Law The Heirs of a Jewish Collector Are Suing the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, for the Return of a Bellotto Painting Max Emden's heirs claim that the painting was sold under duress. The museum disagrees. By Sarah Cascone, Oct 19, 2021
Art History Jan Van Eyck’s Famed Ghent Altarpiece Got an Assist from His Older Brother Hubert, Researchers Find The finding helps clarify a generations-long mystery about the lesser-known van Eyck sibling, Hubert. By Taylor Dafoe, Oct 14, 2021
Artnet News Pro Museums Working to Correct the Record Are Shaking Up the Pale, Male Canon of Old Master Art—and Changing the Market in the Process Institutions are responding to social pressure to highlight historical works by, and portrayals of, people of color. By Brian Boucher, Oct 14, 2021
Auctions ‘We Found It in Bubble Wrap’: A 17th-Century Tiepolo Drawing Has Been Rediscovered in the Attic of a Historic U.K. Manor The forgotten drawing from Weston Hall will be auctioned by Dreweatts in November. By Sarah Cascone, Oct 12, 2021
Auctions Sotheby’s Unveils a $40 Million Botticelli in Hong Kong as Asian Appetite for Old Masters Works Grows Sotheby's has unveiled another Sandro Botticelli work in Hong Kong following an earlier record-breaking sale in January. By Vivienne Chow, Oct 6, 2021
Shows & Exhibitions Exhibitors at a Fair in Dubai Have Covered Up the Private Parts of Michelangelo’s ‘David,’ Fearing It Might Offend Visitors The Italian pavilion's organizers insisted the decision wasn’t censorship, but instead a kind of conceptual gesture. By Taylor Dafoe, Oct 5, 2021
Museums Bug Infestations at Museums Surged During Lockdown. Here’s How They Are Fighting Back to Defend Their Art From Pesky Critters Institutions are reaching for innovative solutions to combat pests. Among them: micro-wasps. By Naomi Rea & Eileen Kinsella, Sep 30, 2021
Crime Robert ‘Bobby’ Gentile, Long Fingered by the FBI as a Suspect in the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist, Dies at 85 "His passing might make people less inhibited about talking," says the museum's chief investigator. By Sarah Cascone, Sep 23, 2021
Law Yves Bouvier Declares ‘Complete Victory’ After a Prosecutor Dismissed Russian Billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev’s Charges Against Him Rybolovlev said he plans to appeal the Swiss prosecutor's decision to drop criminal charges. By Eileen Kinsella, Sep 17, 2021
Art World An Art History Professor Spotted an Unusual Painting at a Local Church. Now, It Is Being Hailed as a Major Italian Baroque Discovery The religious painting by Cesare Dandini is now on loan to Iona College. By Eileen Kinsella, Sep 15, 2021
Auctions More Than 50 Works From the Collection of Late, Keen-Eyed Old Master Dealer Richard Feigen Could Fetch $17 Million at Auction An eclectic mix of works assembled by the dealer is going to Sotheby's. By Eileen Kinsella, Sep 13, 2021
Art History Michelangelo Is a Giant of Art History. But as a Person, He May Have Actually Been Quite Short After studying the Renaissance artist’s shoes, researchers in Italy were able to estimate his height. By Artnet News, Sep 3, 2021
Museums Conservators at the Met Have Discovered a Hidden Composition Under Jacques Louis David’s Portrait of a Famed Chemist David’s original painting of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier and his wife depicted the couple as self-indulged nobles rather than liberal leaders of science. By Artnet News, Sep 1, 2021
Shows & Exhibitions Titian’s ‘Poesie’ Paintings Transformed Western Art. One U.S. Museum Is Showing Them All Together—and It Will Never Happen Again Bringing the show together was a herculean task, that involved literally rewriting laws. By Sarah Cascone, Aug 26, 2021
Law Restitution Experts Blast Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts for Refusing to Return a Painting Once Purchased for Hitler’s Museum The Monuments Men Foundation is squaring off against the MFAH in the court of public opinion. By Sarah Cascone, Aug 18, 2021