January 20, 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 This Is the Year We Redefine Art Institutions by Lise Ragbir for Hyperallergic. Three art world professionals discuss the evolution of the museum, and their need to expand performative gestures of inclusivity into building meaningful connections with the public that reflect the changing cultural landscape.
Art in America
Tessa Solomon, Ali Cherri on How Art Can Keep Us Empathetic In a Dark and Violent World
The Art Newspaper
Gareth Harris, British Museum reports record-breaking year for finding treasure in the UK
Hadani Ditmars, Remembering Gathie Falk, Canadian artist whose singular practice sparked comparisons to Surrealism and Pop art
Elena Goukassian, National Endowment for the Humanities awards $75.1m to 84 projects across the US
Anni Irish, Workers at the Metropolitan Museum vote to form union
Vincent Noce, Louvre closes again due to staff strikes
Artforum
Alexandra Martinez, Miami’s Crisis of Memory: Eddie Arroyo’s December 3, 2024, 7:10 am Design District, 2025
From the Editors, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev
From the Editors, Artforum Founding Editor Philip Leider Dies at 96
Artnet
Katie White, Meet the Unknown Modernist Who Brought Georgia O’Keeffe to New Mexico
Vivienne Chow, Ming Wong Recasts Saint Sebastian as a Modern-Day Queer Icon
Verity Babbs, Prado Museum Moves to Curb Overcrowding
Sarah Cascone, The Forgotten Designer Who Created America’s First National Parks Posters
Jo Lawson-Tancred, 3D Tech Reveals New Gladiator Graffiti in Pompeii
Jo Lawson-Tancred, South Africa’s Culture Minister Investigated After Venice Biennale Claims
Cathy Fan and Vivienne Chow, Philip Tinari Departs UCCA for Tai Kwun—and a Rundown of the Latest in Asia’s Art World
Katya Kazakina, The Art Trade’s ‘Necessary Evil’ Keeps Getting More Expensive
Katya Kazakina, Two Rare George Washington Portraits Head to Auction as U.S. Marks 250 Years
Verity Babbs, Sotheby’s Brings Rare Rembrandt to Saudi Arabia in Vote of Market Confidence
Jo Lawson-Tancred, A $53.5 million Surrealist Trove Heads to Christie’s–and More Art Industry News
Sonia Manalili and Margaret Carrigan, More Magritte Heads to Auction
Margaret Carrigan, The Secret to a Gallery’s Success? Community Is Key
ARTnews
George Nelson, Chanel Culture Fund Names 10 Winners of Its 2026 Next Prize
Anne Doran, Artist and Skateboarder Alexis Sablone Is Inducted Into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame
Harrison Jacobs, Pennsylvania Man Who Stole Warhol and Pollock Paintings in Museum Theft Ring Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison
Tessa Solomon, Peruvian Artist Antonio Paucar Wins 11th Artes Mundi Award
Andy Battaglia, Sale of Chinese Vase Canceled by French Court Over Question of Provenance
Brian Boucher, Alaska Art Student Arrested for Eating Another Student’s AI-Generated Art in Protest
Leigh Anne Miller, UK Reveals Nearly $80 M. Worth of Art Donated by Collectors in Order to Reduce Tax Burdens
Maximilíano Durón, Joan Mitchell Foundation Names 31 Artists for Residency in New Orleans
Tessa Solomon, Met Workers Vote to Join Local 2110 UAW, Creating One of the Nation’s Largest Museum Unions
Alex Greenberger, Qatar Museums, Not a Foreign Nation, Reportedly Tried to Acquire South African Pavilion Work
Alex Greenberger, Düsseldorf Art School Stands by Palestinian Artist After Criticism from Jewish Groups
Maximilíano Durón, Gordon Parks Foundation Marks 20th Anniversary with Exhibitions Curated by Dawoud Bey and Bryan Stevenson
ArtReview
Chaze Matakala, Who Builds Zambia’s Art World?
Ilaria Maria Sala, How Singapore Made Orchids a Tool of Foreign Policy
Kai Jabir Frieze, 6th Kochi-Muziris Biennale: Worth The Wait?
Sonja Teszler, Julie Béna’s Nocturnal Carnival
From the Editors, Chinese tech company JD announces plans to open art museum
From the Editors, Winners of 2026 Chanel Next Prize announced – with 10 artists awarded €100,000 each
From the Editors, Melanie Keen to leave Wellcome Collection
Financial Times
Clara Baldock, Which shade of yellow should you use this year?
Maria Shollenbarger, Four blockbuster shows worth travelling for
Frieze
Max Andrews, ‘Arts of the Earth’ Offers a More Sustainable Museum Model
The Guardian
Jonathan Jones, Crossing into Darkness review – Tracey Emin takes her heroes on a descent to the gates of hell
Steven Morris, ‘Radical and joyous’: Beryl Cook show aims to prove she was a serious artist
Hyperallergic
Aaron Short, Activists Fight to Salvage the “Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art”
Bryan Martin, What the Smithsonian Won’t Say About Grandma Moses
Qingyuan Deng, Uman’s Diasporic Abstraction
Lise Ragbir, This Is the Year We Redefine Art Institutions
Clara Maria Apostolatos, Lotty Rosenfeld Weaponized the Line
The New York Times
Zachary Small, Met Museum Employees Vote to Unionize
Zachary Small, President Trump’s Chosen Artist? A Christian Speed Painter.
The New Yorker
Zachary Fine, The Cold Comfort of a Helene Schjerfbeck Painting
Observer
Alistair MacQueen, In “Faces and Landscapes of Home,” Hauser & Wirth Brings Giacometti Back to Stampa
Adam Robb, How a Kansas City Mermaid Became Will Cotton’s Muse
Elisa Carollo, Henrique Faria On Venezuelan Art and Cultural Persistence
Elisa Carollo, Henri Rousseau, the Performative Naïf Who Outsmarted Modernity
Elisa Carollo, A New Collector-Founded Fair, ENZO, Will Launch During L.A. Art Week
Paige Haran, Gulnur Mukazhanova’s Felt-Making as Philosophy
Dan Duray, One Fine Show: “Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, More Than Character Heads” at the Belvedere in Vienna
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, Greenwich dealer accused of stealing from estate seeks mental competency hearing
Adam Schrader, Alaska student arrested for eating another’s A.I. artwork
Adam Schrader, Nan Goldin to sell print to support Ms. Rachel’s Gaza fundraiser
Adam Schrader, Düsseldorf Art Academy rejects Jewish groups’ bid to stop event with Palestinian artist
Adam Schrader, Ontario school board withholds art records, citing secrecy laws
Adam Schrader, The Art Newspaper’s new owner announces legal action against former publisher
Adam Schrader, Ten Commandments monument unveiled at Texas courthouse
Adam Schrader, Pennsylvania man sentenced in art theft ring that hit museums across Northeast
Adam Schrader, Court Documents: Art Theft Sentencing in United States v. Atsus
Adam Schrader, Met Museum workers vote to unionize in decisive NLRB election
Adam Schrader, New free art fair Enzo to bring emerging New York galleries to L.A.
Adam Schrader, British judge sets 2028 criminal trial for Hauser & Wirth in Russia sanctions case
The Wall Street Journal
Judith H. Dobrzynski, At the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Riches of African-American Art
From the Editors, America 250 Calendar: Ways to Celebrate the Nation Across the Nation
Brian P. Kelly, ‘25 | 250: A Celebration of American Art’ Review: Painting a Nation
Suzanna Murawski, ‘Emma Stebbins’ Review: A Spirit of Central Park
The Washington Post
Philip Kennicott, In ‘Spectrum of Desire,’ the Met takes a nuanced look at gender fluidity
Art Spell is a subscription-based daily roundup of art news and reviews to help you stay current with what’s being reported on in the visual arts community. The profits from Art Spell are donated to organizations supporting art journalists and writers.