Ann Rockefeller Roberts, Champion of Native Americans, Dies at 90
Obits, Yesterday
The eldest daughter of Nelson Rockefeller, she founded a nonprofit to support Indigenous culture and helped fill two Smithsonian institutions with artifacts.
Cathy Cade, Groundbreaking Lesbian Photographer, Dies at 82
Obits, Yesterday
She became a photographer the same year she came out, chronicling the lives of women in same-sex relationships — something most people had never seen.
The 10 Architectural Sites You Should See in São Paulo
T Style, Yesterday
These buildings and places capture the city’s playful approach to concrete-and-asphalt Modernism.
La búsqueda de la obra maestra perdida de Van Gogh
En español, Yesterday
‘Retrato del doctor Gachet’, vendido en una subasta en 1990, prácticamente ha desaparecido desde entonces y su paradero se ha convertido en uno de los mayores misterios del mundo del arte.
36 Hours in Innsbruck, Austria
Interactive, December 19
Futuristic architecture rubs shoulders with centuries-old opera houses in this picture-perfect Austrian ski town.
Bodies in Repose? Not at This MoMA Show.
Weekend, December 19
“Vital Signs: Artists and the Body” draws from MoMA’s 20th-century collection to show that identity is broader than physical form. But in skipping social media the show can’t go far enough.
Cooper Hewitt’s Triennial Critiques American Power but Is Shy on Solutions
Weekend, December 19
The Smithsonian’s “Making Home” winds up with an uneven mix of beauty, politics and platitudes.
They Thought It Was an Old Baseball. It Was a Mastodon Tooth.
Metro, December 19
Remarkably well preserved ice age remains like those discovered recently in a yard near Scotchtown, N.Y., are rare — but not as rare as you might think.
Guía para pasar las fiestas en Nueva York, según una neoyorquina
En español, December 18
Los habitantes de la ciudad han aprendido algunos trucos para disfrutar sin problemas la algarabía navideña. He aquí cómo residentes y visitantes pueden celebrar esta temporada manteniendo el estrés al mínimo.
An American Curator Takes the Helm at Crisis-Hit Documenta
Weekend, December 18
Naomi Beckwith, who holds a leadership role at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, said she would make navigating crises a central theme of her exhibition.
Buy, Donate, Repeat: At 91, Leonard Lauder Has More to Give
Culture, December 18
Picasso paintings. Jasper Johns ale cans. Irving Penn photos. The cosmetics heir created the model for the headline-grabbing donation that museums dream of today.
The Search for van Gogh’s Lost Masterpiece
Culture, December 17
Cast off by the Nazis, but heralded by curators, the artist’s painting of his doctor, made just before van Gogh’s suicide, has not been seen in 34 years.
With This MoMA Artist, the Painting Does the Talking
Arts & Leisure, December 16
Marlon Mullen’s show at the Museum of Modern Art, the first by a developmentally disabled artist, speaks volumes.
Guggenheim Offers the Poetry of Motion: Sign Language Verses
Culture, December 14
The museum’s poet in residence for 2024 is putting poetry by deaf and hard-of-hearing artists on display.
Critics Complain That Italy’s Government Is Interfering in the Arts
Culture, December 13
Italy’s culture ministry dismissed experts preparing an exhibition on Futurism and put in its own appointees, who created a show that seems to glorify the Mussolini years.
The Smithsonian Looks at How the Slave Trade Shaped the World
Culture, December 13
“In Slavery’s Wake,” at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, looks beyond the United States to tell a global story.
36 Things That Stuck With Us in 2024
Arts & Leisure, December 13
The movie scenes, TV episodes, song lyrics and other moments that reporters, critics, editors and visual journalists in Culture couldn’t stop thinking about this year.
Enslaved People’s Graves Discovered at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage
Express, December 12
The burial ground at the former American president’s home in Nashville is the latest to be discovered at a presidential site.
The Whitney Is Now Free for Those 25 and Under
Metro, December 12
The painter Julie Mehretu donated $2 million to the art museum to encourage young people to visit.
36 Hours in Venice
Interactive, December 12
Winter — with its famous fogs and reduced crowds — provides breathing room and deepens the mysteriousness of Venice’s narrow passageways and centuries-old buildings.
Best Art of 2024
Arts & Leisure, December 12
This was a year whose high points included Joan Jonas’s luminous survey, the extravaganza “PST ART,” and the 24-karat beauty of a show “Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350.”
A Black Art Dealer Lent Paintings to a Museum. His Heirs Want Them Back.
Culture, December 12
Dozens of artworks owned by Marshall Marcell have spent the past century with the Louisiana State Museum.
The Torlonia Marbles Are Coming to Museums in Chicago, Texas and Montreal
Culture, December 11
For the first time, the ancient marbles are traveling out of Europe to the United States and Canada, for a prolonged stint.
A Local’s Guide to Celebrating the Holidays in New York
Travel, December 11
Facing crushing throngs and high prices can be as off-putting as a rock-hard bagel. Here’s how New Yorkers enjoy their hometown’s seasonal traditions without much challenge to their patience or pocketbook.
Met Museum Unveils Design for New Modern Wing
Culture, December 10
The architect Frida Escobedo has drawn on her Mexican heritage in reimagining the galleries for Modern and contemporary art.
The Most Memorable Things We Saw at Miami Art Week
T Style, December 9
And what the last art fairs of 2024 say about where the art world is going.
Arts Patron Aims to Help Underrepresented Museum Professionals
Culture, December 9
Allison Berg has established a foundation to elevate the careers of six emerging visual arts curators, educators and administrators each year.
‘Wizard of Oz’ Ruby Slippers Sell at Auction for a Record $28 Million
Express, December 8
The slippers, worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz,” were stolen from the museum that bears her name in 2005 before investigators recovered them in 2018.
An Art Movement’s Lasting Impression
Special Sections, December 6
Lessons from the past continue to influence and inspire today’s globalized art world.
Head of Secret Service and Congressman Get Into Shouting Match at Hearing
Washington, December 6
The agency’s acting director took offense when a Texas representative questioned him about where he was standing in a photo commemorating the Sept. 11 attacks.
World’s Priciest Dinosaur Fossil Comes to Museum of Natural History
Culture, December 5
The billionaire Kenneth C. Griffin, who bought the stegosaurus fossil for $44.6 million, is lending it to the American Museum of Natural History in New York for four years.
A Jaw-Dropping Show Gives Martha Diamond Her Due
Weekend, December 5
In her cityscapes, a visionary Manhattan painter created delicate registers of light and shadow, and bravura expressions of abstraction and figuration.
A Brazilian Artist Movement That Uses Paintings to Save Indigenous Culture
Culture, December 4
After the Venice Biennale, the members of MAHKU are taking their social mission to Miami Art Basel.
Stripping Down for a Night at a French Museum
Foreign, December 4
To report on an unclothed visit to an exhibition about social nudism, a Times journalist chose to join the party. Her mother did, too.
Turner Prize Goes to Jasleen Kaur Amid Pro-Palestinian Protests
Culture, December 3
The artist, who has supported the protests against the Tate group of museums, won the prestigious British award for an installation that includes a car covered by a giant doily.
The Electric Dreams of a More Analog Age
Culture, December 3
An ambitious show at Tate Modern looks at how artists used technology from the postwar tech boom until the dawn of the internet age.
A West Palm Beach Show Spotlights the Beauty and Tragedy of Boxing
Special Sections, December 3
Through paintings, photographs, sculptures, and even bejeweled boxing gloves, the show examines prizefighting as a metaphor for human struggle.
A Los Angeles Gallery Brings Bold Art, and Vision, to Miami Beach
Special Sections, December 3
In 2012, Esther Kim Varet founded the gallery Various Small Fires out of her home. It has since gone multinational, and Kim Varet is still pushing the envelope.
Frieze Fair Further Cements Los Angeles as an International Art Capital
Special Sections, December 3
The sixth edition of the fair in February will have considerably more attendees from Latin America, Europe and Asia.
Beyond the Art Basel Miami Beach Fair
Special Sections, December 3
Although the fair is a huge attraction, there are many other exhibitions to visit nearby.
Brooklyn Museum Shows Off All the Glitter, Glam and Greed
Culture, December 3
The new “Solid Gold” exhibition is a celebration of bling through the ages and around the world. But is eye candy enough?
Arts Galas Show That Extravagance Never Goes Out of Style
Culture, December 3
They are costly, labor-intensive and seemingly dated, but cultural organizations say black-tie dinners remain essential to pleasing donors and paying the bills.
What Are the Freakiest Works of Art?
T Style, December 3
The creative people featured in T’s “Freak City” project share their favorite outlandish artworks.
What to Know at Art Basel Miami Beach
Special Sections, December 2
The fair this year has the largest number of new exhibitors in a decade.
The Statue of an Emperor That Lost Its Head Is Getting It Back
Culture, December 2
A Danish museum is returning the bronze head of Septimius Severus to Turkey after agreeing that it was probably looted from a shrine honoring Roman leaders.
Jewish Museum Acquires Never-Shown Entry to Venice Biennale
Culture, December 2
Ruth Patir refused to display her video installation at the Israel pavilion until a cease-fire and hostage agreement was reached. “(M)otherland” will debut in Tel Aviv.
The Heirs of a Despised Draft Dodger Want His Wright Brothers Plane Back
Culture, November 29
The Franklin Institute has said a wealthy scion, long vilified for refusing to serve during World War I, gave them a treasured Wright-built plane. His family is challenging that account.
Celebrating the Art Movement That Wasn’t
Culture, November 28
“Harmony & Dissonance” at the Guggenheim Museum is a mood-lifting, masterpiece-studded show that offers an in-depth look at Orphism, which is famous for being unknown.
Psychedelic Traces Found on Mug From Ancient Egypt
Science, November 28
Egyptians may have used hallucinogenic substances as part of a fertility rite, researchers said.
After Five Generations, a Family Gave Back the Treasures in Its Closet
Culture, November 28
The descendants of a 19th-century federal official decided to return a prized collection of heirlooms to a descendant of a Lakota leader, Chief Spotted Tail.
36 Hours in Honolulu
Interactive, November 28
Explore lush forest trails, midcentury architecture and tropical flavors in Hawaii’s multicultural capital.
London’s 850-Year-Old Smithfield Meat Market Is Set to Close
Foreign, November 28
The historic site in Britain’s capital has been a market for centuries. The local authority voted this week to close it.
At This French Exhibition, Check Your Clothes at the Door
Culture, November 27
A museum in Marseille, France, has a show dedicated to the history of social nudity. On a few special nights, visitors strolled around naked, too.
Israeli Strikes Threaten Lebanon’s Archaeological Treasures
Foreign, November 26
The country is home to thousands of years’ worth of antiquities. Some have already been damaged or destroyed in the war, alarming the conservationists trying to protect them.
Harold W. Sims Jr., Whose Museum Honored the House Cat, Dies at 89
Obits, November 22
He displayed some 10,000 cat-themed artifacts at the American Museum of the House Cat in North Carolina, which welcomed several thousand people a year.
Caravaggio Painting, Unseen for Decades, Goes on Display
Culture, November 22
A portrait by the artist had a public debut in Rome on Friday, after decades hidden away in a private collection. Now Italy wants to buy it.
When Your Living Room Is Also a Gallery
T Style, November 22
Tired of the featureless white cube, curators and dealers are staging shows in the most personal spaces of all: their homes.
The Flag That Covered Lincoln’s Coffin Goes Up for Auction
Metro, November 22
The Museum of Southern History in Florida is selling the flag, which will be auctioned off by Guernsey’s, along with other Lincoln memorabilia.
The Alluring Dream That Black America Needs to Wake Up From
Op Ed, November 21
Cleopatra is not our mother.
The Met Museum Is Rebounding, but Not With International Visitors
Weekend, July 24
The museum said it attracted more local visitors during the past year than it did before the pandemic, but only half the international visitors.
San Francisco’s Arts Institutions Are Slowly Building Back
Culture, July 3
Although attendance remains down from prepandemic levels, the city’s arts groups are having some success getting audiences to return.
A Steadying Force for the Africa Center Is Stepping Down
Culture, April 11
Uzodinma Iweala, chief executive of the Harlem institution, will leave at the end of 2024 after guiding it through pandemic years and securing funds.
Downtown Los Angeles Places Another Big Bet on the Arts
Culture, April 9
The pandemic was tough on city centers and cultural institutions. What does that mean for Los Angeles, whose downtown depends on the arts?
Audience Snapshot: Four Years After Shutdown, a Mixed Recovery
Culture, March 12
Covid brought live performance to a halt. Now the audience for pop concerts and sporting events has roared back, while attendance on Broadway and at some major museums is still down.
Through Catastrophe, and in Community, the Art of Daniel Lind-Ramos
Weekend, May 4
A storm, a pandemic, and Black Puerto Rican history pervade his work at MoMA PS 1, with materials sourced from daily life.
Spider-Man, We Know Where You Live
Metro, February 7
Letters on display at a small museum in Brooklyn were sent to the same address in Queens as where the comic book hero lived.
Looking for Elbow Room, Louvre Limits Daily Visitors to 30,000
Culture, January 6
With attendance surging back, the museum wants to offer “a moment of pleasure” — and relieve that Mona Lisa problem.
Why One World Trade Is Winning R.T.O.
Interactive, December 13
The tower, next to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, is doing something right; it's at 94 percent occupancy.
Your Thursday Briefing: Iran’s Protests Intensify
N Y T Now, October 26
Plus Myanmar gets closer to Russia and a dire climate report.
After a Covid Contraction, Museums Are Expanding Again
Special Sections, October 20
Projects all over the country include renovations and new wings as institutions continue to bet on bricks and mortar.
San Francisco’s Art Market Struggles in the Shadow of Los Angeles
Culture, August 29
Though some small galleries are opening or expanding, the mega dealers have closed shop, a blow to an area with a vibrant artistic history.
In the Mile High City, Festivals and Food Are on the Rise
Travel, August 11
Denver has regained its prepandemic vibrancy, with a plethora of new restaurants and hotels, and the return of some old favorites.
Covid. A Coma. A Stroke. José Parlá Returns From the Edge.
Culture, July 31
After a lengthy recovery, the artist comes back with the most vigorous work he’s made: “It took me a really long time to understand what had happened to me.”
Covid Memorials Offer a Place to Put Our Grief
Culture, May 5
From “anti-monuments” to ephemeral sand portraits, four art exhibitions encourage viewers to slow down and take stock of our pandemic losses.
Manhattan Springs Back to Life
Travel, May 5
Broadway enthusiasts, art aficionados and food lovers will find new offerings in and around Times Square and in neighborhoods below 42nd Street, heralding the promise of a vibrant recovery.