When photography emerged in the 19th century, many predicted the death of painting. If a machine could reproduce reality more quickly and accurately than any artist, what purpose would painting serve? The response was robust. As photography assumed some of painting’s representational functions, artists became increasingly experimental, developing ever more innovative styles: Impressionism, Expressionism, and eventually...
‘An early work that stands out in my mind is Record for Hattie [1975], which is about my great-aunt Hattie Parson Keys. When she passed, I inherited her ephemera – notes, letters, dance cards, gloves, handkerchiefs – essentially her life’s mementos. I made the piece so long ago, but I think my process is the same to...
Gallerists, aristocrats, and curators are finding fresh uses for the grand salons and parklands of historic estates to create a summer art boom beyond the UK’s cities ‘The English country house is the greatest contribution made by England to the visual arts,’ wrote the civil servant Sir Ernest Gowers in 1950, at a time when...
Eighteen artefacts from the Kingdom of Benin have been returned to Nigeria by three Swiss museums. The courtly and religious objects are among the famous ‘Benin Bronzes’, which were looted from the Kingdom of Benin – in modern-day Nigeria – at the end of the 19th century. Switzerland also returned to Nigeria five artefacts seized...
Film photography is experiencing a resurrection, summoned by unlikely conjurers: Gen Z. It wasn’t too long ago that analog photography – which uses photographic film and chemical processing – was declared all but dead, relegated to the province of niche hobbyists and professional artists. Digital cameras had taken over nearly all areas of photographic production....
Dr. Clare McAndrew reflects on insights from the Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report and the shifts that have shaped the trade in recent years The Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report is marking its 10th anniversary in 2026. Researched and written by Dr. Clare McAndrew, the founder of Arts Economics, the report analyzes the...
At Lyric Opera of Chicago, El último sueño de Frida y Diego unfolds not as a linear narrative, but as a sequence of dreams, vivid, surreal, emotionally charged visions that blur the boundaries between life and death, memory and myth. And like any good dream, it lingers. From the moment the curtain rises, the audience...
It’s a familiar feeling: You start a text message, and your phone’s auto-complete function suggests several choices for the next word, ranging from banal to hilarious. “I love…” you, or coffee? Or you’re finishing an email, and merely typing the word “Let” prompts your app to suggest “Let me know if you have any questions”...
On opening night of Madama Butterfly at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, audiences were presented with a production that both honored and challenged one of opera’s most beloved works. As a first time viewer of Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece, the experience was both emotionally powerful and intellectually intriguing. The evening offered the sweeping music and tragic...
In Zimbabwe, hunhu is a cultural belief system that instructs us to embrace our neighbours, honour our elders and respect each other’s rights. Also known as ubuntu, it’s a way of being that resonates with southern Africa’s interconnected but diverse communities, where generational wisdom and values are passed from elders to the young. Hunhu is...
