Power Plays: New Alliances and Cultural Stakes

Restitution Reckonings and a Heat-Strained Art World

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news. Sotheby's auction of Joe Lewis collection breaks record for most expensive sold in UK https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/25/in-a-boost-for-london-sothebys-evening-sale-of-joe-lewis-collection-becomes-most-expensive-sold-in-uk How to Make a Sculpture With Sound https://news.artnet.com/multimedia/tarek-atoui-2781914 Ireland urged to create national panel to evaluate claims for Nazi-era and colonial loot https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/25/ireland-urged-to-create-national-panel-to-evaluate-claims-for-nazi-era-and-colonial-loot Far-right candidate's election in Colombia clouds future of long-delayed museum devoted to victims of armed conflict https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/25/presidential-election-bogota-museo-de-memoria-colombia Manifesta 2026 asks what should happen to Germany’s unused churches https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/25/manifesta-16-ruhr-asks-what-should-happen-to-germanys-unused-churches Paris Museums and Tourist Sites Continue to Limit Hours Amid Record-Breaking Heatwave https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/museums-tourist-sites-paris-limit-hours-record-breaking-heatwave-1234790289/ Misan Harriman to step down as chair of London's Southbank Centre https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/25/misan-harriman-to-step-down-as-chair-of-londons-southbank-centre British Artist Tess Jaray, Known for Her Hard-Edge Abstractions, Has Died at 88 https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/tess-jaray-british-hard-edge-abstract-painter-dies-at-88-1234790353/ Judge Gives Trump Administration Deadline to Explain Tarp Covering Kennedy Center https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/judge-trump-deadline-explain-tarp-covering-kennedy-center-1234790317/ Art Basel’s Parent Company, MCH Group, To Launch New Miami Festival in October https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/art-basel-mch-group-jupiter-festival-miami-october-1234790318/

Auction Fever, Digital Backlash, and Stolen Masterpieces

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news. $392.6 M. Lewis Collection Sale Smashes Records at Sotheby’s, Led by $63.9 M. Modigliani https://news.artnet.com/market/392-6-m-lewis-collection-sale-smashes-records-led-by-63-9-m-modigliani-2783495 Crystal Bridges, fresh off major expansion, hires Courtenay Finn as next chief curator https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/24/crystal-bridges-hires-courtenay-finn-chief-curator Meta and YouTube’s recent losses in youth social media addiction cases may put artists and activists at risk https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/24/meta-youtube-legal-losses-put-artists-activists-risk Helen Cammock removes film criticising Winston Churchill from London's National Portrait Gallery following complaint https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/24/helen-cammock-video-work-criticising-winston-churchill-removed-from-national-portrait-gallery Picasso painting recovered in French drug raid was stolen ‘opportunistically’, police source says https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/24/picasso-painting-recovered-in-french-drug-raid-was-stolen-opportunistically-say-police-source Since the 1960s, Marilou Schultz Has Merged Diné Weaving and Digital Worlds https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/marilou-schultz-candice-hopkins-hessel-museum-dine-weaving-1234790145/ Pratt Manhattan Gallery Moves “Beyond Digital” in New Exhibition https://hyperallergic.com/pratt-manhattan-gallery-moves-beyond-digital-in-new-exhibition/ In Open Letter, Hundreds of Artists Urge Mayor Mamdani for Two-Year Ban on AI in Classrooms https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/letter-artists-zohran-mamdani-two-year-ban-ai-classrooms-1234790115/ Australian Artist Accused of Copying Work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Nicholas Harding https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/jane-allan-copying-claims-jean-michel-basquiat-nicholas-harding-1234790157/ Inside the Mind of an Antiquities Looter https://hyperallergic.com/inside-the-mind-of-an-antiquities-looter/

Restitution Reckonings and Censorship Flashpoints

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news. Smithsonian women’s museum launches augmented reality experience after congressional setback https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/23/smithsonian-american-womens-history-museum-augmented-reality-project Fate of historic murals uncertain following Manhattan homeless shelter’s closure https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/23/bellevue-homeless-shelter-manhattan-wpa-murals-preservation-uncertain The Netherlands and Germany agree to return more than 2,000 cultural artefacts to Ghana https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/23/the-netherlands-and-germany-to-return-more-than-2000-cultural-artefacts-to-ghana New Museum and Korea’s Ulsan Art Museum Inaugurate Partnership with Ho Tzu Nyen Commission https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/new-museum-ulsan-art-museum-partnership-ho-tzu-nyen-commission-1234790042/ R.M.S. Titanic’s Plan to Sell Salvaged Artifacts at Auction Faces Ongoing Opposition https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/rms-titanic-sell-salvaged-artifacts-auction-ongoing-opposition-1234790045/ Artists Facing Censorship Can Turn to This New Guideline for Guidance https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/artists-facing-censorshipturn-to-this-for-guidance-1234790040/ Pace Gallery’s Hall of Mirrors https://hyperallergic.com/pace-gallerys-hall-of-mirrors/ Who Will Fight for Artists' Rights in Congress? https://hyperallergic.com/who-will-fight-for-artists-rights-in-congress/ Hundreds of Artists Ask NYC Mayor to Ban AI in Schools https://hyperallergic.com/hundreds-of-artists-ask-nyc-mayor-to-ban-ai-in-schools/ Paris Drug Bust Recovers Stolen $17 M. Picasso Canvas https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/paris-drug-bust-recovers-stolen-picasso-1234790016/

Blockbuster Museums, Hot Markets, and Missing Masterpieces

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news. $627 Million London Museum Gets Opening Date—and More Art Industry News https://news.artnet.com/market/627-million-london-museum-gets-opening-date-and-more-art-industry-news-2782733 What Sold at Art Basel https://news.artnet.com/multimedia/what-sold-at-art-basel-2782712 ‘Artists need to be able to advocate for their own work’: new guide advises artists on navigating censorship https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/22/national-coalition-against-censorship-free-guide-for-artists Tate Modern’s Frida Kahlo Exhibition Has Already Sold a Record 41,000 Advance Tickets https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/tate-modern-frida-kahlo-record-advance-tickets-1234789885/ Stolen Picasso Turns Up During Paris Drug Bust https://news.artnet.com/art-world/stolen-picasso-found-paris-drug-raid-2782725 Marc Spiegler Got It All Wrong https://hyperallergic.com/marc-spiegler-got-it-all-wrong/ vanessa german’s Shrine to Forgotten Black Girls https://hyperallergic.com/vanessa-germans-shrine-to-forgotten-black-girls/ Israeli Artist Yaacov Agam, Known for His Optical and Kinetic Artworks, Has Died at 98 https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/israeli-kinetic-optical-artist-yaacov-agam-dies-1234789922/ The Netherlands and Germany Agree to Return 2,000 Artifacts to Ghana https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/netherlands-germany-return-2000-artifacts-ghana-1234789956/ In a New Documentary, Artists Get Candid About AI https://hyperallergic.com/in-a-new-documentary-artists-get-candid-about-ai/

Billionaire Museums, Basel Buys, and Brexit Blues

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news. A multi-millionaire on a mission: David Walsh expands his Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/21/a-multi-millionaire-on-a-mission-david-walsh-expands-his-museum-of-old-and-new-art What Sold at Art Basel https://news.artnet.com/multimedia/what-sold-at-art-basel-2782712 A decade on: Brexit's impact on the UK art market https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/21/a-decade-on-brexits-impact-on-the-uk-art-market Daniel ‘Danny’ Simmons, Artist, Author, and Philanthropist, Has Died at 72 https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/daniel-danny-simmons-artist-author-philanthropist-dead-72-1234789875/