Market France’s Art Market Is Booming—But a New E.U. Sales Tax Hike Threatens to Undo Its Progress Overnight The new law will wipe out the country’s favorable art market-friendly tax rates. By Devorah Lauter, Feb 23, 2023
Law A French Court Has Refused to Drop Antiquities Smuggling Charges Against Ex-Louvre Director Jean-Luc Martinez Both Martinez and curator Jean-Francois Charnier, who is also ensnared in the allegations, will appeal the decision. By Devorah Lauter, Feb 3, 2023
Politics France’s Ministry of Culture Is Pushing Forward a Trio of Groundbreaking Laws That May Have Sweeping Effects on Restitution The proposed laws respectively address items looted during World War 2, human remains, and other looted objects, including those from the colonial era. By Devorah Lauter, Jan 18, 2023
Politics French Weekly ‘Charlie Hebdo’ Has Again Angered the Iranian Regime for Publishing Caricatures of Its Supreme Leader In response, Iran’s foreign ministry has allegedly closed a French-Iranian cultural institution in Tehran. By Devorah Lauter, Jan 9, 2023
Art World A Paris Museum Became an Unlikely Gathering Place for Artists and Sports Fans to Enjoy the Historic World Cup Match Between Morocco and France The sports match was seen as a highly symbolic cultural moment for Africa and Arab nations. By Devorah Lauter, Dec 15, 2022
Auctions Marie Antoinette’s ‘Trianon Guitar,’ Which She Gifted to a Musical Member of Her Entourage, Is Up for Auction The guitar is estimated to fetch between €60,000 and €80,000 at Aguttes auction house in France. By Devorah Lauter, Dec 6, 2022
People Spending Her Life Outside the World’s Art Capitals, Venezuelan Artist Gego’s Meticulous Wire Sculptures Are Now in Global Demand The artist is the subject of a traveling museum retrospective, currently on view at the Museo Jumex. By Devorah Lauter, Dec 5, 2022
Crime A New Art Trafficking Report Commissioned by France’s Culture Ministry Says Its Museums Must Tighten Up Their Acquisitions Policies The study calls for a concerted state effort to tackle the issue and advocates for a more unified, “collegial” approach to acquisitions. By Devorah Lauter, Nov 23, 2022
People ‘I Make These Beautiful Mistakes’: Nathanaëlle Herbelin on Her ‘Bad’ Paintings and the Sublime Ones Collectors Can’t Get Enough Of The artist’s quiet figurative work has been stirring tastemakers in Paris and beyond. By Devorah Lauter, Nov 23, 2022
Art World A Top Dealer Noticed Dhewadi Hadjab’s Arresting Portraits in a Paris Church. Now the Algerian-Born Artist Is Getting His Big Break The artist's first solo show with art dealer Kamel Mennour earlier this fall sold out immediately. By Devorah Lauter, Nov 3, 2022
Politics Artists Are Hit Hard by Europe’s Twinned Energy and Inflation Crises, With Material Costs Exploding and Studios Too Expensive to Heat One silver lining in an otherwise bleak situation is that many had already cut back on production costs during the pandemic. By Devorah Lauter, Nov 1, 2022
Art Fairs Loosened Travel Restrictions Draw Collectors Back to the Asia Now Fair in Paris This Year The fair opened in a glamorous new location at La Monnaie de Paris, a Neoclassical building that once housed the Paris Mint. By Devorah Lauter, Oct 21, 2022
People ‘I Think I’m in an Abstract Relationship With Reality’: Farah Atassi Takes on Modernist Traditions at the Musée Picasso By Devorah Lauter, Oct 20, 2022
Art Fairs Museums and Private Foundations From Bangladesh to Miami Are Flexing Their Muscles—and Checkbooks—at Paris+ Curators, museum directors, and collection founders were out in force at the first edition of the new French fair. By Devorah Lauter, Oct 19, 2022
Art Fairs Paris Internationale Opens in a Historic Venue—Featuring Edgy, New Artistic Positions and Quite a Few Paris+ VIPs "We’re not just a young fair," said its director, adding that the fair team is “ambitious for the future." By Devorah Lauter, Oct 19, 2022
