Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse paintings were stolen in an Italian art heist.
A group of four masked thieves carried out a coordinated heist at Italy’s Magnani Rocca Foundation near Parma on March 22, stealing paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse in under three minutes. The stolen works—valued at roughly $10 million (€9–10.3 million)—included relatively small canvases that could be removed quickly, with alarms and security likely preventing a larger theft. Authorities, including Italy’s Carabinieri art squad, are investigating the targeted operation, which has renewed concerns about museum security and the growing sophistication of art thefts in Europe.
Courrèges appointed Drew Henry as its next artistic director.
Courrèges has appointed Drew Henry as artistic director, succeeding Nicolas Di Felice, who recently departed after a five-year tenure. Henry—a 38-year-old South African designer and Central Saint Martins graduate—joins from Burberry, where he served as senior design director under Daniel Lee, and previously held roles at Céline, JW Anderson, and Phoebe Philo’s label. He will begin in May 2026 and debut his first collection during Paris Fashion Week in September.
A permanent Ruth Asawa gallery will open in San Francisco this spring.
A permanent Ruth Asawa gallery will open May 9 at San Francisco’s Minnesota Street Project, anchoring celebrations of the artist’s centennial year. Organized by Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc. and led by her family, the space will present rotating exhibitions of rarely seen works alongside pieces by her peers and mentors, expanding public access to her legacy. Beyond exhibitions, the gallery will emphasize education and community programming, reflecting Asawa’s lifelong commitment to art as a civic and pedagogical practice in San Francisco and beyond.
Guernica may leave Madrid for the first time in 30 years.
Spain is weighing a proposal to loan Picasso’s Guernica from Madrid’s Reina Sofía to the Guggenheim Bilbao, where Basque officials want to display it for up to nine months (October 2026–June 2027) to mark key historical anniversaries. The request—framed as a gesture of historical memory and symbolic restitution to the Basque region where the 1937 bombing occurred—has reignited a long-running political and cultural debate. However, museum experts strongly oppose the move, warning the monumental painting is too fragile to travel and could suffer irreversible damage, making any loan highly unlikely.
The Face magazine is closing again.
Cult British title The Face will shut down in its current form seven years after its 2019 relaunch, marking another abrupt chapter for the influential youth culture magazine. The closure follows editor-in-chief Matthew Whitehouse’s departure in January and ongoing business challenges tied to its advertising-led model and financial losses. Founded in 1980 and widely credited with shaping fashion, music, and youth culture, the magazine’s latest shutdown underscores the continued difficulty of sustaining legacy media brands in today’s digital landscape.
Today’s attractive distractions:
Who wouldn’t want to play at French architecture studio Exercice’s Ping Pong Park?
Anticipation continues to rise over the soon-to-be-released Onitsuka Tiger and Versace collaboration.
One of Napoleon’s sweaty bicorne hats was just discovered in storage.
Apparently, L.A.’s hottest club is a Paul McCartney concert.
