ReviewExhibitions
Virtual photography show reveals modern Lebanon's many layers of tragedy
Lebanon Then and Now: Photography from 2006 to 2020 hosted by Washington, DC's Middle East Institute is both timely and prescient
NewsAcquisitions
Hirshhorn to unveil two acquisitions as it reopens its sculpture garden
Museum welcomes monumental 2018 works by Huma Bhabha and Sterling Ruby
NewsProtests
Monuments across the US are toppled, damaged as protests over George Floyd's death continue
Lawmakers mobilise the National Guard to quell destruction while demonstrators deface Confederate memorials and public works emblematic of white supremacy
NewsLandscape architecture
National Geographic Society defends disputed plan to remove sculptural installation
Organisation argues that Elyn Zimmerman’s site-specific 1984 work does not deserve protection
BlogDiary
A patchwork of personal messages responding to Covid-19 could be displayed across the National Mall in Washington, DC
The crowd-sourced project by Patrick Shearn and his collective Poetic Kinetics will gather thousands of messages for an aerial project
NewsArts funding
Washington, DC’s mayor and arts commission locked in conflict
Muriel Bowser launches rival office of creative affairs and blocks access to the city’s public art vaults
PreviewExhibitions
Marcel Duchamp’s box of delights opens at Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Readymades, miniature reproductions, collaborations with Man Ray, and games of chess to feature in new show
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Ancient Bible fragments allegedly stolen by Oxford professor and sold to Hobby Lobby owner will be returned
Washington DC’s Museum of the Bible had acquired the artefacts through its founder Steve Green
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Middle East think-tank opens art gallery in Washington, DC
New space for Modern and contemporary art from the Arab world will put on five exhibitions a year
News
Washington, DC mayor's office attempts to take control of the city Arts Commission's collection
Staff members found their keys to the city's Art Bank abruptly deactivated as tensions rose between Mayor Muriel Bowser and the commission
NewsCensorship
New US visa policy could stifle outspoken artists on social media
Several high-profile artists including Ai Weiwei have spoken out against the policy
InterviewJewellery
Wakanda comes to Washington
Douriean Fletcher, who made the jewellery for Black Panther, speaks at the National Museum of Women in the Arts
NewsAttendance
Boom or bust for DC museums: how the US government shutdown affected visitor figures
In January, the 19 Smithsonian institutions had just 13% of the footfall they had experienced the year before
PreviewExhibitions
She persisted: DC’s National Portrait Gallery looks at the history of the women’s vote
One of the longest reform movements in American history, which continues to be an issue today, is explored in the show
NewsMuseums & Heritage
The Hirshhorn acquires a reconfiguration of Yayoi Kusama's first Infinity Mirror Room
The 1965 work, Phalli's Field, was a breakthrough in the artist's career
NewsLaw
Protesters, influencers and AI: what museums need to think about today
Legal experts discussed the pressing topics for institutions at a recent conference in Washington, DC
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Hiroshi Sugimoto to redesign Hirshhorn's sculpture garden
The renovation taps into the spirit of the founding architect, Gordon Bunshaft
ReviewExhibitions
Pakistani-American painter Ambreen Butt imbues traditional miniatures with timely social criticism
Her show Mark My Words is at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC—one of the museums still open during the shutdown
NewsFunding
Battle brews over Washington’s arts commission
The mayor’s plan to curtail the powers of the leading arts funder in the US capital could reduce its vital independence
NewsContemporary art
Rachel Whiteread’s breakthrough work Ghost gets complex conservation treatment
Structural engineers and architects were among those restoring the room-sized cast at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC
NewsPolitics
Washington, DC grant-making commission issues morality clause—then quickly backtracks
Works made with the funding should not be “lewd, lascivious, vulgar, overtly political, excessively violent, constitutes sexual harassment, or is, in any other way, illegal,” according to the clause
NewsLaw
Claim on Guelph Treasure can go to trial in US federal court
Lawyers for the Prussian Cultural Foundation argued that it was not “genocide” when the objects were sold in 1935
NewsLaw
Art dealer sues Poland over its failed efforts to extradite him from the US
After offering to return a work looted by the Nazis in exchange for his family’s former real estate, Khochinsky was placed under house arrest in New York and faced a 10-year prison sentence in Poland
NewsPolitics
The art world reacts to US Supreme Court’s travel ban decision
Early signs of the order’s impact on cultural exchange have artists and curators concerned
Analysis
Take it to the top—how US museums are dealing with diversity
Institutions need all hands on deck to redress imbalances in jobs and programming
BlogIn the frame
George Washington dons his best Roman garb for Frick show
PreviewExhibitions
Sittow survey in Washington, DC, helps celebrate 100 years of Estonian Republic
Court artist had an impressive roster of sitters including Mary Rose Tudor
NewsBarack Obama
Barack and Michelle Obama’s portraits unveiled in Washington
The former US president and first lady shared some personal connections with the artists, Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald
PreviewExhibitions
Washington show aims to clear up muddy ‘Outsider art’ label
From erotic photographs to psychedelic quilts, a reappraisal of autodidacticism features more than 80 eclectic artists
NewsPrizes
David Adjaye's Museum of African American History wins prestigious Beazley Design prize
Smithsonian institution was inaugurated by President Obama in 2016
NewsOpenings
Washington's new $500m Museum of the Bible claims 'non-sectarian' mission
Private institution is funded by evangelical Hobby Lobby chairman, Steve Green
ArchiveWashington, DC
US groups urge fast broadband for all as online plans threaten access to art
Proposed “two-tier” internet could leave artists with inadequate technology, while wealthy content providers get super-fast connections
ArchiveWashington, DC
US could stop artists using drones
New regulations may restrict the use of surveillance technology in their work
ArchiveComment
Why American art museums are reluctant to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War
It was a different story for the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth in 2009
ArchiveArt fairs
Major collectors to host (e)merge fair in DC
Washington DC fair will focus on youth and young artists
ArchiveExhibitions
Smithsonian to host exhibition of gay art
Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery will host “Hide-Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture” in October
ArchiveKazimir Malevich
City of Amsterdam may be sued by the US over lawsuit brought by Malevich heirs
The heirs of Kazimir Malevich are seeking the return of 14 paintings from the Stedelijk Museum, claiming they are not entitled to the paintings
ArchiveFeatures
US army collection: Looking at the art of the Iraq war
A collection of paintings is stored in a basement in Washington, DC. The artists are serving—or have served—in the US Army
ArchiveLooted art
The US Army’s hidden collection of Nazi art
Around 450 paintings made by artists working for the Third Reich are now in Washington, DC. They are unlikely to be returned to Germany
ArchiveCorcoran Gallery and College of Art and Design
Washington DC. Corcoran’s future remains uncertain
The institution hopes a $2m V&A blockbuster exhibition of modernist design will draw visitors and sponsors
ArchiveKazimir Malevich
US court could hear case against the City of Amsterdam for Kazimir Malevich works of art at the Stedelijk Museum
The heirs of Kazimir Malevich are claiming 14 works which the Dutch institution sent on tour to New York and Houston
ArchiveRestitution
Malevich heirs claim paintings—again
A suit has been filed in a US federal court for 14 paintings in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam
ArchiveMarch 2004
Are the culture wars over? White House proposes $18m increase to federal arts funding
The boost, which will send "American masterpieces" across the US, comes more than a decade after Congress threatened to abolish the NEA for financing "objectionable" works
ArchiveIraq
Military personnel unearth secret hoard of Jewish manuscripts belonging to Saddam Hussein in search for weapons of mass destruction
Found in the headquarters of Saddam’s secret police force in Baghdad, the cache has been transferred to Washington for conservation