August 17, 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 Safeguarding Cultural Heritage Through the Largest Art and Collectibles Transfer in History by Maeve Zimmerman for Observer. The transfer of nearly $1 trillion in art and collectibles underscores the need for proactive planning to preserve cultural heritage for future generations.
Art in America
Ara H. Merjian, Why Brancusi’s Sleek, Streamlined Sculptures Still Seduce
The Art Newspaper
Gareth Harris, Four works by Renaissance master Antonello da Messina stolen from Sicily museum
Benjamin Sutton, Mary Heilmann, fearless colourist and singular abstract painter, has died, aged 86
Constanza Ontiveros Valdés, Human skull featuring elaborate mosaic ornamentation repatriated to Mexico
Vittoria Benzine, Buyers sue London’s Alison Jacques gallery over cancelled sale of Monica Sjöö paintings
Hokhang Cheung, Chinese museums ordered to strengthen emergency protocols following blackouts and incidents of overcrowding
Artforum
Nina Hartmann, Nina Hartmann on Mind Control, Folk Singers, and Vampires in New York
From the Editors, Artist Builds Free-To-Play Video Game Replica Of Michael Heizer’s City
From the Editors, Stolen Picasso Print Recovered Eight Years Later in Vacant Apartment
From the Editors, Former Philadelphia University Of The Arts Dormitory To House Affordable Apartments
From the Editors, Frieze Seoul Will Move to Zaha Hadid’s Dongdaemun Design Plaza for Its 2027 Edition
Artnet
Andrew Russeth, Mary Heilmann, Who Revivified Abstract Painting, Dies at 86
Margaret Carrigan, Renaissance Masterpieces Stolen in Sicilian Museum Heist—and Other Art World Matters
Ben Davis, This Very Strange Drawing by Susan Hauptman Has Stuck With Me
Andrew Russeth, Frieze Doubles Down on Seoul With Major Venue Shift
Richard Whiddington, Two Heists, Two Recoveries: Stolen Masterpieces Resurface in Italy and Brazil
Richard Whiddington, The Magic Loot! Hundreds of Mozart Statuettes Stolen in Salzburg
ARTnews
Ara H. Merjian, Why Brancusi’s Sleek, Streamlined Sculptures Still Seduce
Harrison Jacobs, Mary Heilmann, Influential Abstract Painter, Dead at 86
Maximilíano Durón, Brazilian Police Recover Eight Stolen Matisse ‘Jazz’ Works Worth $193,000, Arrest One Suspect
Daniel Cassady, A Picasso Stolen 65 Years Ago Has Resurfaced. The Guggenheim Wants It Back
Andy Battaglia, The Met Has Put the Oldest Existing Copy of the Odyssey on Display
Kim Córdova, Colombia’s Museo de Arte de Pereira Closes due to Extensive Earthquake Damage
Leigh Anne Miller, Roman Artifacts on View at Syria’s Damascus Citadel Following Repatriation from France
Harrison Jacobs, Italian Police Recover $10 M. Worth of Artworks by Cezanne, Matisse, and Renoir
Tessa Solomon, Kit Fitzgerald, Pioneering Video Artist With a Painter’s Sensibility, Has Died at 73
ArtReview
Claudia Ross, Do Machines Dream of Rainforests?
From the Editors, Mary Heilmann, whose paintings took a laidback approach to minimalism, 1940–2026
From the Editors, Martin Clark appointed CEO and director of Towner
The Financial Times
Neville Hawcock, When Robert Rauschenberg’s art took flight
Frieze
Juan José Santos, Vivian Caccuri Breaks Down Interspecies Boundaries
Crystal Bennes, Richard Maguire Traces the Troubled History of Sexuality
From the Editors, Frieze Seoul 2027 Will Move to a Major Cultural Landmark
The Guardian
Andrew Pulver, Douglas Gordon by Douglas Gordon review – a brave glimpse inside the mind of the Scottish artist
Lorenzo Tondo, Renaissance paintings by Antonello da Messina stolen from Sicilian museum
Hyperallergic
Chris Kraus, Shirley Tse and Dana Berman Duff’s Breathing Moons
Rhea Nayyar, New Digital Archive Honors Gaza Journalists Killed by Israel
Steven Friedlander, The Artist Mapping Knoxville’s Art Scene With Wood and Wire
Anna Lee, 11-Year-Old Boy Sets Guinness Record for World’s Youngest Curator
Lakshmi Rivera Amin, A View From the Easel
The Los Angeles Times
Colleen Barry, Thieves steal 4 Renaissance artworks in Italian museum heist
The New York Times
Deborah Solomon, Mary Heilmann, Painter of Vividly Wobbly Abstractions, Dies at 86
Nina Siegal, As the Old Files Open, One Family Confronts Another’s Dark Nazi Past
Elie Levine, Ancient Korean Papermaking Finds a Home in Ohio
Observer
EDITOR’S PICK - Maeve Zimmerman, Safeguarding Cultural Heritage Through the Largest Art and Collectibles Transfer in History: Amidst the Great Wealth Transfer, assets of every kind, including art and collectibles, are changing hands. How can we ensure that objects of cultural importance are preserved for future generations?
Xinyi Ye, Leslie Lewis Sigler On Turning Heirlooms into Portraits of a Life
Dan Duray, One Fine Show: The Holy See’s “The Ear is the Eye of the Soul” at Giardino Mistico
Elisa Carollo. In Liang Fu’s Latest Work, a Vision of Humanity Touched by Relentless Entropy
T Magazine
From the Editors, What Exile Means for an Artist
Aatish Taseer, These Artists May Have Left Pakistan, but It’s Still Present in Their Work
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, Court rejects heirs’ bid to reclaim art from the Mauritshuis and The Hague
Adam Schrader, Frank Lloyd Wright skyscraper’s former owner sues Artnet, other media for defamation
Adam Schrader, Court Documents: Blanchard and 20cDesign v. Gannett, Artnet and others
Adam Schrader, Grand Monuments Symbolic of Historic Feats of National Independence
Adam Schrader, Italian police recover Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse works stolen in March
Adam Schrader, São Paulo police recover eight Matisse prints stolen in library heist
Adam Schrader, Nonprofit denies discrimination after firing artist who let autistic teen to take nude drawing class
The Wall Street Journal
Diane Cole, ‘Musical Bodies’ Review: A Human Symphony at the Met Museum
Brian P. Kelly, ‘Doug Aitken: Lightscape’ Review: Bright Vision, Dim Execution at the Shed
Julia M. Klein, Gaudí’s Sagrada Família: A Miracle Worth Waiting For
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