From the art world
News
Stories from the world of painting, exhibitions and the art market — told in our own words.
September 1, 2022
When an AI Picture Won an Art Prize
In 2022 a work made with the AI tool Midjourney won a Colorado art competition — sparking a fierce debate about creativ…
August 25, 2022
Going Home: Germany Returns the Benin Bronzes
In 2022 Germany transferred ownership of more than 500 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria — the largest single restitution of col…
July 22, 2022
Climate Protesters Glue Themselves to a Botticelli
In 2022 climate activists glued their hands to the protective glass of Botticelli's 'Primavera' at Florence's Uffizi, j…
July 18, 2022
Claes Oldenburg, Who Made Everyday Objects Giant, Dies at 93
Claes Oldenburg, the Pop artist who turned spoons, clothespins and burgers into colossal public sculptures, died in 202…
July 16, 2022
Diego Rivera's Vision of the Americas
A major 2022 exhibition reassembled Diego Rivera's monumental vision of the Americas — the Mexican muralist who painted…
July 14, 2022
A Hidden Van Gogh: Self-Portrait Found Lurking Behind Another Painting
Conservators in Edinburgh X-rayed a Van Gogh and found the artist staring back at them from the other side of the canva…
June 18, 2022
Documenta 15: Collective Spirit and Bitter Controversy
The 2022 edition of Germany's documenta, led by the Indonesian collective ruangrupa, was engulfed by an antisemitism sc…
June 8, 2022
Paula Rego, Storyteller of Dark Fairy Tales, Dies at 87
Portuguese-British artist Paula Rego, whose powerful figurative paintings confronted folklore, womanhood and politics,…
May 29, 2022
Cake on the Glass: The Mona Lisa's Strangest Day at the Louvre
A man in disguise smeared cake across the Mona Lisa's protective glass in Paris — leaving the world's most famous paint…
May 19, 2022
Cornelia Parker: Beauty from Destruction
Tate Britain's 2022 survey celebrated Cornelia Parker, the British artist who blows things up, flattens them and suspen…
May 19, 2022
Africa's Great Gathering: The Dakar Biennale
The Dak'Art Biennale returned to Senegal in 2022, reaffirming Dakar as the beating heart of contemporary art across the…
May 16, 2022
A $922 Million Divorce: The Macklowe Collection
Ordered sold in a bitter divorce, the Macklowe collection became the most valuable single-owner collection ever auction…