Auction Fever, Museum Fallout, and Artworld Threats

Auction Fever, Museum Fallout, and Artworld Threats

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news. Sotheby’s Posts $4.4 Billion in First-Half Sales, a New Record https://news.artnet.com/market/sothebys-h1-sales-2787726 Sotheby’s $50.1 M. T. Rex Sale Sets New Record as Scientists Scowl https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/sothebys-gus-t-rex-record-50-million-dinosaur-auction-1234792060/ Robert Rauschenberg foundation donates three sculptures to shared Tate and National Galleries of Scotland collection https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/07/14/robert-rauschenberg-foundation-donates-three-sculptures-to-joint-tate-and-national-galleries-of-scotland-collection Roberta Smith Made Kenny Schachter Cry. Twice. And He Still Sings Her Praises https://news.artnet.com/art-world/roberta-smith-house-of-criticism-review-2787686 For Michael Asher, the Museum Was the Medium https://hyperallergic.com/for-michael-asher-the-museum-was-the-medium/ Why The Met Returned a Roman Bust https://hyperallergic.com/why-the-met-returned-a-roman-bust/ Man Charged in Theft of More Than 600 Artifacts from UK’s Bristol Museum https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/bristol-museum-heist-man-charged-1234792076/ Superblue Teams Up With Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre to Bring Immersive Art to Mumbai https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/superblue-nita-mukesh-ambani-cultural-centre-second-nature-1234792119/ Meet the Doyennes of Ecosexuality https://hyperallergic.com/meet-the-doyennes-of-ecosexuality/ Dealer Dominique Lévy Says She Received Death Threats After Denouncing Post–October 7 Letter in Artforum https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/dominique-levy-october-7-death-threats-artforum-letter-1234792057/

Restitution Reckonings and Museum Scandals Unravel

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news. New York Investigators Return $600,000 Worth of Looted Art—and More Art Industry News https://news.artnet.com/market/paint-drippings-art-industry-news-jul-13-2787586 Australia’s Museum of Old and New Art Plans Bangkok Branch https://news.artnet.com/art-world/museum-of-old-and-new-art-bangkok-outpost-2787630 Ana Mendieta’s ‘Neolithic art’ recreated for major Tate Modern survey https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/07/13/ana-mendietas-neolithic-art-recreated-for-major-tate-modern-survey Nazi-Looted Painting Found Decades Ago Among Amsterdam’s Street Trash Will Be Returned to Jewish Dealer’s Heirs https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/nazi-looted-painting-jacques-goudstikker-returned-1234792013/ High Museum of Art’s Former COO Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More Than $600,000 https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/high-museum-art-former-coo-guilty-embezzling-1234791968/ A Convicted Antiquities Dealer’s Web https://hyperallergic.com/a-convicted-antiquities-dealers-web/ Where Is Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara? https://hyperallergic.com/where-is-luis-manuel-otero-alcantara/ Louvre Jewel Heist Suspects Claim ‘Mysterious Sponsor’ Recruited Them https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/louvre-jewel-heist-suspects-claim-sponsor-recruited-them-1234791929/ Should We See Peter Hujar’s Contact Sheets? https://hyperallergic.com/should-we-see-peter-hujars-contact-sheets/ EU Commission Recommends Cancelation of Venice Biennale Grant over Russian Pavilion https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/eu-commission-cancelation-venice-biennale-grant-russia-1234791923/

Midwest Rising: Five Artists to Watch

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news. Meet 5 Midwestern Artists From the Artnet Gallery Network https://news.artnet.com/art-world/midwestern-artists-gallery-network-2785585

Auction Whiplash and Museum Power Plays

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news. Results at the Big Three Auction Houses Tell Two Different Stories https://news.artnet.com/market/mid-year-review-auctions-2787320 Magritte, Constable, Trump's Smithsonian Wrath https://hyperallergic.com/magritte-constable-trumps-smithsonian-wrath/

Repatriation Shockwaves and Museum Ethics on Trial

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news. Bayeux Tapestry arrives at the British Museum in London after secret English Channel crossing https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/07/10/bayeux-tapestry-arrives-at-the-british-museum-after-secret-english-channel-crossing Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art announces plans for Thailand outpost https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/07/10/tasmanias-museum-of-old-and-new-art-announces-plans-for-thailand-outpost Exhibition in Bogotá shows off more than 1,000 repatriated pre-Columbian artefacts https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/07/10/exhibition-in-bogota-shows-off-more-than-1000-repatriated-pre-columbian-artefacts Gelman Collection controversy reaches Mexican courts https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/07/10/could-mexicos-treasured-kahlo-works-leave-the-country-forever Unesco reviewing controversial ‘black cube’ project in Florence amid outrage https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/07/10/unesco-reviewing-controversial-black-cube-project-in-florence-amid-outrage Artists and Former Staffers Accuse Cape Town Gallery SMAC of Nonpayment and Withholding Artworks https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/artists-staffers-accuse-cape-town-gallery-smac-nonpayment-1234791540/ Why Do So Many Museums Hold a Convicted Antiquity Dealer’s Treasures? https://hyperallergic.com/why-do-so-many-museums-hold-a-convicted-antiquity-dealers-treasures/ US Returns Two Looted Bronze Buddha Statues, Sold by Disgraced Antiquities Dealer Douglas Latchford, to Indonesia https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/us-returns-indonesia-looted-bronze-buddha-statues-douglas-latchford-1234791873/ ICOM Adopts New Museum Code of Ethics Taking Aim at AI, Colonialism, and Climate Change https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/icom-new-museum-code-of-ethics-ai-colonialism-climate-change-1234791845/ Which Artworks Will Grace the High Line’s Plinth Next? https://hyperallergic.com/which-artworks-will-grace-the-high-lines-plinth-next/