Betye Saar obituary leads this week’s arts roundup, which also reflects on the passing of Simone Forti and surveys cultural flashpoints from Washington to Madrid. The newsletter considers how to navigate toxic behavior in creative circles, reports on President Trump’s latest intervention at the Smithsonian, and spotlights major museum and biennial appointments.
Picasso’s 1937 mural Guernica, more than 25 feet wide and 11 feet tall, has long stood as a global symbol against state violence, resonating from Spain’s postwar identity to conflicts from Vietnam to Gaza. A new annual series at Madrid’s Museo Reina Sofía, the painting’s home since 1992, pairs Guernica with other works to probe those universal political currents.
Titled History Doesn’t Repeat Itself, but It Does Rhyme, the inaugural presentation also surfaces race as a pressing issue for Spain’s contemporary art institutions. | Agnish Ray
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News
A recent psychological study on so-called cancel culture found respondents were more inclined to punish an artist accused of sexual assault than one accused of murder.
Art Movements: Todd Caissie has been appointed executive director of the Montclair Art Museum.
Curators were also named for the Aichi Triennale and the Biennale of Sydney in this week’s industry update.
President Trump directed federal officials to place content warning signs outside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History following accusations that the museum engages in “anti-white” practices.
Japan’s historic Kumamoto Castle sustained damage after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the country.
The European Central Bank unveiled 10 shortlisted design proposals for future euro banknotes, themed around either “European culture” or “rivers and birds,” with Leonardo da Vinci appearing in one concept.
German publishing house Steidl Verlag faces uncertainty after narrowly avoiding bankruptcy.
The Trump administration authorized $5 million in public spending to regild Washington’s equestrian statues Arts of War and Arts of Peace.
Trump Administration
President Trump’s order to post cautionary signage at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History drew sharp criticism from commentators, who argued no previous president had used government museums to steer visitors away while promoting ideologically favored reinterpretations of history.
Observers framed the move as part of a broader campaign against cultural institutions perceived as politically out of step with the administration, following contentious oversight such as the events detailed in key moments from the Smithsonian hearing.
From Our Critics
Rembrandt helped invent the marketable artist persona, yet unlike rival Gerard van Honthorst, he struggled to align his vision with buyer taste. | Natasha Seaman
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The Haitian-born artist explores how analog albums and smartphone video shape intimate records of migration and memory. | Debra Brehmer
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Features
Features this week dig into the pressures and inequities structuring the art ecosystem, along with close looks at new exhibitions and studio practices shaping the discourse.
Obituaries
We remember assemblage pioneer Betye Saar, who died four days before turning 100, and choreographer and performance artist Simone Forti, who passed at 91.
Colleagues and admirers marked their outsized influence and lasting legacies in American art and performance.
Art Problems
Scarcity and competition can distort behavior across creative fields.
The column offers practical advice for protecting ideas and establishing boundaries with insecure peers and bad-faith actors.
| Paddy Johnson
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A View From the Easel
Shahryar Nashat works to Kelis’s “Milkshake” and tests a honey-colored nautical adhesive in the studio.
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Required Reading
On Betye Saar at 100, preserving a women’s sculpture garden, Emily Wilson’s viral moment, climate scientists on OnlyFans, and more recommended pieces.
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In Memoriam
Tributes honor an explorer of diasporic consciousness, a revolutionary assemblage artist, and the first Black dean of art in the United States.
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