July 22, 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 Comment | How much can one artist take from another before it is copyright infringement? by Alexander Herman for The Art Newspaper. The EU’s top court ruled that artistic appropriation is protected only when it meaningfully transforms and creatively engages with the original work.
Apollo Magazine
Edward Behrens, New look, new director: what’s next for Lisbon’s best museum?
From the Editors, Jessica Morgan to be new director of Tate
The Art Newspaper
Gareth Harris, Jessica Morgan named new Tate director
Sophia Kishkovsky, European Union officially pulls €2m Venice Biennale funding over Russian participation
Andrew Ayers, Lisbon’s Museu Calouste Gulbenkian returns to its mid-century modern roots following major renovation
Jori Finkel, Yoko Ono’s most famous performance art piece cuts both ways in Los Angeles
Benjamin Sutton, Shuttered San Francisco arts school will become college co-named for Nvidia founder Jensen Huang
From the Editors, Artforum bids farewell to back-cover star in style
EDITOR’S PICK - Alexander Herman, Comment | How much can one artist take from another before it is copyright infringement?: An EU court’s decision in a case relating to the sampling of a Kraftwerk track will have implications across the arts
Artforum
Matt Saunders, Matt’s Message from Munich
Artnet
Min Chen, The Soft Power of Lucy Sparrow
Margaret Carrigan, Gagosian Plots Blockbuster Magritte Show in London
Min Chen, A New Hope for the Parthenon Marbles? And Other Art World Matters
Jo Lawson-Tancred, Louvre Reopens Apollo Gallery—but It Will Remain Empty
Jo Lawson-Tancred, E.U. Withdraws Venice Biennale Funding Over Russia’s Return
Min Chen, Frank Gehry’s Seven-Ton Desk Crushes Estimates, Sets Auction Record
ARTnews
Alex Greenberger and Maximilíano Durón, Jessica Morgan Named Top Director at Tate, Departing Dia After More Than a Decade
Emily Watlington, In Venice and Shanghai, Wallace Chan Presents a Vision of Buddhist Maximalism
Harrison Jacobs, The Online Backlash to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Misses the Point of the Epic Poem
Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, At the Art + Tech Summit, Christie’s Pins Its Future on AI Billionaires Who Aren’t Buying Art… Yet
Devorah Lauter, Trump Installs New Thomas Jefferson Bronze Sculpture in White House Rose Garden
Leigh Anne Miller, Katie Holmes Has a New Boyfriend—And He Is an Artist
Tessa Solomon, ‘Do You Love America?’: Smithsonian Museum Leader Grilled Over Gender, Diversity, Patriotism at Congressional Hearing
Anne Doran, Long-Lost Artworks by Chilean Muralist Julio Escámez Are Slowly Being Uncovered and Restored
Andy Battaglia, Hong Kong Palace Museum Partners With Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan
Devorah Lauter, Trump-Backed Federal Council Aims to Reduce Protections of Historic Sites
Daniel Cassady, New York Sculptor Bet $100,000 on a Charlie Kirk Statue, Now No One Wants to Buy It
Devorah Lauter, Is Italy’s Famed Ancient ‘Warrior of Capestrano’ a Mussolini-Backed Fake?
Maximilíano Durón, EU Officially Suspends €2 M. Grant to Venice Biennale Over Russia’s Inclusion After Review
Maximilíano Durón, Pousette-Dart Foundation Announces Major Donation and Search for Next Director
ArtReview
Mark Rappolt, Sunhil Sippy’s Beautiful Wastelands
Euan Marshall, ‘Dark Horse’: The Bolsonaro Biopic You Have to See to Believe
From the Editors, Jessica Morgan appointed Director of Tate
From the Editors, EU confirms cancellation of Venice Biennale funding over Russian Pavilion
From the Editors, Christine Borland, artist who delved into medical histories, 1965–2026
Hyperallergic
Samantha Jensen, Sabri Sundos Faces Catastrophe With Flowers
Rhea Nayyar, How Jimothy the Raccoon Became a Hero of the Misfits
Julie Schneider, SVA Grads Make Art out of History’s Rubble
Natalie Weis, Helen Levitt Captured the Poetry of New York City
Isa Farfan, The Art Institute of Chicago to Cut Its Entire Custodial Staff
The New York Times
Travis Diehl, He’s the Last Great Land Artist You’ve Never Heard Of
Alex Marshall, Tate Museums Tap Leader of Major U.S. Art Group as Next Director
Jason Farago, My 5 Favorite Places for Art in Venice
Observer
Dan Duray, At the Parrish Art Museum, Tony Bechara’s 60-Year Career Gets Its First Full Reckoning
Elisa Carollo, Tracing Universal Frequencies, Oliver Beer Makes Sound Visible
Elisa Carollo, The Must-See Shows in the Hamptons This Summer
Puck
Marion Maneker, Who Made the Art Market?
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