Copy of Rembrandt Portrait on Display in Chicago Is by the Master Himself, Scholar Claims
A copy of Rembrandt's 1631 portrait *Old Man with a Gold Chain*, long labeled a workshop replica, is now argued by art historian Gary Schwartz to be an autograph work by the master himself. The original and the contested copy are displayed side‑by‑side at the Art Institute of Chicago, offering scholars a rare comparative view. The copy, on loan from the Sir Francis Newman Collection, will travel to the Herzogliches Museum in Gotha, Germany, after June 16. The claim adds fresh momentum to ongoing debates that constantly reshape the Rembrandt catalogue, now hovering around 350 works.
New £5m Cultural Centre in Northampton, UK to Pursue Model that ‘Embeds Artists in Social and Economic Fabric of a...
A new cultural centre opens in Northampton on 1 May after a £5.2 million (£≈6.6 million USD) refurbishment of a 1930s municipal building. Arts Collective will run free year‑round exhibitions, 17 purpose‑built artist studios and community workshops, launching with a Rose Finn‑Kelcey retrospective....
Comment | A Generational Moment for Nazi-Looted Art Claims in the US
On March 16 the U.S. House approved an expanded Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act of 2025, awaiting President Trump’s signature. The bill makes the six‑year discovery‑based statute of limitations permanent and eliminates technical defenses such as laches, the act‑of‑state...
‘As an Artist I Have a Duty to Reflect the Times’: Photographer Misan Harriman Explores Protests and Solidarity in New...
Misan Harriman’s protest photography collection *The Purpose of Light* has become a permanent installation at London’s Hope 93 gallery, showcasing over a hundred black‑and‑white images from seven years of demonstrations across the UK, US and South Africa. The exhibit, originally a...
German Artist Anne Imhof to Be Subject of ‘Ambitious’ Hong Kong Solo Exhibition in 2027
German performance artist Anne Imhof will present her first solo exhibition in Asia at Hong Kong’s Tai Kwun cultural complex from 26 September 2026 to 3 January 2027. The show combines a comprehensive survey of her most influential works with a brand‑new commission, creating an immersive environment...
Comment | Inside the Preservation of the Largest Fortress in the Americas
Haiti’s Citadelle Laferrière, the Western Hemisphere’s largest fortress and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is nearing the end of a 25‑year preservation effort. The World Monuments Fund and Haiti’s Institute for the Protection of National Heritage have reinforced the structure against...
Chile's Leading Art Fair Foregrounds Affordable Works, Often with a Political Edge
The 16th edition of Chile Arte Contemporáneo (Chaco) runs in Santiago until March 29, featuring more than 50 galleries and a mix of Chilean and international exhibitors. Organisers emphasize affordability, with many pieces priced below $1,000 and larger works around...
Matisse’s Explosive Finale and a New Chapter for Hong Kong? Plus, Schiaparelli and Dalí—Podcast
The Grand Palais in Paris opened "Matisse 1941‑1954," a comprehensive survey of the artist’s final 13 years, featuring cut‑outs, chapel works, and late paintings. Art Basel Hong Kong continued through March 29, offering a tentative optimism for the region’s art market despite a broader Chinese...
Revealed: The Amazing Frame Once Created for Van Gogh’s Sunflowers
Researchers have reconstructed the lost Art Deco frame that once surrounded Vincent van Gogh’s early masterpiece, Three Sunflowers, using a 1930s photograph and archival material. The frame, dark lacquered with gold circles and angled edges, is now attributed to Irish‑born...
One of Donatello’s Most Important Bronze Statues Is Being Restored: Should It Ever Be Shown Outdoors Again?
Donatello’s 15th‑century bronze equestrian statue Gattamelata, long displayed in Padua’s Piazza del Santo, has been moved indoors for the first time in nearly six centuries for a €1 million (≈$1.08 million) restoration funded by Friends of Florence and Save Venice. Conservators discovered...
Guillaume Cerutti Departs as President of the Pinault Collection After 13 Months
Guillaume Cerutti, former Christie’s CEO, is exiting his role as president of the Pinault Collection after just 13 months. The departure was confirmed by the collection’s spokesperson, though no official explanation was provided. Cerutti, who has long‑standing ties to François...
Theaster Gates Gifts David Drake Pot From His Collection to Enslaved Ceramicist’s Descendants
Theaster Gates’ new Gagosian exhibition, "Dave: All My Relations," spotlights enslaved potter David Drake by displaying two of his historic vessels—one already restituted by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and another from Gates’s own collection that will also be...
'The Human-Machine Creative Entanglement': Artist Sougwen Chung on Her Technology-Based Practice
Sougwen Chung is showcasing new works at Art Basel Hong Kong’s inaugural Zero 10 sector, a platform for digital‑age art. Her centerpiece, Recursion 0, is a 10‑metre scroll generated live from brain‑wave data, illustrating her long‑standing human‑machine collaboration research that began in 2015. The...
Exhibition Explores Connection Between Textiles and Spirituality in Asia
The Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile in Hong Kong launches "Threading Inwards," an exhibition that investigates the link between textiles and spirituality across Asia. Featuring fourteen artists working in painting, video, AI, and fabric, the show includes Sang A....
Researchers at Art Gallery of Ontario Identify Painter and Subject of 18th-Century Portrait of Black Woman
Researchers at the Art Gallery of Ontario have identified both the sitter and the artist of an 18th‑century portrait of a Black woman. The subject, Eleonora Susette, was born around 1756 in the Dutch colony of Berbice (now Guyana) and was...
Michaelina Wautier’s Work Was Lost, Hidden or Misattributed to Men—Now Her Rediscovered Paintings Are Going on Show in London
Michaelina Wautier, a 17th‑century Flemish Baroque painter long obscured and often misattributed to men, is the focus of a major exhibition at London’s Royal Academy of Arts. The show features 25 works, including newly identified pieces such as the Five...
Comment | All Hail the Rise of the Art Internship
Edconic and Sotheby’s have launched a paid 12‑week fellowship for 20 master’s students at the Sotheby’s Institute in New York, granting academic credit and wages well above the minimum. The pilot, announced in February, will later expand to London with...
Goldfish on Cars and Ceramic Flowers: Artists Take over the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong
The Peninsula Hong Kong has launched its annual Art in Resonance program, featuring three site‑specific installations from Angel Hui, Albert Yonathan Setyawan and William Lim. Hui’s goldfish‑in‑a‑Rolls‑Royce piece draws on Hong Kong’s Goldfish Market, while Setyawan’s ceramic structure of 700...
French Government Blocks Sale of Newly Discovered Drawing by German Renaissance Master Hans Baldung
The French culture ministry stepped in at the last minute to block the auction of a newly identified Hans Baldung Grien drawing, slated for March 23 at Drouot with a pre‑sale estimate of €1.5‑3 million (approximately $1.65‑$3.3 million). The silverpoint portrait of...
London Exhibition Celebrates Konrad Mägi, Estonia’s Mystic Modern Master
London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery has opened the first UK exhibition devoted to Estonia’s modernist pioneer Konrad Mägi, showcasing more than 60 paintings, many never displayed abroad. Curated by Kathleen Soriano, the show arranges the works chronologically, tracing Mägi’s evolution from his...
Keeping up with the Kleins: Exhibition Brings Together Yves’s Talented Artist Family
The Stedelijk Museum Schiedam has opened "Yves Klein and His Artist Family," showcasing 30 works by Yves alongside more than 40 pieces by his parents Fred Klein and Marie Raymond and his widow Rotraut Klein‑Moquay. Curated by Tijs Visser of...
The Met’s Blockbuster Raphael Exhibition Looks Beyond the Artist’s Idealised Madonnas
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened "Raphael: Sublime Poetry," the first comprehensive U.S. exhibition devoted to the Renaissance master, showcasing 237 works—including 33 paintings and 142 drawings—spanning his entire career. The show features unprecedented loans from institutions such as...
Gullah Artist Sam Doyle’s Narrative Portraits Shine at Outsider Art Fair in New York
Sam Doyle, a self‑taught Gullah artist from South Carolina, is featured with twenty narrative paintings at the Outsider Art Fair in New York, sourced from Bob Roth’s collection and priced between $35,000 and $85,000. Doyle’s works depict local Lowcountry figures, historic...
Russia’s Pavilion at Venice Biennale Will Be Closed if It Features Propaganda, City’s Mayor Says
Mayor Luigi Brugnano warned that Venice will close Russia’s Biennale pavilion if it serves as a propaganda platform, reinforcing EU pressure to limit Russian cultural presence after the 2022 invasion. The Biennale’s president announced a “Biennale del Dissenso” space featuring...
New Chilean President Reverses Predecessor’s Policies, Cutting Culture Budget
Chile’s new president José Antonio Kast has ordered a 3% across‑the‑board budget cut, targeting the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage among 25 ministries. The culture ministry’s budget, which rose to roughly $580 million for 2026 under Gabriel Boric, will be...
Mexico’s Culture Ministry Urges eBay to Halt Sales of Pre-Hispanic Artefacts
Mexico’s Secretariat of Culture has flagged 195 pre‑Hispanic artefacts listed by the U.S.‑based eBay seller Coins Artifacts and formally asked the platform to halt the sales and return the items. The ministry’s letter cites Mexico’s 1827 export ban and alleges the...
Major Collection of Indian Paintings and Calligraphy to Be Offered at Christie's
Christie’s will auction Indian paintings and calligraphy from the Seattle‑based Cowles collection in London on 28 April, with a total estimate exceeding £1.5 million. The lot is dominated by Mughal works spanning the 16th to mid‑19th centuries, including a Fraser Album piece...
Art Dubai 2026 to Be Postponed and Adapted in Response to Regional Conflict
Art Dubai has postponed its 20th‑anniversary fair from mid‑April to May 14‑17, 2026, and will reformat the event as a curated cultural gathering rather than a traditional exhibition. The organizers introduced a flexible fee structure, replacing fixed stand fees with...
Dalí Painting that Inspired Schiaparelli Dress to Be Shown in UK for First Time
Salvador Dalí’s 1936 painting *Necrophiliac Spring*, long unseen in the United Kingdom, will be displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum as part of the “Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art” exhibition running March 28‑November 1. The work, which inspired Elsa Schiaparelli’s celebrated 1938...
Comment | Climate Change Is Forcing Tough Choices—How Much Heritage Can We Save Before It Is Too Late?
Arctic permafrost thaw is accelerating the degradation of cultural sites, exemplified by South Aulatsivik 6 in Canada’s Nain archipelago. Researchers led by Rachel Labrie employed ground‑penetrating radar to identify the most vulnerable areas, offering a rapid, non‑invasive method for prioritizing excavations....
Exhibition Explores How the US Shaped Joan Miró—And He It
The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC is hosting *Miró and the United States*, an exhibition that juxtaposes Joan Miró’s paintings, sculptures, and films with works by American contemporaries such as Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, Alexander Calder and Barnett...
US Congress Passes Revamped Holocaust Recovery Bill that Sidesteps Many Legal Defences
The U.S. House approved the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act of 2025, extending the 2016 law and removing a host of procedural defenses for Nazi‑era art claims. The bill eliminates laches, act‑of‑state, and foreign sovereign immunity defenses, and it...
New Book Shows Why Physical Maps Have an Important Role to Play in Our Digital World
James Cheshire’s new book, *The Library of Lost Maps*, uncovers 96 forgotten cartographic works ranging from a pre‑bomb Hiroshima map to a Victorian geological chart of India. The volume blends vivid reproductions with scholarly commentary, highlighting the enduring relevance of...
Next Edition of Getty's PST Art Initiative Will Focus on Los Angeles’s Connections Around the Pacific Rim
The Getty Trust announced the fourth edition of its PST Art programme, slated to open across Southern California in September 2030 and centered on Los Angeles’ historic and contemporary ties to the Pacific Rim. A research phase begins now, with nonprofit cultural organisations...
Pedro Friedeberg, Key Figure in Mexican Art Renowned for Hand-Shaped Chair, Has Died at Age 90
Pedro Friedeberg, the Mexican‑born artist famed for the hand‑shaped Mano Silla chair, died at 90 in San Miguel de Allende. The chair, created in 1962, was reproduced over 17,500 times and cemented his status as a design icon. Friedeberg’s career spanned seven...
Comment | Cow in MSCHF Project Survives, but Should the Project Have Happened at All?
MSCHF’s "Our Cow Angus" project let buyers purchase tokens tied to a live cow’s fate, promising burgers and leather bags if the animal was slaughtered. After a two‑year run, more than half of the tokens were returned through a "remorse...
Art Communities and Heritage in Iran, Moderate Recovery in the Art Market, Sydney Biennale—Podcast
The podcast examines how ongoing Middle East conflicts are damaging cultural heritage in Iran and Lebanon, prompting local communities to protect art and historic sites. It also reviews the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, which indicates a...
The Story Behind Iran’s only Van Gogh: ‘At Eternity’s Gate'
Vincent van Gogh’s 1882 lithograph *At Eternity’s Gate* – one of only seven surviving copies – resides in the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art after passing through Rockefeller, dealer Eugene Thaw, and Farah Pahlavi. The print, inscribed by Van Gogh in English, later...
Not Just Dollars, Euros and Pounds: Tefaf Speaker Sets Out Art’s Deep Value for Wellbeing
Daisy Fancourt’s new book *Art Cure* provides scientific evidence that arts engagement dramatically improves mental health, halving the ten‑year risk of depression and doubling symptom improvement when combined with standard therapy. Using longitudinal cohort data, biological markers and the UK...
Victor Vasarely’s Crumbling Aix Legacy to Be Restored
Victor Vasarely’s foundation in Aix‑en‑Provence, a historic Op Art museum, is finally receiving major restoration after decades of neglect and dwindling state support. Government funding now covers 85 % of the €12 million budget, enabling roof, cladding and climate‑control upgrades, while the foundation...
Dingo-Related Work at Sydney Biennale Takes on New Resonance Following Backpacker Death
A young Canadian backpacker, Piper James, drowned after a dingo encounter on K’gari (Fraser Island) in January, prompting a coroner’s ruling and subsequent euthanasia of several dingoes. The incident has given new urgency to Cannupa Hanska Luger's Biennale of Sydney...
Comment | Beryl Cook UK Retrospective Shows There Is Much More to the Artist than Amazing Bums
British self‑taught painter Beryl Cook, long dismissed by major institutions, is undergoing a major reassessment after a 2024 retrospective at Studio Voltaire and a major survey, Pride and Joy, at The Box in Plymouth. The shows pair her with Tom of...
Tefaf Maastricht: The Wish List
TEFAF Maastricht’s wish list highlights five marquee pieces, ranging from a Kelmscott Press Shakespeare poetry volume bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe (£125,000) to a rare Greek marble stele of Medeia (£450,000). The list also features a record‑setting Indigenous Australian painting by Emily Kam Kngwarray...
Glassblower and Porcelain Heir Paul Arnhold on the Art He Loves to Collect
Paul Arnhold, a New York glassblower and fourth‑generation heir to a world‑renowned Meissen porcelain collection, intertwines his studio practice with a collector’s eye for immediacy and decisive form. He values objects that reveal the maker’s technique and tactile presence, ranging from...
Dresden Museum Wins Tefaf Award for Rubens Restoration
Dresden’s Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister received the 2024 Tefaf Museum Restoration Fund award for restoring Peter Paul Rubens’s *The Boar Hunt*. The 1616‑18 oil, once owned by Rubens, the Duke of Buckingham and the Imperial collection, endured wartime displacement and 19th‑century varnish...
Two Renoir Exhibitions at Musée D’Orsay Explore the Joy of Human Connection
The Musée d’Orsay opens two Renoir exhibitions—"Renoir and Love: A Joyful Modernity," spotlighting his 1865‑85 paintings, and "Renoir Drawings," loaned from the Morgan Library—running from 17 March to mid‑July. The shows feature rarely seen masterpieces such as Luncheon of the Boating...
‘It Has Nothing to Do with Michelangelo’: Expert Wades in on Painting Newly Attributed to Renaissance Master
Belgian art historian Michel Draguet has announced a newly discovered painting he claims is a late work by Michelangelo, naming it the Spirituali Pietà and dating it to the 1540s. The attribution relies on two monograms resembling Michelangelo’s signature, 16th‑century pigment...
Snuffboxes Stolen in Paris Daylight Robbery to Go on Display at V&A
Two 18th‑century gold snuffboxes stolen from the Musée Cognacq‑Jay in November 2024 have been recovered and will debut in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s newly opened Gilbert Galleries. The robbery, which claimed seven precious objects, triggered a multi‑national police investigation...
New Rules on Importing Cultural Artefacts Create Headaches at Tefaf Maastricht
Tefaf Maastricht is the first major European fair to operate under the EU Cultural Goods Regulation, which mandates detailed documentation for cultural items over 250 years old. Dealers, customs officials and shippers report confusion over the law’s scope, leading to seizures...
Tefaf Maastricht: Exhibitions to See Beyond the Fair
The Tefaf Maastricht fair is complemented by a slate of high‑profile exhibitions across the Netherlands and Belgium, including the Mauritshuis’s “Birds” show, the Rijksmuseum’s “Metamorphoses”, Museum Ludwig’s Yayoi Kusama retrospective, and the Bonnefanten Museum’s “Four Times Two”. Each exhibition pairs historic...