Monthly archive
26 headlines
Source-linked reporting
FAD Magazine
The Whitney Museum of American Art will open “Roy Lichtenstein: Like New” on October 11, 2026, bringing together more than 130 works spanning six decades. The exhibition will also reunite all eight paintings from Lichtenstein’s landmark 1962 debut at Leo Castelli Gallery for the first time.
Colby College Museum of Art
Colby College Museum of Art has acquired Henri Matisse’s “Océanie, le ciel,” a silk-screened linen panel conceived in 1946 and printed in 1948. The work joins two other Matisse pieces in the collection, is the museum’s first of such monumental size and importance, and will be used in courses across multiple disciplines.
Galerie Magazine
The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present “Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous,” bringing together works from more than 80 institutions and private collections in 12 thematic chapters. The exhibition, which examines the artists’ distinct but connected development, will run at The Met Fifth Avenue from October 4, 2026, through January 31, 2027.
Artlyst
A signed original David Hockney lithographic print, discovered inside a donated 1980 copy of Paper Pools at a Salvation Army charity shop in Norwich, sold for £41,160 on eBay. The source says the print remained inside the book for 46 years, the charity researched and confirmed its significance, and the proceeds will support its community work.
artforum.com
Pierre Soulages painting Peinture 161 x 200 cm, 14 novembre 1958, oil on canvas, 63 3/4 × 79 3/8", sold at Christie’s last fall for just under $5 million, is the subject of a new lawsuit filed by the Zeckendorf family alleging it was stolen from them decades ago; the Christie’s sale was part of the estate of Patricia G. Ross Weis and Robert F. Weis. The lawsuit seeks the proceeds from the sale but not the artwork itself.
artnews.com
Pierre Soulages’s 1958 abstraction Peinture 161 x 200 cm, 14 novembre 1958, sold for just under $5 million at Christie’s during an evening sale from the Weis family collection. The new lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, alleges the work was stolen from the Zeckendorf family between 1977 and 1980 and seeks proceeds from the sale. Plaintiffs include William Lie Zeckendorf, Arthur W. Zeckendorf, James Nicholson, and Leslie Nicholson; defendants are Patricia Weis’s estate representatives.
The Strad
Violinist Sylvain Hotellier's Spirito Sorsana violin, made in Cuneo around 1720 to 1725 with a 33.5cm one-piece back, was stolen along with two pernambuco bows overnight on 7 July 2026 in Pantin, a suburb northeast of Paris. The stolen bows were a 2022 Nehr bow engraved La Durance and a Daguin-Panier bow, taken in a black Riboni Uno e Otto case. No value was stated.
Phillips
Werner Bronkhorst’s From Every Corner (2026), a 48-player football scene marking his debut at a major international auction house, sold for $283,800 against a $100,000–150,000 estimate in Phillips’ 16 July New York sale.
The Art Newspaper
The Art Newspaper reported that the German state of Bavaria approved measures to move provenance research out of its museums into an independent entity attached to the Institut fur Zeitgeschichte in Munich and to create an evaluation panel led by Raphael Gross. Culture minister Markus Blume also announced the restitution of Pablo Picasso's 1905 bronze bust Fernande, also known as Beatrice, to the heirs of the Jewish dealer Alfred Flechtheim after Bavaria had rejected the claim in 2024.
artlyst.com
Robert Rauschenberg Foundation donates three Gluts sculptures by Robert Rauschenberg to ARTIST ROOMS, to be shown at Tate Modern from 20 September 2026. The works entering the collection are G-I Glut (1986), Rasputin’s Revenge Early Winter Glut (1987) and Mobile Cluster Glut (Neapolitan) (1987).
The Art Newspaper
The Art Newspaper reported that Christie's posted 4.5 billion dollars in total first half 2026 revenue with public auction sales of 3.5 billion dollars, up 71 percent year on year, while Sotheby's reached an all time high 4.4 billion dollars in total revenue with public auction sales of 3.4 billion dollars, up 59 percent. Top lots cited include Jackson Pollock's Number 7A (1948) at 181.2 million dollars, Constantin Brancusi's Danaide at 107.6 million dollars, and a Mark Rothko abstract at 98.4 million dollars, alongside Sotheby's June sale of the Joe Lewis collection in London at 406.2 million dollars.
nigeriamag.com
El Anatsui, an 82-year-old Ghanaian artist, outsold peers at Frieze New York 2026 with two works sold by White Cube for a combined $4.1 million. The sales were LuwVor I (2025) for $2.2 million and MivEvi III (2025) for $1.9 million, making White Cube the top-selling gallery of the week.
The Strad
The Strad reported that 23-year-old US violinist Christina Nam won the senior category of the 2026 Ysaye International Music Competition, with Tetsutaro Nakatani second and Vilmos Csikos third. Nam receives 5,000 euros plus a one-year loan of a violin from Florian Leonhard Fine Violins and a concerto engagement with the Gunpo Prime Philharmonic Orchestra.
Hadassah Magazine
Hadassah Magazine reported that the 2025 HEAR Act, signed into law in April 2026, removes procedural defences such as statutes of limitations that had blocked Nazi looted art claims from being heard on their merits. The article cites the Stern heirs' suit to recover Vincent van Gogh's Olive Picking (1889) held by the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation in Athens, and David Cassirer's long running effort to recover Camille Pissarro's Rue Saint-Honore, Apres-midi, Effet de Pluie from Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza museum.
usaartnews.com
George Condo returns to Hauser & Wirth for 2027 Paris and Palo Alto shows, restoring the gallery’s worldwide representation of the artist. The move follows his 2025 career survey at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris and prior shifts to Sprüth Magers and Skarstedt. The artist’s market remains robust, with an auction record of $6.8 million for Force Field (2010).
thenationonlineng.net
The article discusses how Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Achebe, and other notable figures honor Ghanaian artist El Anatsui, highlighting his use of found objects in art and his influence on future generations. The event included the unveiling of a book about Anatsui's life and achievements, with various prominent guests attending.
Apollo Magazine
In London's Classic Week, Sotheby's Old Master and 19th century paintings and sculpture evening sale totalled 37.8 million pounds with 78 percent of 45 lots sold, well above the previous year's 14.5 million pound equivalent, while Christie's evening sale totalled 38.9 million pounds with 90 percent of 39 lots sold. The Hamilton Laocoon (1817), a bronze after the antique cast by Auguste-Jean-Marie Carbonneaux, made 13.6 million pounds, Thomas Lawrence's portrait of the Duke of Wellington (1820) made 9.7 million pounds, Rembrandt's Let the Little Children Come unto Me made 8 million pounds, Jan van Huysum still lifes made 6.5 million and 5.5 million pounds, Edwin Landseer's Scene in Braemar made 5.9 million pounds, Louis-Leopold Boilly's Thirty-five Expressive Heads made 914,400 pounds, and Pablo Picasso's Le Peintre et son modele (1970) made 508,000 pounds.
seegreatart.art
Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988), 'Figure 3A,' signed, titled and dated SEPT 1984, acrylic and oilstick on canvas, 182 by 121 cm, executed in 1984, and © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. The work is acquired by Gary Nader Art Centre in Miami for the exhibition “LAM BASQUIAT SONGYE: Wifredo Lam & Jean-Michel Basquiat in Dialogue with the Songye Sculpture of Central Africa,” opening in November 2026 in Miami.
artmag.org
The article reports Sotheby’s London achieving a record £393.4 million ($520.7 million) across a two-sale evening led by billionaire Joe Lewis. The single-owner sale of Lewis’s estate brought £296.3 million ($392.6 million) with 24 of 25 lots sold, making it the most valuable single-owner collection sale in London’s history; the crown jewel was Modigliani’s Nu assis au collier (1917–1918).
The Strad
The Strad reported that Polish violinist Natalia Dragan, 17, won the 5,000 euro first prize at the 2026 Tibor Junior International Violin Competition, with Baiyi Tao of China, 16, taking the 2,000 euro second prize and Jayda Lu of Australia, 15, the 1,000 euro third prize. No historic instrument or maker was named among the awards.
newz.net.au
The piece discusses a rare 18th-century violin donated to the Canberra Youth Orchestra via Music for Canberra. It mentions a label reading Matriti per Granadensem Josephum Contreras Anno 1752 and notes expert caution about labels, with luthier Michael Hargreaves assessing the craftsmanship and authenticity potential.
theartnewspaper.com
The Art Newspaper reports that Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou purchased Henri Matisse's 1924 painting La Séance du Matin for $20m (including fees) at Sotheby’s New York. Chou previously owns works by Peter Doig and Jean-Michel Basquiat and has spoken about devoting earnings to art collecting.
codex.vasari.art
Christie’s Old Masters evening sale in London sold Canaletto’s Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day (circa 1732) for £31.9 million with fees ($43.7 million), surpassing its £20 million estimate. The work, once owned by Robert Walpole, drew five bidders and sold to an anonymous phone bidder via Christie’s international director Alice de Roquemaurel; it set a new Canaletto auction record at Christie’s London and is the second-highest Old Master price there after Rubens’s Lot and His Daughters.
The Strad
The Strad reported that Pilar Policano of Argentina won the senior category (ages 15 to 22) and Valerie Bai of the USA won the younger group (15 and under) at the 2026 Ilona Feher International Violin Competition in Hungary. Senior prizes included total prize money of 10,000 euros and a two-year loan of a violin by contemporary maker Gabor Draskoczy modelled on the 1734 Willemotte Stradivari, plus an invitation to perform at Festival Academy Budapest Summerfest 2027.
Christie’s
Christie’s examines Remembering Angela Rosengart: 1932-2026 and its significance for artists, collectors, institutions, or the art market.
stringsmagazine.com
The article covers Sarah Chang discussing her 1717 Guarneri del Gesù, which she uses for performances and views as a reminder of her musical mentor Isaac Stern. It recounts Stern guiding her to test many violins before selecting the del Gesù from Stern’s collection, and Chang’s description of the instrument’s sound and its personal significance.