Artnews

El Greco, Saint Sebastian, ca. 1610–14. Courtesy Christie’s El Greco’s Saint Sebastian (ca. 1610–14) has been pulled from auction at Christie’s after intervention from the Romanian government, which has claimed the work as being “unequivocally the property of the Romanian state.” The painting was estimated to be worth between $7 million and $9 million, and was expected …

Christie’s Sale of El Greco Painting Blocked by Romanian Government Read More »

Phillips UK location, 2024. In Pictures via Getty Images Phillips auction house has appointed Bernd Runge, a former publisher at Condé Nast and Interview Magazine, as its new COO. Runge, who previously served as Phillips’s CEO from 2009 to 2013, returns as the house undergoes a significant shift in its leadership. According to public filings …

Phillips Hires Back Former CEO, This Time as COO, as Financial Losses Compound Read More »

Hamishi Farah, Untitled, 2025. Photo Stefan Korte/Courtesy the artist; Maxwell Graham, New York; and Arcadia Missa, London Artist Hamishi Farah said on Wednesday that a painting of Joe Chialo, Berlin’s controversial culture senator, never made it on view in Berlin because it was “deemed inappropriate” by the art festival that planned to show it. The …

Painting of Controversial Berlin Politician Was ‘Deemed Inappropriate’ by German Festival, Artist Says Read More »

Titian: Ecce Homo, ca. 1570–75. Courtesy the Pittas Collection Below the surface of an oil painting by Italian Renaissance master Titian, experts have identified a previously unknown work by the artist using scientific analysis, the Andreas Pittas Art Characterization Laboratories at the Cyprus Institute (APAC) announced in a press release for an exhibition of the …

Famed Titian Painting Reveals Hidden Portrait Read More »

Documenta 15. Photo Swen Pförtner/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images Earlier this week, Documenta released a new code of conduct aimed at remedying the ongoing fallout from an antisemitism controversy that created upheaval during its 2022 edition. Ahead of its 2027 edition, to be curated by Naomi Beckwith, the famed German art exhibition said in its …

Documenta Adopts Divisive Antisemitism Definition in New Code of Conduct Read More »

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum gestures during her daily conference at the National Palace in Mexico City on January 8. AFP via Getty Images As dealers, artists, collectors, and art advisers hopped flights to Guadalajara for ART WKND GDL this past weekend, Mexico’s art scene suddenly found itself ensnared in an incipient trade war, with little …

Galleries Express Uncertainty Over Trump Tariffs as Mexico City Art Week Kicks Off Read More »

Edvard Munch, Two Human Beings (The Lonely Ones), 1906–8. ©President and Fellows of Harvard College/Courtesy Harvard Art Museums The Harvard Art Museums in Cambridge, Massachusetts, have significantly expanded their Edvard Munch collection with a major bequest from longtime New York–based donors Lynn and Phillip Straus, the latter of whom is a Harvard alum. The donation—62 …

Harvard Secures Large Edvard Munch Bequest from New York Philanthropists Read More »

Amedeo Modigliani in his studio, 1910s. Getty Images Next time you’re strolling through the antique shop, make sure to listen to your gut. Italian entrepreneur and collector Paolo Guzzini did just that and now finds himself the owner of an original Amedeo Modigliani, according to a report from Corriere Adriatico. Acquired some fifteen years ago from …

Early Modigliani Portrait Discovered in French Antique Shop Read More »

Contemporary punks have been known to sport labret piercings, but they were hardly the first do so. Photo Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Every teenager and 20-something thinks a facial piercing or three is a new form of rebellion. In fact, prehistoric kids wore those very same piercings, according to a new study published in the Journal of …

Ice Age Europeans May Have Been the First to Rock Labret Piercings Read More »

Crunch time: The British Council’s chief executive, Scott McDonald (C), has offered its collection to the government in exchange for writing off its almost £200-million loan. Getty Images The British Council, the UK’s international organization for cultural relations, is considering selling some of its impressive art collection to offset its £197 million debt. The organization …

British Council Considers Selling Half of Its 9,000-Work Collection to Pay Off £197 M. Debt Read More »