July 29, 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 30 Best Art Museums in the US by The Editors of ARTnews. The editors of ARTnews share a list of the best museums in the US based on their permanent collections, temporary exhibition programs and the grandeur of their architecture.
The Art Newspaper
Annabel Keenan, Artists visualise environmental fragility and resilience on New York’s Governors Island
Sarvy Geranpayeh, Sites in Iran, Lebanon and Palestine among 25 new additions to Unesco’s World Heritage List
Daniel Grant, Trump administration’s new tariff regime exempts art and antique imports from most countries
From the Editors, Curating for the new No. 10 North: six art suggestions for the UK’s prime minister
Artforum
Andrea Gyorody, Matters of Spirit: Two Los Angeles Exhibitions Attempt to Locate the Spiritual in Contemporary Art
From the Editors, Betye Saar, Leading Figure of the Black Arts Movement, Dies at 99
From the Editors, Detroit Institute of Arts Receives Over 2,000 Artworks from Silverman Estate
From the Editors, Art Institute of Chicago To Lay Off Entire Custodial Staff
From the Editors, 13 Works By Finnish Architects Alvar, Aino, and Elissa Aalto Added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Artnet
John Chiaverina, At Watermill’s Summer Fete, EYE’s Noise Performance Induced Transcendence
Min Chen, Gee’s Bend Meets Ralph Lauren—and Other Art World Matters
Katya Kazakina, Art World’s Top Players Turn Up in New York’s Pied-à-Terre Tax Database
Vittoria Benzine, A Rare Early Frank Gehry Home Is for Sale
Jo Lawson-Tancred, $1 Billion Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Finally Gets an Opening Date
ARTnews
EDITOR’S PICK - From the Editors, The 30 Best Art Museums in the US: Time to start checking these off your bucket list.
Harrison Jacobs, Artist Dustin Yellin Has a Hot Take for Viral ‘Subway Takes’ Show
Andy Battaglia, UK Jury Convicts Activists Who Covered a Picasso With Image of Gazan Mother and Child at the National Gallery
Devorah Lauter, Works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and George Condo Among Those Caught in Major Vancouver Real Estate Fraud Lawsuit
Tessa Solomon, Museums, Curators, and Artists Say Goodbye to Betye Saar: ‘Thank You for the Dance’
Brian Boucher, Artist Robert Lazzarini Will Unveil Works Intended for the US Pavilion This Fall in Boston
Leigh Anne Miller, Bennale of Sydney Appoints Low Kee Hong Artistic Director of 2028 Editioni
Harrison Jacobs, The Phildelphia Museum of Art Ran a $10 M. Deficit This Past Fiscal Year
Tessa Solomon, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Sets December Opening Date
Daniel Cassady, National Museum of Ireland Employee Charged in Alleged Car Bomb Plot
Devorah Lauter, Bernard Arnault Hits Back at Le Monde Report Accusing Him of Being ‘In Love With the Arts and Tax Exemptions’
Anne Doran, SFMOMA Announces Recent Gifts and Purchases of Modern and Contemporary Artworks
ArtReview
Pallavi Surana, The Politics of Belonging at the India Pavilion
Robert Barry, Oliver Beer’s Music for Paintings
From the Editors, Betye Saar, artist confronting racist stereotypes, 1926–2026
From the Editors, Low Kee Hong named artistic director of 2028 Biennale of Sydney
From the Editors, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi announces opening date
BOMB
Wassan Al-Khudhairi, Vian Sora by Wassan Al-Khudhairi
Ksenia M. Soboleva, Ash Fure by Ksenia M. Soboleva
Frieze
Andrew Maerkle, Why the Japanese Flag Matters to All of Us
Louisa Elderton, Mooni Perry Uncovers the Ghosts of Empire
Mathilde Walker-Billaud, Marilou Schultz Treats Weaving as a Technology
The Guardian
Charlotte Jansen, Portrait of a City review – master photographers capture the US cityscape in all its grime, grit and glory
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 aged 99
Hyperallergic
Anna Lee, Man Arrested in Broad Daylight Theft of 2,500-Year-Old Gold Torque From French Museum
Eileen G’Sell, The Queer Surrealists Who Fought Nazis With Paper Bullets
Anna Lee, Historic Japanese Castle Damaged in 7.1-Magnitude Earthquake
Julia Curl, Walter Benjamin Warned Us About AI
Isa Farfan, Photobook Publisher Steidl in Dire Straits After Threat of Bankruptcy
The Los Angeles Times
Jessica Gelt, 5 powerful works by Betye Saar that represent her fearless vision, in art and life
The New York Times
Joseph Giovannini, How the Curtain Rose on One of Zaha Hadid’s Final Acts
Zachary Small, Long-Delayed Guggenheim Abu Dhabi to Open in December
The New Yorker
Zachary Fine, Fairfield Porter’s Lush, Lonely Vision of the World
Observer
Tamar Lortkipanidze, The Best Art Galleries in Porto, Portugal
Lucas Bitencourt, What the Venice Biennale Reveals About the West’s Cultural Confidence
Elisa Carollo, A Summer Art Road Trip Through the South of France
Elisa Carollo, Carmen Argote Turns Cochineal’s Extractive History Into a Study of Embodiment
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, Artist sues Kai Matsumiya gallery over alleged unpaid sale proceeds
Adam Schrader, Appeals court says artist sued Jeff Koons too late over ‘Made in Heaven’ snake sculpture
Adam Schrader, Why Gaza’s Palestinian-led reconstruction must prioritize culture and archives
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