Museums & Institutions German Museums’ Unexpected New Gambit to Stop Climate Activists From Attacking Their Art? Inviting Them to Drop By The Last Generation group took part in performance art pieces in museums around the country. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 23, 2023
Art & Exhibitions Is Art Better When You Can Touch It? We Tried an Offbeat Museum Tour That Lets You Get Up Close and Personal With the Exhibits An exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre in the U.K. invites visitors to dance with Tang dynasty figurines and share their deepest secrets with a Giacometti. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 23, 2023
Archaeology & History Cosmic Ray Scanning Has Revealed a Greek Tomb Hidden Beneath the City of Naples Researchers used a powerful scanning technique that can penetrate through rocks and walls far below the earth's surface. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 23, 2023
Law & Politics Greece Wins Back Hundreds of Stolen Artifacts From the Disgraced Dealer Robin Symes After a 17-Year Legal Battle Among the returned goods is a bronze statue of Alexander the Great and a precious Neolithic statuette. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 22, 2023
Art & Exhibitions In Pictures: Vilnius’s Modern Art Museum Marks the 700th Anniversary of the Lithuanian Capital With a Show on Post-Soviet Psychology The show takes as its inspiration the novel 'Vilnius Poker,' a study of the aftershock of the Soviet era. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 21, 2023
Art & Exhibitions Look Familiar? Germany’s Exhibition at the Architecture Biennale Has Salvaged and Repurposed Material From 40 Art Biennale Shows The project is treating Maria Eichhorn's 2022 German pavilion like a "found" object—and has re-envisioned it with a kitchen, a workshop, and a bathroom. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 19, 2023
Crime Thieves Targeted a Regional History Museum in the U.K., Making Off With 12 Precious Historical Artifacts The break-in was only the latest in a series of thefts in the area, according to local police. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 19, 2023
Art Fairs London’s Eye of the Collector Fair Has Opened in a Victorian Mansion Where Boothless Art Mingles With History The boutique fair opened at Two Temple Place and runs through May 20. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 18, 2023
Crime A German Court Has Convicted Five Men Over Their Involvement in the Shocking $119 Million Dresden Jewel Heist The verdict comes after a lengthy 47-day trial. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 16, 2023
Archaeology & History Archaeologists Digging Along a Train Route in Mexico Have Found an Extremely Rare Statue of a Maya Deity The statue is one of only three known in the world. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 15, 2023
Art & Exhibitions A Dutch Museum Has Organized a Rare Family Reunion for the Brueghel Art Dynasty—And the Female Brueghels Are Invited to the Party The show will will reunite five generations of the Brueghel family. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 15, 2023
On View Did Claude Monet Learn His Extraordinary Use of Color From His Brother, a Pigment Chemist? A New Show Looks at the Influence of Léon Monet The show includes never before seen paintings by Monet, as well as his adolescent sketchbooks. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 15, 2023
Auctions A Philadelphia Man Paid $6,000 for Cracked Church Windows He Saw on Facebook. Turns Out They’re Tiffany—and Worth a Half-Million The precious stained glass was set to be sledgehammered, but the antiques dealer intervened just in time. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 15, 2023
Art History Mona Lisa’s Other Secret—Where the Portrait Was Painted—May Have Been Solved by an Art Historian Using Drone Imagery Digital reconstruction matches a bridge in Tuscany to the one in Leonardo's painting. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 15, 2023
Galleries Gagosian Is Closing Its Britannia Street Gallery in London and Will Launch a New Public Art Program Instead The gallery has announced the new initiative Gagosian Open, which will bring art into public spaces By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 12, 2023