Artnews

Paris. Photo Loïc Venance/AFP via Getty Images For the first time in over 20 years, the International Council of Museums has revised its code of ethics to address new and pressing issues facing institutions, including “the rise of digital technologies, the climate crisis, and the ongoing need to address the legacies of colonialism through responsible …

ICOM Adopts New Museum Code of Ethics Taking Aim at AI, Colonialism, and Climate Change Read More »

The entrance to the Venice Biennale’s Central Pavilion, with a facade installation by Otobong Nkanga. Photo Maximilíano Durón/ARTnews Over the weekend, a European Union commission followed up on its earlier threats to cancel a €2 million grant to the Venice Biennale, citing Russia’s participation in the event this year as its reasoning. The European Commission …

EU Commission Recommends Cancelation of Venice Biennale Grant over Russian Pavilion Read More »

“Gus,” a 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex sold at Sotheby’s for more than $50 million. Photo Matthew Sherman/Courtesy Sotheby’s To receive Morning Links in your inbox every weekday, sign up for our Breakfast with ARTnews newsletter. Good morning! A $30 million T. rex reignites a debate over whether fossils belong in private collections. Felix Art Fair will change its format for the 2027 edition.  A forgotten …

$30 M. T. Rex Sparks Debate Over Fossils Being in Private Collections, Felix Art Fair Announces New Format for 2027, and More: Morning Links for July 14, 2026 Read More »

The Guggenheim Museum in New York. Photo Ben Hider/Getty Images The bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease has been detected in a cooling tower at New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, though museum officials say the building remains safe for visitors and staff.  The discovery comes as city health officials investigate an outbreak of the potentially …

Legionella Bacteria Found in Guggenheim Cooling Tower as Outbreak Plagues Upper East Side Read More »

The Russian Pavilion, pictured during the 2024 Venice Biennale. Getty Images The Headlines EU TO PULL VENICE FUNDING? The European Commission has recommended the withdrawal of €2 million from the Venice Biennale as a dispute over Russia’s participation in the exhibition continues, the Art Journal reports. The move follows months of tension over the reopening of the Russian Pavilion, which returned this …

European Commission Recommends Withdrawal of Venice Biennale Grant, UNESCO Reviews ‘Black Cube’ in Florence, and More: Morning Links for July 13, 2026 Read More »

A screenshot of an Instagram video by the Minneapolis-based artist Josie Lewis discussing the controversy surrounding “My Frankenstein”. Courtesy Instagram/Josie Lewis Artist Kelly Reemtsen filed a copyright lawsuit last month against David Salle, alleging that his 2025 painting Hatchet—which first attracted plagiarism allegations in March—copied protected elements from two of her works. The complaint seeks damages, …

Artist Files Copyright Lawsuit Against David Salle Over Painting Removed from Gallery Show Read More »

David Odo will be the next director of the Honolulu Museum of Art. Photo Jason Thrasher/Courtesy HoMA The Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA) in Hawai‘i has named David Odo as its next director and chief executive. He will start in the role on September 1.  He succeeds Halona Norton-Westbrook, who left in July 2025 to …

Honolulu Museum of Art Appoints New Director Read More »

Werner Merzbacher. ©Salvatore Vinci An important collection of modern art amassed by Werner Merzbacher, a Swiss collector who died in 2024, is currently the subject of a legal battle centered around the late businessman’s will and who really gets the right to control the paintings he owned. Merzbacher, who generated his fortune through a fur …

Late Swiss Businessman’s Treasure-Filled Modern Art Collection Faces Bitter Legal Battle Read More »

The American Museum of Natural History. Getty Images The American Museum of Natural History, home to a famous model whale and gem collection as well as a gleaming planetarium on the Upper West Side of New York, has made plans to repatriate hair samples taken from Native Americans in the 19th century as part of …

American Museum of Natural History to Repatriate 2,700 Native American Hair Samples Under NAGPRA Read More »

Lonnie G. Bunch III. Getty Images On Saturday, July 4, the Trump Administration released a scathing 162-page report accusing the Smithsonian‘s National Museum of American History of “institutional capture by a radical, activist ideology.” On Tuesday, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III finally responded. In an email to staff obtained by the Washington Post and …

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch Slams White House Report As ‘Not a Fair Characterization’ of Museum’s Scholarship Read More »