Law & Politics: Legal Power, Cultural Policy & Conflict in the Art World

Pablo Picasso’s Still Life With a Guitar is hanging safely again after being mistakenly taken home by a Madrid resident

Latest Art News

‘Stolen’ Picasso Found After Woman Mistakes Painting for Parcel in Madrid

Pablo Picasso’s Still Life With a Guitar hanging safely after being mistakenly taken home by a Madrid resident.

Picasso’s Boy with a Shovel painting exhibited at the Museo Picasso Málaga, the genuine artwork contrasting with forged Picassos

Latest Art News

Police Raid: Fake Picasso, Rembrandt & Kahlo Paintings

A 77-year-old German man and his network were caught selling forged masterpieces by Picasso, Rembrandt, and Kahlo in a multi-million euro art forgery operation spanning Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.

Portrait of Oscar Wilde, the Irish writer and playwright whose British Library reader card was reissued 130 years after being revoked

Latest Art News

British Library Restores Oscar Wilde’s Card 130 Years After Revocation

The British Library reissues Oscar Wilde’s reader’s card, reversing his 1895 exclusion after conviction for homosexuality.

The glass and steel facade of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, gleaming in sunlight as visitors gather outside in the Little Tokyo district.

Latest Art News

U.S. Museums Fight Back as Federal Cuts and Censorship Rise

Across America, museums are losing federal funds and facing censorship. But from Los Angeles to Albany, they’re finding new strength in solidarity.

Portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. honoring his legacy alongside the Eternal Flame at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Atlanta

Latest Art News

Eternal Flame Vandalized at Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Atlanta

Police arrest a man after vandalism at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, damaging the Eternal Flame but leaving the site open and the flame still burning.

Jersey's Ballet d’Jèrri opened its doors to 8,000 people for free performances (illustration picture of ballet)

Latest Art News

Jersey’s £10m Cultural Investment Sparks Creative Boom

Jersey’s £10m arts funding in 2024 turned into record visitor numbers, new jobs, and a cultural revival proving creativity pays back beyond money.

Thirty Bob Ross landscape paintings prepared for auction to support PBS and NPR stations after federal funding cuts

Latest Art News

Bob Ross Fans! It’s ‘Time’ for Some Happy Trees

Bob Ross paintings head to auction to keep public TV alive after federal cuts.

National Museum of Natural History, Paris—the mineralogy gallery is closed following the theft

Law & Politics

Gold Heist at Paris’s Natural History Museum Punctures France’s Cultural Armor

Professional crew steals native-gold specimens from Paris’s Natural History Museum amid a spate of French museum raids; cyber vulnerabilities probed.

Banksy artwork ‘Laugh Now’ showing a monkey with a sign around its neck reading ‘laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge’

Latest Art News

Banksy £95k Print Stolen in Belfast – Thief Jailed for Six Months

A man who stuffed a £95,000 Banksy artwork into a Primark bag and walked out of a Belfast gallery has been jailed for six months. The print, “Laugh Now,” was swiftly recovered by police.

Interior of the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, historic medical museum addressing human remains with new ethical policy.

Field Notes

Mütter Museum Adopts New Policy for Human Remains After Ethical Storm

Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum unveils a new policy for its 6,500 human remains, focusing on dignity, patient stories, and transparency after years of controversy.

The British Museum, central to the debate over the ethics of displaying human remains in public institutions

Field Notes

The Dead on Display: Why Museums Must End Human Remains Exhibits

Museums worldwide, including the British Museum, face renewed scrutiny over the public display of human remains as calls for repatriation and ethical reforms grow.

Latest Art News

Arts Council England’s Reapplication Mandate and Budget Cuts Threaten Nearly 1,000 Cultural Organizations

Arts Council England’s surprise funding changes and government cuts place 990 arts organizations at risk.