August 11, 2026
Your morning brew of art world media
Welcome to Art Spell, a daily, comprehensive roundup of art news and reviews for the visual arts community. Today’s Editor’s Pick is Behind Every Museum Gift Is a Negotiation Both Sides Are Trying to Win by Daniel Grant for Observer. Museum art donations often involve complex negotiations over donor control, recognition, and how works are displayed or managed.
Apollo Magazine
Diane Purkiss, Dining with the devil in the Middle Ages
From the Editors, US appeals court blocks Trump’s ballroom
Tom Stammers, The French artists who kept up with fashion
Art Asia Pacific
Tom Denman, The Image World: Interview with Simon Fujiwara
Ruby Lee, Nasirun, 1965–2026
Gladys Lou, Who Gets to Be Human? Asian Artists at “New Humans” in New York
The Art Newspaper
J.S. Marcus, Bottoms up: vast Roman shipwreck filled with ancient wine amphoras discovered near Sicily
Anny Shaw, ‘Stopping while ahead’: London gallery Sid Motion to shut after a decade
Graciela Ibáñez, Remains of colonial hospital and church discovered in Lima’s historic centre
Alexander Herman, Comment | This year’s Venice Biennale is filled with thought-provoking reminders of past art disputes
Rachel Kubrick, New novel on Gertrude Stein paints a partial picture
Artforum
From the Editors, A 639-Year-Long John Cage Performance Had Its First Chord Change In Two Years
From the Editors, Long-Delayed Lucas Museum Draws Criticism Over Admission Prices
From the Editors, The UK Has Spent Nearly £150,000 In Public Funds On Removal And Security for Banksy Artworks
From the Editors, Court Ruling Says Trump Needs Congressional Approval for New White House Ballroom
Artnet
Katya Kazakina, Shoptalk: Dealer Mary Sabbatino on Championing Ana Mendieta, Mentoring Her ‘Art Daughters’
Ben Davis, Natalie Portman’s Art Basel Satire Gets a Release Date—and Other Art World Matters
Richard Whiddington, Long-Lost Ancient Greek Sculpture Is Resurrected in Pompeii
Gabi Vidal-Irizarry, Forget Ibiza! Dance Pleasures Abound at MoMA PS1’s Warm Up. Wet Paint Has the Lore—and Gossip
Margaret Carrigan, Banksy Works Cost U.K. Taxpayers $200K—and Other Art World Matters
ARTnews
Leigh Anne Miller, Divers Discover Hundreds of Ancient Ceramic Vessels Amid Shipwreck Off the Coast of Sicily
From the Editors, Ireland’s Museum Staffers Struggle with Precarious Contracts and Toxic Environments
Rachel Kubrick, Storm King Art Center Appoints Anne Reeve as Senior Curator
Anne Doran, Looted Ivorian “Talking Drum” Arrives at Its Home Village After More Than a Century
Daniel Cassady, Three Public Artworks by Banksy Have Cost UK Taxpayers Almost $200,000
Harrison Jacobs, Fossils and Other Exhibits Stolen From German University in Latest Museum Robbery
Brian Boucher, Inhotim Founder Bernardo Paz to Open a Namesake Museum, Right Next Door
ArtReview
Jamie Sutcliffe, What Are the Aliens Doing Here?
Jenny Wu, Rocky: Highs and Lows
From the Editors, Carlos Quijon Jr appointed chief curator of CCP’s Contemporary Art Museum
From the Editors, Nasirun, artist who looked to wayang tradition, 1965–2026
BOMB
Jungmin Cho, Yehwan Song by Jungmin Cho
Family Style
Rachel Summer Small, Little Thoughts
Osman Can Yerebakan, Wrap Around
Meka Boyle, Drop In
Financial Times
From the Editors, Karin Kneffel to Do Ho Suh – Solo Presentations at Frieze Seoul
Logan Lockner, Tom of Finland Is Still Turning Heads
Hokhang Cheung, Isaac Chong Wai Is Ready to Catch You When You Fall
From the Editors, Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2026 Celebrate Global Artists and Histories
The Guardian
Rory Doherty, Love me, love my bruised ego: what the narcissist-artist film tells us about the fear of ageing
Hyperallergic
Lori Waxman, Nathaniel Mary Quinn’s Fragments of Home
Anna Lee, Divers Stumble Upon 2,000-Year-Old Roman Shipwreck in Italy
Rhea Nayyar, Jeffrey Epstein Dons Meta AI Glasses in Damning Guerrilla Ad
Anna Lee, National Gallery of Art Protects Works Ahead of Trump’s IndyCar Race
Nereya Otieno, How Betye Saar Came to Be
The New York Times
Zachary Small, National Gallery Accused of ‘Soft Censorship’ to Avoid Provoking Trump
Alex Marshall, The Bayeux Tapestry’s Long and Bumpy Road to London
Observer
Sarah Moroz, Centro Botín Champions Marisol’s Drawings and Rethinks Her Legacy
Elisa Carollo, How Kate Lee and Clovis Lima Jr. Are Connecting the Creative Cultures of Asia and Latin America
EDITOR’S PICK - Daniel Grant, Behind Every Museum Gift Is a Negotiation Both Sides Are Trying to Win: Underlying donations of paintings, sculptures, installations and video works are complicated questions about legacy and long-term control.
David Foster Wallace, David Foster Wallace on John Updike: A Legacy of One
Daniel Grant, Estate Planning Can Turn a Lifetime of Collecting Art Into a Series of Difficult Choices
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, Syria defends Damascus Citadel food stalls and disavows Baathist heritage policy
Adam Schrader, What We Skipped: A ‘worst aquarium ever,’ talking saints and a $45 masterpiece
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