July 10, 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 Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch Slams White House Report As ‘Not a Fair Characterization’ of Museum’s Scholarship by Harrison Jacobs for ARTnews. Smithsonian Secretary defends the Institution after the Trump administration’s report accused the National Museum of American History of ideological bias.
Art in America
Ara H. Merjian, The Original Antifa Fought the Nazis. A New Art Exhibition Asks What’s Next
The Art Newspaper
Gareth Harris, Bayeux Tapestry arrives at the British Museum in London after secret English Channel crossing
Tim Stone, Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art announces plans for Thailand outpost
Elena Goukassian, Bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease found in Guggenheim Museum cooling tower
Anny Shaw, Hauser & Wirth cleared of Russian sanction charges
Daniel Grant, Midjourney strikes back: sued AI giant demands Hollywood’s secrets
From the Editors, K-pop stars BTS and British Museum band together for art trail
Martin Bailey, The story behind Iran’s only Van Gogh: ‘At Eternity’s Gate’
Artforum
Laszlo Horvath, Salutations from Siena
From the Editors, Santa Monica’s Affordable Post-Fair is Going To Paris This Fall
From the Editors, Artist Mickalene Thomas accused of Copyright Infringement by Photographer Barbara Karant
From the Editors, David Odo to Lead Honolulu Museum of Art
From the Editors, Valerie Brathwaite, Whose Curvaceous and Colorful Sculptures Channeled the Natural World of the Caribbean, Is Dead
Artnet
Jo Lawson-Tancred, Anish Kapoor on Malevich, Mortality, and the Meaning of a Void
Katya Kazakina, After Championing Other Artists for Decades, Tony Bechara Finally Lands in the Spotlight
Sonia Manalili and Ben Davis, The Case for M.C. Escher
Min Chen, Heritage Auctions Posts Record $1.4 Billion Mid-Year Total, as Collectibles Market Roars
Jo Lawson-Tancred, Buckingham Palace Gallery Revives the Salon-Style Hang
Margaret Carrigan, Hauser & Wirth Cleared of Russia Sanctions Charge
ARTnews
Brian Boucher, A Jersey Worn by Knicks Point Guard Jalen Brunson in NBA Finals Fetches $1 M. at Sotheby’s
Howard Halle, Who Was Robert Rauschenberg and Why Was He So Important?
Tessa Solomon, Appeals Court Denies President Trump’s Request to Restore Name to Kennedy Center
Andy Battaglia, Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi Appointed President of Sharjah Museums Authority
Alex Greenberger, Edi Rama, Artist and Albanian Prime Minister, Defends Controversial Kanye West Concert Near Tirana
Anne Doran, Egyptian Archeologists Discover ‘Golden Tongues’ Inside Sealed Tombs at Ancient Coastal City
Leigh Anne Miller, Polarizing Portrait of King Charles Included in Buckingham Palace’s Picture Gallery Rehang
Tessa Solomon, New York Investigators Return 59 Looted Antiquities to Italy, Iraq, and Indonesia
Maximilíano Durón, Honolulu Museum of Art Appoints New Director
EDITOR’S PICK - Harrison Jacobs, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch Slams White House Report As ‘Not a Fair Characterization’ of Museum’s Scholarship: Bunch wrote that the report was “not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History.”
Brian Boucher, Hauser & Wirth Cleared by UK Judge of Breaching Russia Sanctions with Sale of a George Condo Artwork
ArtReview
Shaunak Mahbubani, Can Oceanic Studies Turn the Tide of Collective Amnesia?
Panthea Lee, Toward a Cultural Memory Beyond Inheritance
From the Editors, Hauser & Wirth cleared of Russian sanctions charge
From the Editors, Busan Biennale announces artists for 2026 edition
The Brooklyn Rail
Lee Ann Norman, Derrick Adams: View Master
Charles Moore, Dumitru Gorzo: Șantier
Charles Moore, History Doesn’t Repeat Itself, but It Does Rhyme. Dumile Feni: African Guernica
Mark Van Proyen, Chiharu Shiota: Two Home Countries
Jason Rosenfeld, Gerhard Richter: Landschaften
Frieze
From the Editors, What to See Across Europe This Summer
The Guardian
Ben Eastham, Debjani Banerjee review: is that a Henry hoover – or a Hindu deity?
Jonathan Jones, Feathered frolics, webcam landscapes and The Hay Wain – the week in art
Philip Oltermann, Completely nuts: Dutch gallery covers floor in peanut butter to honour late artist
Kevin Rawlinson, Bayeux tapestry crosses Channel in dead of night for historic UK exhibition
Hyperallergic
Valentina Di Liscia, Warhol Foundation Awards $5.1M to 78 Arts Organizations
Isa Farfan, Venice Arts Workers to Protest During US Ambassador’s Visit
Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Required Reading
Sigourney Shultz, The Artist Sculpting World Cup History Out of Gum Wrappers
Isa Farfan, Chicago Photographer Accuses Mickalene Thomas of Copyright Infringement
Randa Jumean, The Tattoo Artist Inking Arabic Script on Skin
Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Johnson: New Paintings from California, New England and Europe
The Los Angeles Times
Jessica Gelt, Lucas Museum to give free annual passes to South L.A. neighbors, host community preview day
Todd Martens, Meow Wolf taps famed L.A. animation house for its new Los Angeles venue
The New York Times
Alex Marshall, Bayeux Tapestry Arrives in U.K. After Maximum-Security Operation
Observer
Sarah Moroz, At Ebbio, the Parisian Art Consultancy IDA Offers Artists the Luxury of Unstructured Time
John Scott Lewinski, The British Cars That Command the Most Reverence—and the Highest Prices
Elisa Carollo, Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui’s “Fermata” Brings the Rhythms of Hong Kong to Venice
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, Russia offers to send restorers to Iran’s bombed heritage sites, official says
Adam Schrader, North Korea opens anti-U.S. art exhibition for ‘class education’
Adam Schrader, Texas Tech strips courses of race and queer themes, faculty lawsuit alleges
Adam Schrader, ‘The gates stay closed’: Artists Joseph Matick and Vato Mierda navigate money, access in Paris
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