Frieze New York has commenced with seven-figure sales.
Frieze New York opened its 15th edition at The Shed with strong sales and market optimism, as collectors, advisors, and dealers arriving from the Venice Biennale fueled brisk activity. Several exhibitors reported major presales before opening, including near sellouts at James Cohan Gallery for paintings by Kelly Sinnapah Mary, while White Cube sold two El Anatsui sculptures for $2.2 million and $1.9 million respectively, Antony Gormley’s SET VII for £450,000 ($608,555), and Howardena Pindell’s Deep Space #4 for $275,000 by late afternoon. Dealers and advisors cited a noticeable rebound in confidence after two difficult years for the art market, reinforced by strong recent performances from Frieze Los Angeles and Expo Chicago, rising 2025 auction sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s, and the arrival of several approximately $100 million trophy works at New York’s marquee auctions.
Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden used its 50th anniversary to expand its collection with 312 new acquisitions.
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden announced that it acquired 314 new works during its 50th anniversary year, significantly expanding the Smithsonian institution’s holdings across painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and time-based media. The acquisitions include works by artists such as Mickalene Thomas, Sarah Sze, Danny Lyon, Lauren Halsey, Raven Halfmoon, Pedro Reyes, Liz Larner, Woody De Othello, Mark Grotjahn, and Chatchai Puipia, reflecting the museum’s continued emphasis on contemporary global art and public accessibility. The announcement comes ahead of the October 2026 reopening of the museum’s redesigned Hiroshi Sugimoto–led Sculpture Garden, where a number of newly acquired large-scale outdoor works will be installed on the National Mall.
Getty’s Black Visual Arts Archive allocates an additional $1.8 million in funding.
The Getty’s Black Visual Arts Archives initiative has allocated an additional $1.8 million in funding, significantly expanding a program announced in 2025 to support the preservation and accessibility of archives documenting Black artists, curators, and cultural history across the United States. Administered through the Getty Foundation, the initiative supports libraries, museums, universities, and community organizations working to conserve historically underfunded visual arts archives, building on earlier grants awarded to institutions including Clark Atlanta University, the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum, and Visual AIDS.
The CFDA Scholarship Fund will bestow a record $1.5 million this year.
he CFDA Scholarship Fund will distribute a record $1.5 million in scholarships across 31 awards in 2026, marking the largest annual investment in students in the organization’s 30-year history. The expanded funding includes programs supported by partners such as Veronica Beard, PVH Foundation, Geoffrey Beene Foundation, Tiffany & Co., and the Bezos Earth Fund, with scholarships spanning womenswear, menswear, textiles, knitwear, accessories, jewelry, sustainability, and fashion innovation.
Iran still intends to participate in the 2026 Venice Biennale.
Iran has reversed earlier reports that it would withdraw from the 2026 Venice Biennale, with Aydin Mahdizadeh Tehrani, director general of visual arts at Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, stating that the country still intends to participate in the 61st International Art Exhibition. The clarification follows a May 4 statement from the Biennale announcing Iran’s non-participation amid a highly politicized edition.
Today’s attractive distractions:
Michael McGregor has transformed one of Casa Monti’s suites into a work of art.
The New York Public Library lions have turned 115 years old.
Galerie Philia has opened Philia & Kids III, the latest in its philanthropic initiative introducing children to the world of design, at Petrópolis.
The “Issey Army” showed up to the Japanese fashion brand’s biggest flagship opening.
