NewsPaul Gauguin
Rediscovered Paul Gauguin manuscript written in his Polynesian hut reveals artist's hidden secrets
Original book with nearly 30 images has been acquired by London's Courtauld Gallery and will go on display next year
NewsWhitney Museum of American Art
Artists urge the Whitney to review its ethical practices following backlash over cancelled exhibition
An open letter calls for the Whitney to “commit to a year of action—of mobilisation and introspection”
NewsMuseums
Citing pandemic, V&A and Smithsonian drop plan to co-curate a gallery in London
After cancellation of project for V&A East, the institutions say they still plan to cooperate on an internship programme
NewsPhotography
Photographers fear steep costs and little payment for covering protests
A lack of protections for—and an increase in domestic dangers to—photojournalists is becoming increasingly visible amid the pandemic and political rallies
NewsOpenings
Pack your goggles! France to open three underwater sculpture parks this autumn
Visitors will need to swim to see new exhibits submerged off the coast of Corsica, Marseille and Cannes
NewsFilm
A new documentary chronicles the revolutionary power of Mexican artist and activist David Siqueiro's murals
"Siqueiros: Walls of Passion" includes voice work by actor Cheech Marin and explores the restoration of the artist's iconic and controversial LA mural "América Tropical"
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
High school student leads archaeologists to lost Inca settlement
A local boy pointed out the spot in northwest Argentina where researchers discovered the previously unrecorded site Cerro Quemado
NewsRoyal Academy of Arts
London’s Royal Academy of Arts plans to slash 40% of jobs
Cuts have been announced as the institution aims to make savings of £8m a year and awaits news on government grant
NewsArt market
Controversy erupts over Fiac cancellation
Paris's major contemporary art fair has been scrapped due to Covid-19 fears, but galleries are divided over whether the decision was wise or "lacking courage"
NewsMuseums
Indian museum celebrating Muslim dynasty renamed after Hindu king
The museum, located in Agra, will show art, jewellery and fashion of the Mughal Empire
NewsDeaccessioning
Cranach, Courbet and Corot: a closer look at what the Brooklyn Museum is selling off
The institution is deaccessioning its only Cranach and 11 other works to finance care of its collection
NewsConservation & Preservation
As the world contends with Covid, World Monuments Fund makes a bet on sustainable tourism
Taking a lesson from how the pandemic dispersed crowds, the organisation selects seven sites for preservation and promotion
NewsMuseum trustees
Groups call for removal of Lacma trustee tied to ‘exploitative’ telecommunications company
Organisations target Tom Gores, whose firm invests in a corporation accused of charging prison inmates “egregious” rates for calls
NewsArt market
Lisson, Sadie Coles HQ and Stephen Friedman to open (temporarily) on London's Cork Street during Frieze week
In lieu of an October fair, the blue-chip galleries will congregate around the Mayfair street during what would—under normal circumstances—be the London art market's busiest month
NewsBanksy
Banksy loses trademark battle over his famous Flower Thrower image
The street artist opened a pop-up shop in Croydon last year in a bid to protect his image rights, but was found to have “acted in bad faith”
NewsArt market
UK High Court ruling could be 'welcome news' for arts organisations denied Covid-19 insurance payout
Judgment this week ruled in favour of the Financial Conduct Authority's test case seeking clarification of policies as many insurers refuse to pay out during the pandemic
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Fotografiska complex in London—world’s ‘largest photography venue’—is dropped
Investment group behind the project blames Brexit and Covid-19
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Activist employee group demands resignations of three Guggenheim leaders
But support for the statement, alleging “oppressive behaviours” by director, chief operating officer and chief curator, is unclear
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
NewsMumbai
Street art by ‘India’s Banksy’ defaced by right-wing youth group in Mumbai
Tyler Street Artist had painted the names of pro-government public figures onto a road for a collaborative public shaming project
NewsAustralia
Campaign to 'free' the Aboriginal flag gains momentum as Australian government seeks exclusive licensing rights
Made by the Luritja artist Harold Thomas in 1971, the rights to the flag design are currently held by Ben Wooster, a former art dealer previously fined $2.3m for selling fake Aboriginal works of art
NewsGermany
Is the Nebra Sky Disc a millennium younger than we thought?
Analysis by German archaeologists suggests that the piece was not part of the Bronze-Age hoard looted in 1999
NewsAppointments & departures
Six women, one foreigner: Italy appoints 13 new museum and heritage directors
Culture minister Dario Franceschini reverses trend for appointing foreign leaders for its leading institutions
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
NewsArt fairs
Fiac cancelled as new travel restrictions are imposed across Europe
The Paris art fair had seemed defiant in the face of coronavirus but organisers say they could not “meet the legitimate expectations of its exhibitors”
NewsPhotography
Mohamed Bourouissa wins the 2020 Deutsche Börse photography prize
French-Algerian artist awarded £30,000 prize for works about marginalised communities, including series on Paris suburbs and shoplifters in Brooklyn
NewsDhaka
Bangladeshi government officials storm protest performance in Dhaka
Organised by Drik Gallery, the event at Dhaka University aimed to highlight the extrajudicial killing of Bangladeshi civilians by government forces
NewsSaudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia pushes soft power by launching new teamLab digital art museum in Jeddah
The hi-tech Tokyo-based collective will create trademark immersive experiences for the new space
NewsPrussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
Meet the man overhauling Berlin's 'dysfunctional' museums in wake of bombshell report
Head of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger, responds to an expert panel’s call to dismantle Germany’s biggest arts body
NewsMuseums
Oxford museum removes 'racist' shrunken heads from display after 80 years
Exhibiting Tsantsas "reinforced racist and stereotypical thinking that goes against the museum’s core values,” says the Pitt Rivers Museum's director
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Museum of Memory dedicated to victims of state violence wins prize in Nicaragua
While its physical location was closed by the combined impact of government reprisals and the global pandemic, the museum lives on as a digital space
NewsCanada
Mural memorialises Vancouver’s lost historic Black neighbourhood
Hogan’s Alley was once a thriving hub of Black Canadian culture, before it was demolished like so many communities in the name of urban renewal
NewsFilm
Cate Blanchett takes on multiple personalities in her second art film, directed by Italian artist Marco Brambilla
The three-minute video in which Blanchett embodies the Greek philosopher Galen's four temperaments debuts today at Michael Fuchs Galerie in Berlin
NewsVenice
New laser-scanning project will allow Venice to live on forever as a digital avatar
A team of scientists are digitally mapping the entire island of San Giorgio in a mission to preserve the sinking city as combinations of 0 and 1
NewsArt market
2021 art fair calendar already in flux after Taipei Dangdai moves from January to May
Delay and cancellation of events early next year prompts the question: will Frieze Los Angeles still take place in February?
NewsObituaries
Erich Marx, Berlin collector and patron, dies age 99
His collection of works by Warhol, Twombly, Beuys and Kiefer is on long-term loan to the Berlin museums
NewsBeirut
Hope for a new future: Beirut's art world tell us how the city might be rebuilt
As the city's arts community mourns the loss of colleagues and assesses the damage to its museums and galleries, some believe change will come from the disaster—others are less optimistic
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures to open with Hayao Miyazaki retrospective in 2021
The new Los Angeles institution will honour the influential Japanese film-maker with an immersive show that draws visitors into his animated worlds
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
NewsVenice Biennale
Wanted—curator of the British Pavilion at Venice Biennale (who will work for £12,500)
Collector Shane Akeroyd sponsors post for ten-year period
NewsArt market
Keeping it in the family: Charles Saatchi’s daughter to open huge London gallery
Phoebe Saatchi Yates has collaborated with her husband and father to launch 10,000 sq ft Mayfair gallery focused on “unknown” artists
NewsExhibitions
Largest hoard of Bronze Age objects found in London—containing mysteries of city's ancient residents—goes on show
The Havering Hoard, which will be exhibited at the Museum of London, Docklands, was discovered two years ago and has never before been shown in its entirety
NewsBelarus
Belarusian opposition leader and arts promoter Maria Kolesnikova charged with organising a coup d'état
Aleksandr Lukashenko regime continues to crackdown on Belarus’s contemporary arts community
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Fingerprints help identify age and sex of prehistoric painters in southern Spain
Researchers studied the Neolithic rock art in the Los Machos rockshelter
NewsObituaries
Forrest Fenn, known for burying $2m worth of treasure in the Rocky Mountains, dies at 90
The controversial yet colourful Santa Fe-based art and antiquities dealer announced that his treasure had been found shortly before his death
NewsArt market
Cosmoscow determined to be first major fair to go ahead
Event still plans to run this week and hopes for a less distracted local Russian collector base, starved of international art travels
NewsArt market
Galleries cast doubt on the return of fairs in 2021 in latest Art Basel and UBS report
Covid-19 has forced galleries to cut staff by 33% on average as sales plummet 36% in the first half of 2020—and optimism is dwindling for next year
NewsPhotography
Magnum photographer Alec Soth defends similarities with work by Chicago artist Tonika Johnson
On commission for the New York Times, Soth says he had "no knowledge" of the long-term project by the Chicago resident and documentary photographer
NewsBrexit
Post-Brexit UK festival chief seeks country’s 'brightest talents' amid criticism over £120m cost
The project, planned for 2022, promises £3m in total to successful applications
NewsCommercial galleries
Hauser & Wirth appoints Fortnum & Mason head as first global chief executive
Ewan Venters will join the mega gallery in January with a focus on leading the business while co-presidents concentrate on the artists
NewsExhibitions
Saatchi Gallery exhibits London’s graduate artists deprived of degree shows
The exhibition forms part of the education programme at the collector’s gallery which has now ‘transitioned into a charity’
NewsMoney laundering
Will US Congress finally pass anti-money laundering legislation?
A recent Senate report found that secretive art market enables sanctions circumvention
NewsAuctions
Shipwrecked, disinherited, imprisoned, accused of being a Gunpowder Plotter: Tudor adventurer’s portrait hits the block
Portrait thought to be of Thomas Arundell is to be auctioned at Woolley & Wallis this week
NewsAntony Gormley
Waste of money? New Antony Gormley sculpture in British seaside city rattles residents
Plymouth city council unable to reveal cost of public project after signing confidentiality agreement with the artist
NewsMuseums & Heritage
‘Living museum’ of British-Somali heritage heads to east London
Crowdfunded space aims to preserve community archive and support emerging artists
NewsMuseums
Man arrested after protesting against Benin Bronzes display at London museum
Defendant was charged with using “threatening, abusive, insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress” during incident in January
NewsAwards
French tech entrepreneur funds new €150,000 award for European cultural institutions focused on 'digital and environmental impact'
Public and private European organisations—including UK and Switzerland— are encouraged to apply before the deadline later this month
NewsContemporary art
Berlin Art Week: shows in disused airports and nightclubs defy gloomy predictions
From Berghain's lockdown exhibition to the Brücke Museum's Vivian Suter display, here's what to see in the reigning contemporary art hub this week
Newsdiversity
After 2019 racial incident, MFA Boston hires a senior director of belonging and inclusion
Appointment follows an agreement with the Massachusetts attorney general to embrace diversity and adopt an anti-harassment policy
NewsFakes and forgeries
History's greatest forgers
The ability to mimic a famous artist’s work, fool knowledgeable experts and swindle deep-pocketed collectors are skills that can elevate the ordinary conman to legendary status
NewsLabour
Crisis at Hunter College: after surprise layoffs, remaining art assistants refuse to work
The part-time staff who were spared from the axe still do not have contracts for the autumn semester, while classes have already started
NewsMuseums
Tate and Anthony d’Offay agree to cut ties permanently
Museum will return loaned works and remove the retired dealer’s name from the building nearly three years after allegations of sexual harassment emerged
NewsSmithsonian Institution
‘Estamos unidos’: proposal for a new Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino awaits Senate consideration
After passage in the House, planners try to line up support for an institution that would fill in an incomplete US narrative
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?
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Bailout fail? Fewer than half of museums in England apply for government’s £1.57bn rescue package
Survey by The Art Newspaper also reveals that the Serpentine and Barbican have been left in limbo while the Southbank Centre is already £20m in debt
NewsBritish Museum
Trove of 'lost' Hokusai drawings acquired by British Museum
103 forgotten works by the renowned Japanese artist resurfaced at a Paris auction after slipping out of sight for more than 70 years
NewsAntiquities trafficking
French dealer sues over Egyptian stele seized on way to Tefaf New York
Legal case brought against antiquities expert who also sold an allegedly looted golden sarcophagus to the Metropolitan Museum last year, while an arrest is made in Germany
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
NewsResidencies
New York-based residency for Russian artists goes ahead as 'East-West divide' intensifies
US-Russia tensions heightened in the run up to November's US presidential election
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Exhibitions during Covid-19: museums turn to 'virtual couriers' to protect unchaperoned art
To overcome travel restrictions, registrars are using Zoom and other technologies to monitor works on loan remotely
NewsExhibitions
Major Francis Bacon show to explore how animals fuelled artist's fascination with flesh
The exhibition Francis Bacon: Man and Beast at the Royal Academy of Arts in London next year will include the artist's final work—a painting of a bull
NewsArt market
Status of $4.8m Modigliani painting challenged as legal battle over artist's catalogues raisonnés ramps up
French expert Marc Restellini claims substantial modifications to Italian painter's 1915 portrait of Beatrice Hastings were not mentioned by Christie's when the picture was sold—twice
NewsDonors
Smithsonian confirms that its donor data was potentially breached in ransomware attack
Hacking of Blackbaud software systems exposed hundreds of clients, including other US and UK nonprofits
NewsMemorials
Petition launched to replace Confederate monument in South Carolina with statue of actor Chadwick Boseman
Many say he "opened doors" for black people in the arts and artists like Toyin Ojih Odutola have created works honouring the the 43-year-old Black Panther actor, who died last week
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
NewsAncient Egypt
'First of its kind' exhibition will show contemporary art among the Pyramids of Giza
An art trail around the 4,500-year-old heritage site will feature works that reflect on ancient Egypt’s enduring influence on artists
NewsBiennials & festivals
How to organise a biennial in the Covid era
Bangkok Art Biennale director on grappling with coronavirus constraints and displaying "sensitive" works
NewsBritish Museums
UK museums are back open—but visitors are staying away
Our data shows that most major London art museums had many available booking slots for next-day entry despite operating reduced capacity
NewsRestitution
Berlin returns tattooed Maori heads to New Zealand
Human remains in museums have attracted widespread criticism
Newsdiversity
Getty announces internship programme to counter lack of diversity among art conservators
Noting barriers to students of colour, it establishes yearlong training stints with $30,000 grants
NewsCultural heritage
Jair Bolsonaro, long criticised for anti-black statements, removes a painting of Afro-Brazilian deities from presidential offices
The Brazilian president allegedly requested the removal of Os Orixás by the artist Djanira da Motta e Silva at the behest of his wife, an Evangelical Christian
NewsMuseums
Museums grapple with ethics of China projects
Institutions including Tate, V&A and Pompidou are forging partnerships with the country despite terrible human rights abuses
NewsMuseums
European museums defend their partnerships in China
As China faces growing criticism over its detention of Uyghers and crackdown in Hong Kong, Tate, V&A and the Pompidou explain why it is important to continue working in the country
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Four weeks after blast, rehabilitation work begins at National Museum of Beirut
Louvre collaborates with Lebanon’s antiquities authority on repairs to doors, windows and security system
NewsExhibitions
Basel’s new culture hub puts Caribbean artists, Picasso and Klaus Littmann’s nature project in the mix
Delayed by coronavirus, the new Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger has opened with the promise of free entry and catalogues for visitors
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
NewsOpenings
Sigmund Freud Museum reopens in Vienna after a €4m expansion
Family's private apartment, displays about psychoanalysis and collection of conceptual art go on view
NewsDiscoveries
A real Rembrandt? Study shows painting banished to storeroom is either by his studio or the master himself
A recent examination of the wood panel reveals that it is from the same Baltic oak tree as the panel of an authenticated work by the Dutch artist
NewsObituaries
Siah Armajani, the Iranian-American conceptual artist, has died, aged 81
Artist and exploratory thinker delved into architectural imagery, including revitalised bridges and poetic farm buildings
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
NewsArt fairs
Unrepresented minority artists get a boost at virtual edition of SP-Arte
In light of recent social shifts, major market events "need to rethink, reinvent and rejuvenate" by including more under-represented classes of artists, director says
NewsExhibitions
Brisbane lands mammoth European loan exhibition from the Met
Gallery of Modern Art is sole venue for a show resulting partly from a skylight renovation project at the New York museum
NewsAuctions
Sotheby’s teams up with the Keith Haring Foundation to auction Haring’s personal collection for charity
All works—by artists such as Basquiat, Warhol and Rammellzee—will make their auction debut in the sale, which is expected to make $1m for the LGBTQ nonprofit the Center
NewsExhibitions
A three-way collaboration delves into the paradox of ‘commonwealth’
ICA in Virginia teams with Philadelphia Contemporary and Beta-Local in San Juan
NewsFrans Hals
Frans Hals painting stolen from Dutch museum for the third time
Two Laughing Boys with a Mug of Beer was taken in previous heists with a work by Jacob van Ruisdael
News#ArtistSupportPledge
#ArtistSupportPledge—what happened next to the ‘lifeline’ that helped artists survive during lockdown?
Instagram scheme rallying art community in the wake of the pandemic has so far generated £60m
NewsBrazil
Cinemateca Brasileira, the largest audiovisual institution in South America, under threat by Bolsonaro government
The government has fired all 41 technical staff, who safeguard an important collection of more than 250,000 works
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
NewsBooks
German library buys 400-year-old album of drawings by European royalty for €2.8m
Art dealer Philipp Hainhofer's 16th-century "friendship book" contains inscriptions from Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II and Cosimo de’ Medici
NewsArt market
Undeterred by pandemic and political tumult, Western galleries expand to Greater China
The New York dealer Edward Ressle opens a space in Shanghai, in the footsteps of the UK's Flowers Gallery and France's Villepin ventures in Hong Kong