Daily Art Download

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news.
At Mexico City’s Material and Salón Acme fairs, artists find hope in nature
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/07/feria-material-salon-acme-mexico-city-art-week-satellite-fairs-nature-environment
Mexico City street market gallery makes art accessible
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/07/galeria-tianguis-neza-mexico-city-market
World Cup art initiatives go for goal in Mexico City
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/07/world-cup-art-initiatives-mexico-city
This Serene Canaletto Is Now One of the Italian Masters Most Expensive Works
https://news.artnet.com/market/work-of-the-week-canaletto-2743758
White House Floats Idea of Expanded Trump Display at Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/white-house-trump-display-smithsonian-portrait-gallery-1234772720/
The Art World's Epstein Problem
https://hyperallergic.com/the-art-worlds-epstein-problem/
Digitally Rebuilding the Lighthouse of Alexandria, Once One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/digitally-rebuilding-lighthouse-of-alexandria-as-3d-model-1234772703/

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news.
Leon Black and Ronald Lauder Joined Forces to Buy Masterpieces, Epstein Files Show
https://news.artnet.com/market/leon-black-ronald-lauder-epstein-files-2742950
MFA Boston Denies Targeting Employees of Color in Layoffs
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/mfa-boston-denies-racial-layoffs-2743776
Royals Passing Notes and Back Room Deals: Inside Sales at Art Basel Qatar
https://news.artnet.com/market/sales-roundup-art-basel-qatar-2743601
Van Gogh’s ‘triple painting’ revealed by discoveries beneath the surface
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/06/van-goghs-triple-painting-revealed-by-discoveries-beneath-the-surface
Giorgia Meloni’s face removed from Rome fresco after complaints
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/06/giorgia-meloni-face-removed-from-vatican-fresco-after-complaints
When Artists Lose Their Archives
https://hyperallergic.com/when-artists-lose-their-archives/
Claire Tabouret on Criticism of Her Notre-Dame Cathedral Commission: ‘I’m Also Receiving A Lot of Love’
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/claire-tabouret-criticism-notre-dame-cathedral-commission-1234772621/
The Unruly Politics of Glitter
https://hyperallergic.com/the-unruly-politics-of-glitter/
Louvre Indefinitely Postpones Announcing the Winning Architect of Its $776 M. Expansion Project
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/louvre-indefinitely-postpones-announcing-winning-architect-expansion-project-1234772616/
The Art World After Epstein
https://hyperallergic.com/the-art-world-after-epstein/

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news.
Lost Michelangelo Draws $27 Million, Trouncing Estimate and Smashing Record
https://news.artnet.com/market/michelangelo-sistine-chapel-study-christies-2718805
Saudi Arabia looks to its Modern art history as the art world eyes up the Gulf
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/05/saudi-arabia-looks-to-its-modern-art-history-as-the-art-world-eyes-up-the-gulf
Philadelphia Museum of Art Walks Back Controversial Rebranding
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/philadelphia-art-museum-rebranding-2743304
Buffalo AKG Director Hasn’t Repaid $335K Museum Loan Used to Buy Home, State Report Finds
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/buffalo-akg-director-museum-loan-buy-home-state-report-1234772402/
The World Has Too Much Art. What Will Happen to It?
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/adam-lindemann-too-much-art-column-2743340
Lawrence Abu Hamdan and Lydia Ourahmane among artists confirmed for new Qatar quadrennial
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/05/lawrence-abu-hamdan-lydia-ourahmane-among-artists-confirmed-new-qatar-quadrennial
How the Debates Over Art, Race, and Tech Have Changed
https://news.artnet.com/multimedia/aria-dean-art-race-tech-2740206
Vatican Orders Removal of Fresco Depicting Far-Right Leader as Angel
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/vatican-orders-removal-meloni-fresco-2743309
Pulitzer-Winning ‘Washington Post’ Art Critic Sebastian Smee Laid Off in Cutbacks, But Philip Kennicott Remains
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/washington-post-art-critic-sebastian-smee-laid-off-1234772489/
Fast-Rising Sculptor Yuko Mohri Wins $50,000 Calder Prize
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/yuko-mohri-wins-calder-prize-1234772341/

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news.
Belgium Scraps Plans to Dismantle Its Oldest Contemporary Art Museum
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/m-hka-will-not-be-dismantled-2742905
Venice Biennale 2026: all the national pavilions, artists and curators so far
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/04/venice-biennale-2026-all-the-national-pavilions-artists-and-curators-so-far
Stephen Friedman Gallery goes into administration after 30 years
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/04/stephen-friedman-gallery-goes-into-administration-after-30-years
Prominent art world figures named in latest Epstein files, including France's ex-culture minister Jack Lang
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/04/prominent-art-world-figures-named-in-latest-epstein-files-including-frances-ex-culture-minister-jack-lang
Art Basel Qatar VIP day: fair’s debut encourages patience
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/04/art-basel-qatar-vip-day-fair-debut-encourages-patience
New Details Revealed for Planned Saudi Museum in AlUla
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/planned-saudi-contemporary-art-museum-new-details-announced-1234772293/
Epstein Files Detail Gruesome Allegations Against Leon Black
https://hyperallergic.com/epstein-files-detail-gruesome-allegations-against-leon-black/
Outrage Over Israeli Plans to Seize Palestinian Archaeological Site
https://hyperallergic.com/outrage-over-israeli-plans-to-seize-palestinian-archaeological-site/
Deborah Jack’s Immersive Elegy for Water
https://hyperallergic.com/deborah-jacks-immersive-elegy-for-water/
Rare Rembrandt Drawing Nets Record-Smashing $18 Million at Auction
https://news.artnet.com/market/rembrandt-saudi-arabia-2738322

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news.
Open letter calls for ouster of Art Gallery of Ontario trustee who led vote against Nan Goldin acquisition
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/03/art-gallery-ontario-nan-goldin-acquisition-scandal-open-letter-committee-overhaul
Epstein Files Reveal Opaque World of Top Art Deals, Loans, LLCs
https://news.artnet.com/market/epstein-files-art-deals-loans-llcs-2741134
‘An institution where you delve into works’: details of AlUla Contemporary Art Museum announced
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/03/an-institution-where-you-delve-into-the-works-of-artists-details-of-alula-contemporary-art-museum-announced
Saudi woman painter outshines Picasso at Sotheby’s second sale in Diriyah
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/03/saudi-woman-painter-outshines-picasso-at-sothebys-second-sale-in-diriyah
Art Basel Qatar Opens With Big Ambitions, Limited Sales
https://news.artnet.com/market/art-basel-qatar-opening-report-2742728
Guatemala’s Museo de Arte Colonial shut down by authorities
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/03/guatemala-museo-de-arte-colonial-shut-down-by-authorities
SVA Chair David A. Ross Resigns After Epstein Files Reveal Ties: ‘I’m Still Proud to Call You a Friend’
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/epstein-files-reveal-museum-director-david-a-ross-1234772018/
Jewish Heirs File Suit in French Court Regarding Met’s Ownership of Pissarro Painting
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/jewish-heirs-file-suite-french-court-met-ownership-pissarro-painting-1234771992/
Curator Ekow Eshun Picked to Organize Next SITE Santa Fe International
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/ekow-eshun-site-santa-fe-international-2027-curator-1234771847/
Where Would Contemporary Art Be Without Plastic?
https://hyperallergic.com/where-would-contemporary-art-be-without-plastic/

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news.
Louvre Abu Dhabi director Manuel Rabaté leaves to head India’s largest private art museum
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/02/louvre-abu-dhabi-director-manuel-rabate-knma-india
The first Art Basel Qatar heralds a new model for art fairs in the region
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/02/the-first-art-basel-qatar-heralds-a-new-model-for-art-fairs-in-the-region
British Museum’s A.I.-Generated Post Sparks Online Backlash
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/british-museum-ai-backlash-2742244
Documentary tracks Indigenous efforts to recover ancestors’ remains from museums and universities
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/02/aanikoobijigan-documentary-repatriation-indigenous-human-remains
Sotheby’s Second Sale in Saudi Arabia Tops $19.6 M., Sets Record for Saudi Artist
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/sothebys-second-sale-saudi-arabia-results-1234771783/
One battle after another: Trump’s war on federal architecture
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/02/trump-war-on-federal-architecture
Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts to close permanently
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/02/glasgows-centre-for-contemporary-arts-to-close-permanently
Photomontage of Israel bombing Gaza will go on show at Art Basel Qatar
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/02/photomontage-of-israel-bombing-gaza-goes-on-show-at-art-basel-qatar
Jeffrey Epstein Advised on Leon Black’s Purchase of $115 M. Picasso from Gagosian, Files Show
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/jeffrey-epstein-leon-black-gagosian-picasso-sculpture-1234771752/
Palestinians Decry Israel’s Plan to Seize West Bank Archaeological Site: ‘A Violation of Our History’
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/sebastia-west-bank-archaeological-site-israel-palestinians-1234771807/

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news.
Saudi Arabia Scales Back Spending, Leaving Art Institutions in Limbo
https://news.artnet.com/market/saudi-arabia-scales-back-2741687
Pat Oleszko on Making a Fool of Herself for 60 Years and Counting
https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/interviews/pat-oleszko-fool-sculpture-center-performance-whitney-biennial-1234771648/
Collectors Steve Tisch and Jean Pigozzi Named in Latest Epstein Files
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/collectors-steve-tisch-jean-pigozzi-jeffrey-epstein-files-1234771700/

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news.
The Louvre’s Fabled Sculpture Journeys to Rijksmuseum
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/sleeping-hermaphroditus-louvre-rijksmuseum-2741483
How 19 Artists—From David Hockney to Patrick Caulfield—Paid Tribute to John Constable
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/john-constable-bernard-jacobson-gallery-2741436
Attention, Fascism Ahead
https://hyperallergic.com/attention-fascism-ahead/

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news.
How the Met Opera Turned Beloved Murals Into Financial Tools
https://news.artnet.com/market/met-opera-murals-financial-tools-2740082
MFA Boston will lay off 33 employees amid rising deficit and restructuring
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/01/30/museum-fine-arts-boston-layoffs-financial-hardships
Macron-Backed Bill to Return Art Looted During Colonial Era Passes French Senate
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/french-senate-passes-colonial-art-bill-1234771450/
Andy Warhol Films, Left Undeveloped for Decades, Come to Light
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/rediscovered-andy-warhol-films-moma-2741801
Leon Black’s Extensive Art Collection Seemingly Revealed in Jeffrey Epstein Files
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/leon-black-art-collection-revealed-jeffrey-epstein-file-1234771582/
After the Strike, Will Art Galleries Be Allies?
https://hyperallergic.com/after-the-strike-will-art-galleries-be-allies/
Chung Sang-hwa, Korean Painter Associated with Dansaekhwa, Dies at 93
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/korean-dansaekhwa-artist-chung-sang-hwa-dies-1234771675/
Zapotec Tomb Unearthed in Mexico Hailed as ‘The Most Significant’ Discovery of Last Decade
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/zapotec-tomb-unearthed-oaxaca-mexico-600-ce-1234771635/
Tribeca Galleries Discuss Reporting Street Vendors, Drawing Criticism
https://hyperallergic.com/tribeca-galleries-discuss-reporting-street-vendors-drawing-criticism/
James Castle Was a World Unto Himself
https://hyperallergic.com/james-castle-was-a-world-unto-himself/

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news.
Leading U.S. Museums and Galleries Join Nationwide Strike Protesting ICE
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-galleries-close-for-general-strike-2741073
Inside Brussels's €230m Kanal-Centre Pompidou museum—opening in November
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/01/29/inside-brusselss-230m-kanal-centre-pompidou-museumopening-in-november
Pakistan Names London-Based Artist for Venice Biennale
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/venice-biennale-2026-national-pavilions-2604196
US art spaces from New York to Los Angeles will close in protest of violent Ice actions
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/01/29/nationwide-shutdown-galleries-art-spaces-ice-protests
Hundreds of galleries across Spain will strike next week to protest 21% tax on art
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/01/29/hundreds-of-galleries-across-spain-will-strike-next-week-to-protest-21-tax-on-art
Art Institute of Chicago Director Frankly Addresses Airplane Incident: A ‘Very Low Moment’
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/art-institute-of-chicago-director-airplane-incident-1234771300/
Plans for Trump hotel in Belgrade collapse after Serbia’s culture minister indicted
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/01/29/serbia-minister-culture-questioned-over-controversial-trump-hotel-development
Museum of Fine Arts Boston Lays Off 33 Workers
https://hyperallergic.com/museum-of-fine-arts-boston-lays-off-33-workers/
Brooklyn Museum Names Robert Wiesenberger Senior Curator of Contemporary Art
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/brooklyn-museum-robert-wiesenberger-senior-curator-1234771242/
Will Trump Ruin the Art Market?
https://hyperallergic.com/will-trump-ruin-the-art-market/