May 15, 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 Best Art at Frieze New York, Future Fair, NADA and Esther III by Brian P. Kelly for The Wall Street Journal. Kelly shares his thoughts on the standout works and emerging themes across this year’s New York art fairs, led by Frieze New York.
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Aruna D’Souza, Painters, Ports, and Profits
Art in America
Kelly Presutti, One Erased Vermeer, Two Books, and No Consensus
The Art Newspaper
Judd Tully, Robert Mnuchin’s $85.7m Rothko leads Sotheby’s $407.5m auction in New York
Simon Bainbridge, Rene Matić wins 2026 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize
Martin Bailey, London’s Wellcome Collection returns 2,000 manuscripts to the Jain community
Benjamin Sutton, New York’s Neue Galerie will merge with the Metropolitan Museum
Tim Schneider, ‘Blood can either be a connective tissue or something used for division’: Jordan Eagles on his show a Pioneer Works
Shanti Escalante De Mattei, Finding art in the uncanny aesthetics of MAGA
Kabir Jhala, For young dealers, being in New York is key to surviving and thriving
Carlie Porterfield, Independent art fair makes the most of more spacious digs
From the Editors, Frieze New York Diary: celeb sightings and a swag-filled party
Carlie Porterfield, Independent art fair makes the most of more spacious digs
Shanti Escalante De Mattei, Artists turn to textiles as they excavate history at Nada New York
Martin Bailey, A tale of two Annas: Van Gogh’s favourite Whistler painting stars in Tate Britain show
Artforum
Gracie Hadland, Looking for Depth in Venice
From the Editors, Artists Spar Over Credit For A Dress Displayed In The Met’s ‘Costume Art’ Exhibition
From the Editors, New York’s Neue Gallery to Merge with Metropolitan Museum of Art
From the Editors, Parliamentary Report Outlines Major Issues In French Museums After The Louvre Heist
Artnet
Margaret Carrigan, Coveted Rothko From Robert Mnuchin’s Collection Nets $85.8 Million in New York
Vittoria Benzine, With New Tribeca Outpost, Gratin Gallery Doubles Down on Young Artists
Andrew Russeth, At the Venice Biennale, the Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat
Richard Whiddington, Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Painter Who Defied the Bounds of Abstraction, Dies at 84
Vittoria Benzine, The Met and Neue Galerie Embark on Historic Merger
Min Chen, Lucy Liu Paints the ‘Emotional Truth’ of Family Memories
Vittoria Benzine, Is This a JMW Turner Self-Portrait? One Scholar Has Doubts
Sonia Manalili and Ben Davis, Does L.A’s Bold New LACMA Museum Work?
ARTnews
Brian Boucher and Alex Greenberger, Rothko from Robert Mnuchin’s Estate Sells for $85.8 M., Leading Sotheby’s New York’s $433.1 M. Contemporary Art Sale
Tessa Solomon, Artist Debuts and Inspired Duos Define the Can’t-Miss Booths at Independent
Angelica Villa and Alex Greenberger, The Most Expensive Works by Mark Rothko Sold at Auction
Alex Greenberger, Robert Mnuchin’s Rothko Sells at Sotheby’s for $85.8 M., Narrowly Missing a Record
Maximilíano Durón, Valie Export, Groundbreaking Feminist Artist Who Questioned the Nature of Art, Dies at 85
Anne Doran, Peter Doig, Tracey Emin, and More Sign Letter Defending Southbank Centre Chair
Harrison Jacobs, The Best Booths at NADA New York, From Quietly Ominous Ceramics to Ecstatic Jazz Paintings
Andy Battaglia, The Best Booths at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, From Surrealist Fantasias to Afro-Brazilian Imaginings
Maximilíano Durón, Frick Inks Three-Year Partnership with Louis Vuitton, with Support for Exhibitions and Free Fridays
Marisa Guthrie, Dutch Designer Iris van Herpen’s High-Tech Garments Are On View in a Mid-Career Retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum
Leigh Anne Miller, What is Nicole Kidman Doing in a Christie’s Video Promoting the Upcoming S.I. Newhouse Sale?
Brian Boucher, Suspect Is Taken into Custody in Decade-Long Louvre Ticketing Scam
Harrison Jacobs, J.M.W. Turner’s Most Famous Self-Portrait Might Not Actually Be by the Artist at All
Anne Doran, An Installation at the British Museum Recreates the Bayeux Tapestry’s Landscape
Daniel Cassady, At Independent, Joel Mesler’s ‘Death Wish’ Is Part Art Exhibit, Part Market Experiment
Brian Boucher, Trial Begins in Brent Sikkema Murder-For-Hire Case
Alex Greenberger, New York’s Neue Galerie to Merge with Metropolitan Museum of Art in Major Expansion
Anne Doran, The Met Teams Up with Band-Aid on Art-Themed Adhesive Bandages
ArtReview
Henry Roberts, The Interview: Steven Soderbergh
Clive Chijioke Nwonka, ‘My Father’s Shadow’: Now You See Me
From the Editors, VALIE EXPORT, pioneering artist who centred the female body, 1940–2026
From the Editors, Rene Matić wins 2026 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize
From the Editors, Mary Lovelace O’Neal, painter and activist, 1942–2026
The Brooklyn Rail
Mark Van Proyen, Diane Arbus: Sanctum Sanctorum
Richard Vine, (In)visible Presence
Charles Schultz, Marina Adams: Works on Paper
Andrew Paul Woolbright, Brock Enright: I AM SO PRETTY
Frieze
From the Editors, First Look: Frieze New York 2026
From the Editors, Kelly Sinnapah Mary: Gardens of Memory and Healing
The Guardian
Hettie Judah, From men on dog leads to public breast-fondling, Valie Export’s art demanded a total feminist revolution
Veronica Esposito, ‘You look at it and you just feel better’: this year’s Photoville festival highlights
Jonathan Jones, Queer eyes in focus, sculpture hits pay dirt and Whistler’s world – the week in art
Senay Boztas, The Netherlands is confronting its history of Nazi occupation – but many stolen objects remain unreturned
Hyperallergic
Isa Farfan, Manhattan’s Neue Galerie to Merge With Met Museum
Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Required Reading
Jennifer Samet, Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Painter and Civil Rights Luminary, Dies at 84
David S. Rubin, Todd Gray Reframes Black Diasporic History
Valentina Di Liscia, Art Movements: Michelle Millar Fisher Heads to Cooper Hewitt
Rhea Nayyar, Between Tropes and Treats at NADA New York
The New York Times
Robin Pogrebin, The Met Will Expand by Merging With the Nearby Neue Galerie
Jason Farago, In Venice, the Passion of Life and the Ghost of Art
Will Heinrich, Six Unforgettable Artists at the Biggest Independent Fair
Observer
Elisa Carollo, Frieze New York Opens Strong, But the Real Test Is Just Beginning
Dan Duray, Gerhard Richter, Franz Kline and the Art Marian Goodman Never Let Go
T Magazine
Max Lakin, Matt Dillon’s Lesser-Known Life as a Visual Artist
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, Met plans merger with Neue Galerie in major Lauder gift
Adam Schrader, Giles Duley rethinks war photography in Frieze Week show
Vanity Fair
Nate Freeman, The White House, the Warzone, and Jeffrey Epstein: Welcome to the World of Photographer Christopher Anderson
The Wall Street Journal
Kelly Crow, A Banker Bought This Rothko for $6.7 Million. He Just Sold It for $85.8 Million
EDITOR’S PICK - Brian P. Kelly, The Best Art at Frieze New York, Future Fair, NADA and Esther III: The spring art fairs offer a whirlwind chance to take in works in every style and medium—from rococo- and Renaissance-inspired paintings to digital sculptures that destroy themselves.
Kelly Crow, The Met Will Merge With Neue Galerie, Gaining Over $1.5 Billion in Art
Art Spell is a subscription-based daily roundup of art news and reviews to help you stay current with what’s being reported on in the visual arts community. The profits from Art Spell are donated to organizations supporting art journalists and writers.