Arts news

• Lessons in Constructive Solitude From Thoreau

  09-04-2020 16:07 via nytimes.com
  
  The writer used his self-quarantine at Walden to pursue an intensive course in self-education. In the present pandemic moment, there’s plenty to learn from standing still.
  
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• Jeffrey Epstein’s Art World Connections: A Guide

  02-02-2026 23:11 via artnews.com
  Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by apparent suicide in 2019 while in jail facing additional charges related to alleged sex trafficking in New York and Florida, cultivated an expansive network of powerful and influential contacts in a wide array of fields—art very much among them. In addition to his dealings in the worlds of finance, science, and technology, the reputed billionaire engaged with art institutions, collectors, and cultural enterprises now reckoning with their
  
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• Portrait of Anne Boleyn Was Meant to Rebut Rumors That She Was a Witch, Historians Say

  02-02-2026 23:05 via artnews.com
  A portrait of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s ill-fated second wife, is now thought to be an attempt to rehabilitate her image after her death. Using infrared reflectography, historians and curators have uncovered evidence that the work was at least partially created to dispel rumors that Boleyn was a witch with six fingers.In the painting, which hangs in Hever Castle in England, both of Boleyn’s hands, each with the usual number of digits, are visible. But the new infrared scans reveal th
  
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• Two Paris Museums Get More Than a Dozen Works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

  02-02-2026 22:51 via artnews.com
  The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, the organization that stewards the legacy of the iconic artist duo who wrapped large structures in fabric, has donated 14 artworks to two museums in Paris.The artists’ ties to the city are well documented. In 2021, a year after Christo’s death at 84, the artists’ 1962 plan to wrap the Arc de Triomphe in 25,000 square meters of metallic blue polypropylene fabric and red rope was finally realized after almost 60 years. Christo and Je
  
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• John Forté, Hip-Hop Redemption Tale, Dies at 50

  02-02-2026 22:29 via nytimes.com
  He seemed destined for a glittering career, working with the Fugees and solo, then landed in prison. After a presidential pardon, he clawed his way back.
  
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• Cher’s Luther Vandross Grammys Gaffe Joins a Long List of Award Show Flubs

  02-02-2026 21:57 via nytimes.com
  “I don’t do this part very well,” the singer said, just before she seemed to award a Grammy to Luther Vandross, who died in 2005. Plenty of celebrities have made similar goofs.
  
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• Sotheby’s Second Sale in Saudi Arabia Tops $19.6 M., Sets Record for Saudi Artist

  02-02-2026 21:51 via artnews.com
  Just under a year ago, Sotheby’s made its biggest foray in the Gulf yet with its first-ever auction in Saudi Arabia. That sale, titled “Origins” and featuring 117 lots spanning art and luxury objects, brought in $17.3 million with fees—squarely within its $14 million–$20 million presale estimate. It wasn’t a spectacular result, but also wasn’t a disaster.Over the weekend, the house staged its second such sale, titled “Origins II,” to far stro
  
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• Cher’s Grammy Flub Joins a Pantheon of Award-Show Gaffes

  02-02-2026 21:49 via nytimes.com
  “I don’t do this part very well,” the singer said, just before she seemed to award a Grammy to Luther Vandross, who died in 2005. Plenty of celebrities have made similar goofs.
  
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• A Rare Greek Funerary Sculpture, Priced North of $600,000, Heads to TEFAF

  02-02-2026 21:41 via artnews.com
  Most young women in ancient Greece were married early in their teenage years, and they were expected to produce children as a matter of public interest. So the death of a young woman of marriagable age was seen as a loss not only to her loved ones, but also to society. A rare ancient Greek artwork headed to the TEFAF art fair memorializes the loss of one such young woman. On offer from London gallery David Aaron, Stele of Medeia, from the Attic region, dates to 375-350 BCE. The piece is tagged a
  
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• Palestinians Decry Israel’s Plan to Seize West Bank Archaeological Site: ‘A Violation of Our History’

  02-02-2026 21:36 via artnews.com
  Israeli authorities have announced plans to seize a sprawling archaeological site overlooking the Palestinian town of Sebastia in the West Bank, sparking outrage among the roughly 3,500 Palestinians who depend on tourism to the site and nearby olive groves for their livelihoods.Residents of Sebastia have denounced the planned seizure as a pretext for expanding illegal Jewish settlements and as a means of erasing Palestinian identity through the appropriation of heritage sites, the Guardian repor
  
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• Billy Bass Nelson, Original Bassist for Funkadelic, Dies at 75

  02-02-2026 20:45 via nytimes.com
  George Clinton, while working as a barber, recruited him. Mr. Nelson went on to name the group and, with his bandmates, to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
  
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• Kid Rock to Headline TPUSA Alternate Halftime Show

  02-02-2026 20:24 via nytimes.com
  Turning Point USA, the advocacy group founded by Charlie Kirk, will present a streamed concert that will go up against Bad Bunny’s performance at the Super Bowl.
  
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• Stars Bring ‘ICE OUT’ Pins and Fiery Speeches to a Political Grammys

  02-02-2026 19:33 via nytimes.com
  Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish and Kehlani made strong statements about immigration on Sunday, while the host Trevor Noah drew President Trump’s ire.
  
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• Jeffrey Epstein Masterminded Leon Black’s Purchase of $115 M. Picasso from Gagosian, Files Show

  02-02-2026 19:01 via artnews.com
  A newly released tranche of Jeffrey Epstein files from the Department of Justice show that Epstein was personally involved in high-profile transactions between Gagosian gallery and Leon Black, suggesting that Epstein’s role in liaising between the mega-gallery and the mega-collector ran even deeper than was previously known.The new files include many documents related to the sale of Pablo Picasso’s 1931 sculpture Buste de Femme (Marie-Thérèse). While it was previously r
  
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• Jeffrey Epstein Advised on Leon Black’s Purchase of $115 M. Picasso from Gagosian, Files Show

  02-02-2026 19:01 via artnews.com
  A newly released tranche of Jeffrey Epstein files from the Department of Justice show that Epstein was personally involved in high-profile transactions between Gagosian gallery and Leon Black, suggesting that Epstein’s role in liaising between the mega-gallery and the mega-collector ran even deeper than was previously known.The new files include many documents related to the sale of Pablo Picasso’s 1931 sculpture Buste de Femme (Marie-Thérèse). While it was previously r
  
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• At the U.S.-Mexico Border, a Children’s Opera Sings to the Moment

  02-02-2026 18:49 via nytimes.com
  “Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote,” performed on both sides of the border, offers an allegory about migrants, immigration agents and President Trump.
  
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• Art Basel Qatar Marks an Important Moment for Arts and Culture in Doha

  02-02-2026 18:09 via artnews.com
  This is a special edition of Breakfast with ARTnews, to coincide with Art Basel Qatar. To receive the newsletter in your inbox every weekday, sign up here.Here in Doha, it is nearly impossible not to know that Art Basel is in town. Red banners announcing the fair line the streets of the Msheireb district, where it will open on Tuesday across the M7 building, the Design District, and other nearby venues.This is an important moment for arts and culture in Qatar&m
  
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• What Shows to See in Doha During Art Basel Qatar

  02-02-2026 18:03 via artnews.com
  Art Basel’s first edition in Doha arrives with expectations: new collectors, cautious galleries hoping to land institutional interest, and a city briefly reorganized around a fair schedule. What distinguishes the week is not just the fair, but how clearly Doha’s museums are using the moment to make a case for depth.Rather than flooding the calendar with kitsch or pandering to Western taste, the strongest exhibitions focus on history, structure, and sustained attention. If you see onl
  
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• Chicago’s Volume Gallery Triples in Size with a Move to West Town

  02-02-2026 17:58 via artnews.com
  The last couple of years have seen many art galleries close in art hubs around the world amid a struggling market. But one in Chicago is tripling in size with a move to a new neighborhood. Volume Gallery will open on February 13 in a 3,500-square-foot space designed by co-founders Claire Warners and Sam Vinz at 1700 West Hubbard Street, across from mainstays Mariane Ibrahim and Monique Meloche. It’s the gallery’s third space since it opened in 2010. If expanding a gallery in a m
  
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• Trump Plans to Close Kennedy Center for Two Years, Beginning July 4

  02-02-2026 17:50 via artnews.com
  President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he would close the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which has been facing an existential crisis for the past year, for up to two years as part of a renovation project.In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that the closure, which is still “totally subject to Board approval,” would happen on July 4, the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the US. He said that the planned closur
  
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• Judge Sends Ousted Philadelphia Museum Director Sasha Suda’s Lawsuit To Arbitration

  02-02-2026 17:48 via artnews.com
  A judge has ruled that the messy conflict between the Philadelphia Art Museum and its former director and CEO, Sasha Suda, who was dismissed in November, will go to arbitration, not to a jury trial, as Suda had requested in a civil suit. Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael E. Erdos referred to Suda’s contract, which dictates that disputes be solved in arbitration, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.“We are not surprised that the museum wants to hide its illegal conduct in
  
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• When the Clowns Went to Church

  02-02-2026 17:13 via nytimes.com
  Every February, clowns pack into a London church to honor Joseph Grimaldi, a pioneering 19th-century clown. Hundreds of onlookers come for the merriment, too.
  
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• Art Basel Qatar Gets Ready to Open, Featuring Solo Presentations by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marlene Dumas, and Philip Guston

  02-02-2026 16:51 via artnews.com
  When Art Basel opens its first edition in Doha on Tuesday, the difference—from other editions—will be immediately apparent. This is the smallest Basel fair by far: just 87 galleries, all of them mounting solo presentations, in a layout that feels closer to a curated exhibition than a commercial free-for-all. For comparison there were 206 galleries in Paris and 283 in Miami. While sources have told me that following editions in Qatar will grow to Paris- and Miami-size, the s
  
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• Icelandic artist Björn Roth Dead at 64, Trump to Close Kennedy Center For 2 Years, and More: Morning LInks for February 2, 2026

  02-02-2026 15:51 via artnews.com
  Good Morning!Trump announced plans to close the Kennedy Center for two years of renovations following more canceled performances.The Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) in Glasgow is permanently closing amid financial woes. Icelandic artist Björn Roth dead at 64.The Headlines CURTAINS CLOSE. After several performers canceled shows and public patronage continued to fall, President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he is closing the Kennedy Center for a t
  
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• Justin Bieber at the Grammys: A Stripped-Down, Perspective-Shifting Performance

  02-02-2026 15:15 via nytimes.com
  The pop star stripped down his music and himself for a vulnerable but assured solo performance of “Yukon” on Sunday.
  
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• Warhol Foundation Expands Grant-Making Programs to Include Visual Arts Nonprofits with Budgets Under $200,000

  02-02-2026 15:00 via artnews.com
  The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts will expand its giving by adding a new grant program that will support visual arts projects at US-based nonprofits with budgets under $200,000.Prior to this change, the Warhol Foundation’s funding has focused on nonprofit visual arts organizations with budgets of $300,000 or more. This new program, which will give grants between $20,000 and $30,000, will begin accepting applications for the foundation’s upcoming round of Spring 2026 gran
  
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• What to Know About the Kennedy Center and Trump’s Campaign to Remake It

  02-02-2026 14:52 via nytimes.com
  The center opened in 1971 and is one of America’s top cultural institutions. President Trump says he plans to transform the center to create a “new and spectacular” entertainment complex.
  
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• Christie’s New Head of Luxury Talks The Category’s Growth and Plans for 2026

  02-02-2026 14:28 via artnews.com
  Earlier this month, Christie’s promoted Kimberly Miller to global managing director of its luxury operation, a move that comes as the category continues to outpace much of the auction market. In December, the house reported that in the first half of last year, luxury sales jumped 30 percent, compared to the same period in 2024. The jump came as the house’s overall first-half results remained flat. That momentum carried through the rest of the year. In Geneva in November, the Mellon B
  
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• Christie’s New Head of Luxury Talks About Category’s Growth and Plans for 2026

  02-02-2026 14:28 via artnews.com
  Editor’s Note: This story is part of a new series on the convergence of art and luxury. See all of our reporting on the topic here.Earlier this month, Christie’s promoted Kimberly Miller to global managing director of its luxury operation, a move that comes as the category continues to outpace much of the auction market.In December, the house reported that in the first half of last year, luxury sales jumped 30 percent, compared to the same period in 2024. The jump came as t
  
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• Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Manuel Rabaté Tapped to Lead India’s Largest Private Museum

  02-02-2026 11:41 via artnews.com
  The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) in New Delhi, one of India’s leading private art institutions, has announced the appointment of Manuel Rabaté as its first chief executive and director. The Frenchman joins from Louvre Abu Dhabi, where he has served as its inaugural director since the museum opened in 2016.Rabaté’s arrival comes as KNMA prepares for a major expansion that will see it move from its current location inside a shopping mall into a purpose-built museum co
  
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