its exhibitor roster by roughly 25%, hosting about 130 galleries for its 15th edition. The reduction is a strategic move to create a more curated, accessible experience amid a softened global...
Non-European Artists Are Sorely Under-Represented in Paris Galleries, Spanish Minister Officially Rejects ‘Guernica’ Loan Request by Basque Government: Morning Links...
A new study of 108 Parisian galleries, timed with Art Paris, shows women now represent 34.8% of artists while non‑European creators remain marginal, with only 4.7% born in Africa and 5.3% in Asia. The same week, Spain’s culture minister Ernest Urtasun...
A Duchamp Retrospective at MoMA Presents an Artist Who Challenged the Very Definition of Art
Marcel Duchamp, the 20th‑century provocateur whose Readymades upended traditional art, is the focus of a major MoMA retrospective—the first comprehensive North American survey in over five decades. The exhibition, co‑organized with the Philadelphia Museum and France’s Centre Georges Pompidou, runs...
Seoul’s Centre Pompidou, Three Years in the Making, Will Open in June
The Centre Pompidou Hanwha will open in Seoul on June 4, marking the 140th anniversary of France‑Korea diplomatic ties. The museum, housed in Tower 63, is a joint venture with the Hanwha Foundation and designed by Jean‑Michel Wilmotte. Hanwha paid...
Fair Warning Expands With Saara Pritchard, Doubling Down on ‘Conviction’ in a Crowded Art Market
Fair Warning, the boutique online auction app founded by former Christie’s chairman Loïc Gouzer, has generated roughly $81.9 million in sales by offering only a handful of meticulously curated works at a time. Recent headline‑making results include a $16.7 million Warhol portrait...
The New Museum’s ‘New Humans’ Reckons With Human-Machine Relations in the Workplace
The New Museum’s inaugural exhibition “New Humans: Memories of the Future” examines the evolving relationship between workers and machines, tracing themes from ancient Mesopotamian creation myths to 1920s Bauhaus performances. By juxtaposing historic works such as Oskar Schlemmer’s Mechanical Ballets...
‘Time Capsule’ Scrapbook of Lee Miller and Cecil Beaton Photographs Discovered, and More: Morning Links for April 6, 2026
A previously unseen scrapbook of World War II photographs by Lee Miller and Cecil Beaton, compiled by their assistant Roland Haupt, has been acquired by Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries, featuring Miller’s famous shot of Hitler’s bathtub. The find is hailed as a...
Gisela Colón on Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny, and the Power Beneath the Island
Gisela Colón, a former environmental lawyer, is mounting two major solo shows—"Radiant Earth" at the Bruce Museum and "The Mountain, The Monolith" at Puerto Rico’s Museo de Arte Contemporáneo. The installations combine aerospace‑grade plastics, engineered pigments and stone sourced from California...
Patron Gallery Adds Miao Wang to Its Roster, and More: Industry Moves for April 1, 2026
Patron Gallery announced the addition of Chinese painter Miao Wang, who will appear alongside Alice Tippit at Expo Chicago. Open Restitution Africa unveiled a bilingual, AI‑powered restitution data platform that lets researchers and communities query guidance on art return processes....