July 31, 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 U.K. Museums Association Unites With American Alliance of Museums Against Trump by by The Editors of Artforum. International institutions condemn the Trump Administration’s efforts to politicize American museums.
Art in America
Claudia Rankine, We Asked Claudia Rankine to Name One Artwork She Considers a “Revelation”
Kelly Presutti, This Rare Winslow Homer Show Lets You Delight in the Puzzle of His Process
The Art Newspaper
Alex Wang, Japan’s 400-year-old Kumamoto Castle damaged by 7.1 magnitude earthquake
Gareth Harris, UK artist Conrad Shawcross sounds alarm on Jodrell Bank Observatory funding cuts
Jori Finkel, Comment | The Obama Presidential Center aims high, like a Gothic cathedral
Hadani Ditmars, Family of donor who helped establish Canadian Museum for Human Rights to pause support over Palestine exhibit
Martin Bailey, Two US ambassadors have displayed Van Goghs in their London residence—but Donald Trump’s pick for the job can’t quite follow suit
Artforum
EDITOR’S PICK - From the Editors, U.K. Museums Association Unites With American Alliance of Museums Against Trump: The Trump administration’s repeated attempts to undermine and attack the Smithsonian are being met with international pushback.
From the Editors, $22 Million Renovation of LA’s Watts Towers to Begin in October
From the Editors, Valentin Noujaïm awarded Han Nefkens Foundation Video Art Production Grant
From the Editors, Shanghai Institutions Launch Arts-Based Initiative to Provide Mental Health Support
Artnet
Annikka Olsen, A New Richard Estes Survey Proves There’s More to Photorealism Than Meets the Eye
Katya Kazakina, The Hole Faces Fresh Non-Payment Claims—and Other Art World Matters
Vittoria Benzine, Get Ready to Boogie! John Travolta’s ‘Saturday Night Fever’ Suit Is Up for Auction
Richard Whiddington, V&A Museum Workers Vote to Strike
Jo Lawson-Tancred, Simone Forti, Performance Art Trailblazer, Dies at 91
Sonia Manalili and Andrew Russeth, An Untold History of the Art Market
Jo Lawson-Tancred, Will Tariff Tensions Ebb for the Art Trade? And Other Art World Matters
ARTnews
Maximilíano Durón, Gilberto Cárdenas, Top Collector of Latinx Art and Leading Scholar of Latino Studies, Has Died at 79
Andy Battaglia, Aerial Surveys of Brazil Find New Evidence of Pre-Colombian Civilization
Daniel Cassady, Judge Says David Nahmad May Owe Millions in Nazi-Looted Modigliani Case
Daniel Cassady, V&A East Storehouse Workers Vote to Strike Over Working Conditions
Leigh Anne Miller, Trump Unveils Re-gilded ‘Arts of War’ Horse Statues Near Lincoln Memorial
Harrison Jacobs, A New Nasher Jury, Zachary Fine Joins New Yorker, and More: Industry Moves for July 30, 2026
Tessa Solomon, Cyberattack on Dresden State Art Collections Lasted Days, Authorities Reveal
Scott Feinberg, Netflix Acquires Richard Avedon Documentary for 2026 Release After Cannes Debut
Harrison Jacobs, FBI Executes Search on Blue-Chip Gallery That May Be Owned by Notorious Philadelphia Collector
Leigh Anne Miller, Documentary About the Sculptor Thaddeus Mosley, “Keeper of Trees Anywhere,” Now in Production
ArtReview
Robert Barry, The Blockchain Fantasy is Dying
Family Style
Rachel Summer Small, The World Is Your…
Frieze
Mounira Zennia, Tanya Lukin Linklater Traces the Limits of Repatriation
Galerie
Annabel Keenan, Artist to Watch: Maia Cruz Palileo Channels Family’s Immigration Story into Paintings, Sculptures, and More
Jacoba Urist, Artist to Watch: Meghann Stephenson Explores Femininity, Self-Destruction, and Perfectionism in Latest Series
Julie Belcove, Meet 6 Visionary Women Shaping the Art World in 2026
Ted Loos, Artist to Watch: Ben Tong Uses a Cool Palette with Unexpected Bursts to Create Powerful Paintings
Jacqueline Terrebonne, Photographer Douglas Friedman Reveals His Personal Connection to a Will Cotton Artwork
Michael Slenske, Artist to Watch: Eva Helene Pade Looks to Nightclubs and Ballet for Her Cinematic Paintings
The Guardian
Jonathan Jones, Beguiling beauties, designs to be sat on and giant corn dollies – the week in art
Veronica Esposito, From Felix the Cat to MTV: MoMA explores a century of animation
Hyperallergic
Matt Stromberg, Simone Forti, Artist of Movement and Chance, Dies at 91
Anna Lee, Trump Regilds DC Statues Mar-a-Lago Style
Natasha Seaman, Why Did Rembrandt Die Poor?
Lisa Yin Zhang, Todd Caissie Takes the Helm at the Montclair Art Museum
Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Required Reading
Isa Farfan, Trump’s Border Expansion Threatens 6,000-Year-Old Cave Paintings
Rhea Nayyar, Israel Incensed as UNESCO Adds Lebanese and West Bank Sites to World Heritage List
MOMUS
Carolina A. Miranda, “You Create Your Own Situation”: On Mel Edwards and Juan Sánchez
The New York Times
Zachary Small, After Claiming ‘Bias’ at Smithsonian, Trump Officials Stage Patriotic Exhibition
Robin Pogrebin, For Museum Boss Who Became a Trump Target, It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again
Walker Mimms, What Exactly Did Pop Art Give Us?
Observer
Henry Roberts, At MICAS, Reggie Burrows Hodges’s Vision of Malta
Dan Duray, One Fine Show: “Views of Vexation of Spirit” at the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto
Elisa Carollo, Jean-Marc Bustamante Gives Arles a New Contemporary Art Space
Henry Roberts, In Saint-Tropez, a Gallery Scene Has Grown Up Alongside the Glamour
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