May 26, 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 Fee or free? How entry charges affect museums in the US by Daniel Grant for The Art Newspaper. US museums remain divided over whether free admission meaningfully expands access or simply creates financial strain.
Airmail
Lewis Jacobsen, Requiem for a Dreamscape
Apollo Magazine
From the Editors, Edvard Munch’s factory work
Edward Behrens, ‘In the art world you’re not only buying an object, you’re buying a relationship’: Andreas Pampoulides
Lucy Waterson, The family with a fine line in Bauhaus art
From the Editors, French government selects architects for €1bn Louvre redevelopment
Anna Brady, Pollock and Brâncuși break records. Will there be a trickle-down effect?
From the Editors, The rush to see the Bayeux Tapestry
Art Asia Pacific
Emily Ng, Ho Tzu Nyen Wins 2026 Fukuoka Grand Prize
Art in America
Emily Watlington, The 21st Century’s Biggest Art Trend is Not a Style. But Once You See It, You’ll Notice It Everywhere.
Elle Pérez, Elle Pérez Gets Personal with the Next-Gen Collectors Changing the Art World
The Art Newspaper
Joe Ware, ‘Lost forever, all because of this new tax’: fears for UK church heritage as VAT relief ends
Gareth Harris, A modern Tower of Babel? Pope Leo XIV warns against artificial intelligence
Ben Luke, A brush with... Elyse Gonzales, director of San Antonio’s Ruby City art centre
EDITOR’S PICK - Daniel Grant, Fee or free? How entry charges affect museums in the US: While some leaders in the sector say free entry is an ideal worth pursuing to widen access, others say it imperils institutions financially.
Joe Ware, London’s Royal Society of Arts launches new annual summer exhibition
Constanza Ontiveros Valdés, Controversy resurfaces in Colombia over treasure-filled San José shipwreck
Artforum
David Rimanelli, The Sage in the Pencil-Thin Suit: Marcel Duchamp at MoMA
Helen Molesworth, Marcel Duchamp and the MoMA Exhibition That Didn’t Ask Questions
Hélène Fauquet, Hélène Fauquet on Giorgio De Chirico, Dario Argento, and Drexciya
Pauline J. Yao, Edge Conditions: The Restless Video Art of Hong Kong’s Ellen Pau
Artnet
Margaret Carrigan, Who Won New York’s $2.5 Billion Auction Week?
Vittoria Benzine, Ukrainian Museums and Cultural Sites Damaged in Massive Russian Attack
Richard Whiddington, Long-Lost 17th-Century Altarpiece Paintings Recovered After Nearly 100 Years
Andrew Russeth, The New York Fairs Are Done. What Remains?
Kenny Schachter, Eyes Wide Open! Kenny Schachter Dishes on Delinquent Dealers, Secret Deals, and That Other ‘Salvator Mundi’
Vittoria Benzine, Val Kilmer’s Iconic ‘Top Gun’ Iceman Helmet Is Up for Grabs
Richard Whiddington, Rediscovered Rubens Notebook Page Goes on View for the First Time
Jo Lawson-Tancred, U.K. Arts Center Lands Seismic $122.4M Gift
Vittoria Benzine, Three Dinosaur Fossils Are Up for Grabs at This New York Art Gallery
Sonia Manalili and Margaret Carrigan, What New York’s $2.5 Billion Auction Week Means for the Market
Vittoria Benzine, How JR Transformed Paris’s Oldest Bridge Into a Massive Grotto
Andrew Russeth, Elle Pérez Envisions New Residency Built on Family Legacy
Richard Whiddington, A 4,500-Year-Old Building Near Stonehenge Has Been Brought Back to Life
Min Chen, Andy Warhol’s Patek Philippe Poised for $400,000 Sale—and Other Hot Finds on the Market
ARTnews
Alex Greenberger, 46 Museum Shows and Biennials to See This Summer
Harrison Jacobs, Tickets to See the Bayeux Tapestry Will Cost As Much As $45 A Piece
Harrison Jacobs, Ansel Adams Trust Slams Gallery for AI-Generated Work at AIPAD Photography Show
Anne Doran, Historically Accurate Replica of 4500-Year-Old Building to Open at Stonehenge
Daniel Cassady, Jury Convicts Daniel Sikkema in Killing of New York Dealer Brent Sikkema
Leigh Anne Miller, Commission of Fine Arts Approves Trump’s Controversial Triumphal Arch Celebrating ‘Greatness, Freedom, and Posterity’
Harrison Jacobs, Christie’s Kiran Nadar Exhibition Is the Latest Indicator of the South Asian Art Market’s Growing Importance
Andy Battaglia, White Stripes Frontman Jack White Is Showing Art at Damien Hirst’s Gallery
Maximilíano Durón, Muriel Hasbun, Artist Whose Work Poignantly Recounted the Salvadoran Diaspora and the Fraughtness of Memory, Dies at 64
ArtReview
Qingyuan Deng, Lionel Wendt: The Politics of the Male Nude
From the Editors, Brazilian Police name alleged thief of Matisse works
From the Editors, Wolfgang Tillmans wins 2026 Roswitha Haftmann Prize
BOMB
Andrew Woolbright, Emily Kraus by Andrew Woolbright
Cultured
Eve Eismann, The 12 Must-See Art Shows To Kick Off Summer in the Hamptons
Sam Falb, Are You a Queer Artist Heading to Fire Island This Summer? Pack This Book.The Guardian
Cath Clarke, Leonora in the Morning Light review – pioneering British artist who fled convention for the surrealists
Catherine Slessor, Criminal review – homelessness show delivers a rage-making punch in the gut
Chloë Ashby, Origami dragons and a story arcade! The joy of museums aimed at children
Hyperallergic
Sháńdíín Brown, The Invincible Spirit of Edmonia Lewis
Bryan Martin, For Ceija Stojka, Memory Is Survival
Jasmine Weber, How Betye Saar Set Black Dolls Free
Eurídice Arratia, Performance Cuts Through the Noise at the Venice Biennale
Valentina Di Liscia, Husband Found Guilty of Scheming Murder of Art Dealer Brent Sikkema
Daniel Larkin, An Artist’s MFA Show Confronts Columbia University Over Gaza
Isa Farfan, Human Connection Cuts Through Technology at Focus Art Fair
Rhea Nayyar, Workers Push to Rename Wexner Center for the Arts Over Epstein Ties
Bryan Karl, Karla Knight’s Cosmic Conspiracies
Julie Schneider, Anni Albers Wasn’t Afraid to Start From Zero
Lakshmi Rivera Amin, A View From the Easel
The Los Angeles Times
Jane Horowitz, Photographer Catherine Opie is everywhere all at once this spring
The New York Times
Zachary Small, Julia Halperin and Tim F. Schneider, How Art Auctions Choreographed a $2.5 Billion Comeback
Aruna D’Souza, Letting Her Art (and Birds) Do the Talking
Observer
Dan Duray, One Fine Show: “Paula Rego, Dance Among Thorns” at MUNCH in Oslo
Dian Parker, 50 Years of Groundbreaking Work: Kunstmuseum Basel Puts Helen Frankenthaler Front and Center
Daniel Grant, From Midnight Casts to Authorized Editions: Understanding the Market for Posthumously Produced Art
Elisa Carollo, Nick Doyle’s “Mirror, Mirror” Turns the American Dream Inside Out
Jasmine Lobe, Dinner, Dance and Devotion: Inside American Ballet Theatre’s Glittering Spring Gala
Elisa Carollo, The Carnegie International Tests What “We” Still Means in a Fractured World
Naima Morelli, An Art-Lover’s Guide to Tunis’ Ground-Up Contemporary Scene
T Magazine
Penelope Green, John Marion, the ‘God of Auctioneers in America,’ Dies at 92
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, Robert Indiana publisher fights bid to seize works after $102.2M verdict
Adam Schrader, Ansel Adams trust condemns Danziger Gallery’s A.I.-colorized ‘perversion’
Adam Schrader, Trump-appointed commission approves arch despite fierce opposition
Adam Schrader, Daniel Sikkema convicted in plot to kill art dealer Brent Sikkema
Vogue
Stephanie Sporn, Amoako Boafo Drew on Venice’s Rich Creative Heritage for His First Solo Show in Italy
Stephanie Sporn, Five Whirlwind Days in Italy, at and Beyond the Venice Biennale
The Wall Street Journal
Peter Plagens, ‘Hans Hofmann’ Review: Yale University Art Gallery’s Lessons in Abstraction
From the Editors, Arts Calendar: Happenings for the Week of May 24
Brian P. Kelly, Carol Bove Makes Magic With Metal at the Guggenheim
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.