Art World The Buyers of the $69 Million Beeple Reveal Their True Identities—and Say the Purchase Was About Taking a Stand for People of Color Vignesh Sundaresan and Anand Venkateswaran also plan to fund pro-NFT journalism. Oh, and Beeple owns 2 percent of their investment fund. By Ben Davis, Mar 19, 2021
Opinion I Looked Through All 5,000 Images in Beeple’s $69 Million Magnum Opus. What I Found Isn’t So Pretty 'Everydays: The First 5,000 Days' is the third-most expensive work ever by a living artist. Not many people have actually looked at it. By Ben Davis, Mar 17, 2021
Opinion Museums Are Where Artworks Go to Die. But the Frick Madison’s Stunning New Installation Brings Them Back to Life Again Contemplating the many meanings of Duccio's "Temptation of Christ on the Mountain" at the famed New York museum's temporary home. By Ben Davis, Mar 12, 2021
Reviews Why KAWS’s Global Success May Well Be a Symptom of a Depressed Culture, Adrift in Nostalgia and Retail Therapy How to make sense of the popularity of an artist known for sad cartoons and collectable toys? By Ben Davis, Mar 3, 2021
Art World Debating the Troubled Legacy of Brazil’s Cannibalist Art Movement + 4 Other Great Art Essays Worth Reading From This February A round-up of ideas from around the art web. By Ben Davis, Feb 26, 2021
Opinion The Myths About FDR’s New Deal Arts Programs Are Misleading. Here Are the Real Lessons for Struggling Artists Today Commentators have looked the New Deal art projects for lessons for today's crisis. Do we really understand their legacy? By Ben Davis, Feb 25, 2021
Art World Considering the Overlooked History of ‘Black Romantic’ Painting + 4 Other Great Art Essays Worth Reading From This January A round up of ideas from around the art web. By Ben Davis, Jan 29, 2021
Politics Revelations About ‘Putin’s Palace’ Helped Spark Widespread Protests in Russia. Here’s What’s Inside His Secret ‘New Versailles’ Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has literally dug out receipts for, among other things, a $28,000 leather sofa. By Ben Davis, Jan 26, 2021
Opinion 3 Observations About Culture, Politics, and Social Media Radicalization in the Post-Trump Era On digital populism and the influencer economy as a base of reaction. By Ben Davis, Jan 22, 2021
Opinion I Spent Two Hours Inside the Met’s New Augmented-Reality Experience. Here’s a Minute-by-Minute Chronicle of My Edutainment Odyssey "The Met Unframed" not only lets you visit the museum virtually, but lets the museum visit you. By Ben Davis, Jan 13, 2021
People Artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya Is Doing a Solidarity Print Fundraiser to Help Save a Beloved LGBTQ+ Nightclub in Los Angeles The community has rallied to Akbar, a beloved spot trying to sustain itself through lockdown. By Ben Davis, Jan 12, 2021
Opinion Bob Ross May Have Been the Most Popular Artist of 2020. Here’s Why It’s Not Just a ‘Happy Little Accident’ Here are five reasons for his persistent—and growing—popularity. By Ben Davis, Dec 30, 2020
Politics Trump Threatens to Derail Congress’s Coronavirus Relief Bill Unless Funding for the Smithsonian and Other Cultural Institutions Is Cut The funding for the museums is actually part of the government's annual budget, not the relief bill. By Ben Davis, Dec 23, 2020
Art World In a Year When Many Were Stuck Indoors, Google Says ‘Virtual Museum Tours’ Was Among Its Most Popular Search Terms Museums looking to catch the wave of interest may have already missed it, however. By Ben Davis, Dec 11, 2020
Reviews Why the New ART CLUB2000 Retrospective Offers Lessons for Today’s Artists That Transcend Pure ’90s Nostalgia The art collective as conceptual "pose band." By Ben Davis, Dec 10, 2020