July 21, 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 New Bill Aims to Protect Publicly Commissioned Art in Federal Buildings by The Editors of Artforum. A new bill would require the GSA to identify and protect federally commissioned public art when federal buildings are sold or demolished.
The Art Newspaper
Sarvy Geranpayeh, Head of V&A’s academic programmes resigned citing ‘racist’ and ‘culturally insensitive’ behaviours, letter reveals
Maev Kennedy, London mansion where ‘secret listeners’ spied on Nazi prisoners for intel opens as museum
Mercedes Ezquiaga, Renovation of Bolivia’s national archaeology museum gives repatriated treasures pride of place
Carlie Porterfield, The Armory Show reveals 230-gallery line-up and move to late September
Geoffrey Munn, A fresh appreciation of Victorian painter Richard Dadd, who was haunted by mental illness
Artforum
From the Editors, Ferran Barenblit Appointed Chief Curator of The 16th Shanghai Biennale
From the Editors, David Zwirner Exits New York’s Upper East Side
From the Editors, New York’s Armory Show Announces 2026 Exhibitors
EDITOR’S PICK - From the Editors, New Bill Aims to Protect Publicly Commissioned Art in Federal Buildings: A new bill, introduced on July 14th by Congressional Arts Caucus members Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), is proposing the establishment of a procedure that would secure publicly commissioned art in federal buildings.
Artnet
Janelle Zara and Andrew Russeth, Goodbye, Upper East Side: David Zwirner Closes 69th Street Gallery
Ben Davis, Will Philly Protect Its Beloved Keith Haring? And Other Art World Matters
Jo Lawson-Tancred, Korean Court Rules in Bitter Dispute Over Patron’s 188 Alleged Art Loans
Jo Lawson-Tancred, London’s New House of Secrets Museum Reveals Lost Stories of Wartime Spies
Min Chen, Monumental Mural Erased by Pinochet Reemerges in Chile After 50 Years
Margaret Carrigan, Nvidia Chief’s Leather Jacket Smashes Estimates at Sotheby’s—and Other Art World Matters
ARTnews
Andy Battaglia, Christine Borland, Artist Who Researched Histories of Science and Medicine, Dies at 60
Maximilíano Durón, Vienna Will Get a New Art Fair in September, After Cancelation of City’s Main Two Fairs
Harrison Jacobs, V&A Museum’s Head of Academic Programs Quits Citing ‘Racist’ Behavior of Staff, Newly Revealed Letter Shows
Tessa Solomon, New York Gallery The Hole Sued by Artists for Nearly $50,000 in Outstanding Payments
Daniel Cassady, David Zwirner Closes Upper East Side Gallery, Consolidating Manhattan Footprint
Anne Doran, 2,500-Year-Old Necropolis Discovered Under Italian Pasta Factory
Daniel Cassady, After Days of Uncertainty, Cuban Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara Arrives in Miami
ArtReview
Mark Rappolt, Sunhil Sippy’s Beautiful Wastelands
From the Editors, Eugenio Viola will head Naples’s Madre Museum
Frieze
From the Editors, Success Stories: Frieze Artist Award Winners
Dorrell Merritt, Hannah Perry’s Labour of Love
The Guardian
Hannah Clugston, Entangled and Woven review – exquisitely spun textiles that cross borders, culture and time
Jonathan Jones, Richard Dadd review – can his mental illness help explain these arresting, bizarre images?
Eddy Frankel, Trent Park House of Secrets review – the bugged stately home where German prisoners blabbed their secrets
Owen Hatherley, A Ruhr treat: can a giant pigeon and a pink basketball revive Germany’s depressed industrial heartland?
Hyperallergic
Joel Christensen, A Homerist Reacts to Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey”
Anna Lee, New Museum’s Shiny New Building Leaks During Flash Floods
Rhea Nayyar, Cuban Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara Exiled to the US
John Yau, The Sunflower Effect of Kyung-Me
Phillip Pyle, Activists Sue to Stop Frida Kahlo Works From Leaving Mexico
Isa Farfan, Trump Whitewashes George Washington’s Slavery History in New Display
The New York Times
Walker Mimms, When Listening to Music Was a Team Sport
Robin Pogrebin, White House Adds Jefferson Statue to the Rose Garden
Observer
John Scott Lewinski, The Hamptons Art Rush, Five Years Later: What COVID Taught Us
Elisa Carollo, Storm Ascher On (Re)Building Black Arts Infrastructure in the Hamptons
Jed Surio, The National Gallery Singapore Debuts Its First R-Rated Exhibition
Mary Gregory, Six Must-Visit Art Galleries in the Hamptons
Alina Cohen, Is Aspen the New Hamptons?
Candace Bushnell, Skipper and Mr. Marvelous Seek Hot Sex in Southampton Hedges
The Wall Street Journal
Isaac Sligh, ‘Baldwin Street’ Review: Family Album
The Washington Post
Philip Kennicott, At the National Gallery, the clearest view of America is in the mines
Art Spell is a free daily roundup of art news and reviews to help you stay current with what’s being reported on in the visual arts community. Help us grow the Art Spell community by subscribing and sharing the newsletter with friends and colleagues who want to stay connected to the art world.