July 28, 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 The Smithsonian Is Not the President’s Museum by Ed Simon for Hyperallergic. Arguing that political interference in public museums threatens their role as independent institutions dedicated to scholarship, historical truth, and the public good.
Apollo
Rachel Cohen, The knotty thinking of Anni Albers
Phillip Hoare, The Quaker who painted what he preached
The Art Newspaper
Gareth Harris, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi announces opening date
Vincent Noce, Culture minister Catherine Pégard reveals ‘national security plan’ following another major museum theft in France
Benjamin Sutton, Trump orders signage to be erected outside Smithsonian museum warning visitors of political bias
Gareth Harris, Royal College of Art and Norwich University of the Arts announce jointly awarded undergraduate degrees
Elizabeth Fortescue, Low Kee Hong chosen to curate Biennale of Sydney's next edition
Constanza Ontiveros Valdés, Possible ancient human remains and Maya ceramics found in Mexican cenote
Aimee Dawson, Dia Azzawi donates work to charity auction supporting displaced people in Lebanon
Carlie Porterfield, Art Dealers Association of America's fair returns after one-year hiatus with a leaner line-up
ArtAsiaPacific
Matt A. Hanson, A Degree of Separation: Interview with Başak Doğa Temür
Sabrina Hau, Valentin Noujaïm Wins Han Nefkens Foundation’s Mediterranean Video Art Grant
Kalani Ko, Shabbir Hussain Mustafa Named Artistic Director of 2028 Aichi Triennale
Artforum
Coco Fusco, Involuntary Gesture: Coco Fusco Speaks to Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara
From the Editors, Trump Administration Issues Demand for Politicized Lawn Signs at Smithsonian
From the Editors, Former Whitechapel Chief Curator Lydia Yee To Lead Kuala Lumpur Nonprofit
From the Editors, 2,500-Year-Old Gold Collar Heisted From Museum in Broad Daylight
From the Editors, V&A Staffers Prepare Strike Ballot over Hot-Weather Work Conditions
From the Editors, ADAA Announces List Of 63 Participant Galleries For The Inaugural ADAA Fair In New York
From the Editors, Immigrant Artist Biennial Announces Third Iteration, ‘Identity Card’
Artnet
Ben Davis, Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Big Budget Crisis—and Other Art World Matters
Vittoria Benzine, Betye Saar, Who Turned Black Stereotypes Into Symbols of Resistance, Dies at 99
Annika Olsen, A Haunting: For Gagosian Debut, Eliza Douglas Recycles Unsold Paintings, Channels the Paranormal
Vittoria Benzine, Faro Santander’s Inaugural Exhibitions Led by Contested Gelman Collection
Jo Lawson-Tancred, Charli XCX Joins National Portrait Gallery’s Storied Ranks
ARTnews
Maximilíano Durón and Devorah Lauter, Betye Saar, Pioneering Assemblage Artist Who Powerfully Tackled Racism, Dies at 99
Harrison Jacobs, Who is Matthew Taylor, the Artist Helping Trump Reshape Washington, D. C.?
Brian Boucher, Czech Artist and Museum Director Milan Knížák, Once Imprisoned as an ‘Enemy of the State,’ Has Died at 86
Lilyanna Di’Amato, Betye Saar Dead at 99—Here are 5 Places to See the Legendary Artist’s Work
Devorah Lauter, Police Arrest Suspect in Theft of Celtic Princess’ 2,500-year-old Gold Torque From French Museum, as National Security Plan Is Launched
Leigh Anne Miller, Spencer Tunick’s Latest Nude Action Celebrates Pride in the Canary Islands
Tessa Solomon, UNESCO Adds Contested West Bank Archaeological Site, Lebanese Castles to World Heritage List
Maximilíano Durón, ADAA Fair Names 63 Exhibitors for Inaugural Rebranded Edition in November
Andy Battaglia, Archaeologists Map Buried Sacred Precinct of Aztec Capital Tenochtitlan Under Mexico City
Daniel Cassady, V&A Workers Ballot for Strike Over Pay, Heatwave Conditions
Daniel Cassady, Detroit Institute of Arts Receives Gift of More Than 2,000 Modern and Contemporary Artworks from Silverman Estate
George Nelson, Possible Strike at the V&A Museum, a New American Pride-Focused Art Exhibition in DC, and More: Morning Links for July 27, 2026
ArtReview
Robert Barry, Oliver Beer’s Music for Paintings
From the Editors, Low Kee Hong named artistic director of 2028 Biennale of Sydney
From the Editors, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi announces opening date
From the Editors, Gunther von Hagens, whose exhibitions of preserved corpses attracted millions, 1945–2026
Cultured
Ella Martin-Gachot, ‘Process Is a Bitch’: Lyle Ashton Harris Gives Us an Unfiltered Studio Visit
Financial Times
Jackie Wullschläger, Richard Dadd — the singular Victorian painter caught between fantasy and delusion
Frieze
Andrew Maerkle, Why the Japanese Flag Matters to All of Us
Mathilde Walker-Billaude, Marilou Schultz Treats Weaving as a Technology
From the Editors, Betye Saar, Artist Whose Work Decried Black Oppression, Has Died Aged 99
The Guardian
Jonathan Jones, ‘He made Damien Hirst look like a sideshow’: the bloodsplash horrors of Gunther von Hagens
Roque Planas, Betye Saar, pioneering figure of Black arts movement, dies at 99
HypeArt
Keith Estiler, Felipe Pantone and Etai Turn Furniture Into Kinetic Art
Erin Ikeuchi, Charli XCX 'Brat' Portrait Joins London's National Portrait Gallery
Erin Ikeuchi, Tom Wesselmann's New York Studio is Opening to the Public for the First Time
Hyperallergic
Isa Farfan, Trump Orders Installation of Warning Signs Outside Smithsonian Museum
Anna Lee, Europeans Vote on New Leonardo da Vinci Banknote Design
Ekin Erkan, An Exhibition Lets Self-Taught Artists Speak for Themselves
Anna Lee, Tell Us, O Muse, of Elon Musk’s Racist AI Version of “The Odyssey”
EDITOR’S PICK: Ed Simon, The Smithsonian Is Not the President’s Museum: The Smithsonian's responsibility is to mount the exact sorts of exhibitions that so enrage Trump because they reflect best academic practice—or, more bluntly, because they tell the truth, says Ed Simon.
The Los Angeles Times
Carolina A. Miranda, Betye Saar, influential assemblage artist who ‘liberated’ Aunt Jemima, dies at 99
The New York Times
Travis Diehl and Brad Trone, He’s the Last Great Land Artist You’ve Never Heard Of
Rick Rojas, An Atlanta Museum’s New Look at the Civil War Goes Beyond Relics
Noëlle de Leewuv, Beyond Amsterdam and Venice: 6 Delightful European Canal Cities
Jori Finkel, Betye Saar, Artist Who Upended Black Stereotypes, Dies at 99
Observer
Elisa Carollo, Rebecca Fine Launches Metis, a New Art Lender Powered by Winston Artory Group Data
Elisa Carollo, How a Protected Mediterranean Island Became One of France’s Most Compelling Art Destinations
Elisa Carollo, In Athens, Works from George Economou’s Art Collection Take Stock of the 21st Century
Gail Wegodsky, Art May Hold the Key to Reclaiming Focus in a Hyper-Accelerated World
Jasmine Lobe, Ocean Vuong On Asking Questions Without Answers
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, FOIA Documents: NLRB records in the Toledo Museum of Art guard discharge charge
Adam Schrader, Labor charge accuses Toledo Museum of Art of firing guards over union activity
Wallpaper
Cinthy Parthonnaud, Ukrainian art director Eugenia Skvarska shares her world for an intimate new publishing series
The Washington Post
Fred A. Bernstein, Betye Saar, artist who shattered stereotypes of Black women, dies at 99
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