Reynolds acquired by Birmingham Museum of Art Alabama
December 20 2025
Picture: dickinsongallery via Instagram
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The London dealers Dickinson have announced on their Instagram page the sale of Sir Joshua Reynolds' Portrait of Mrs Moses Franks to the Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama. The picture was exhibited at Frieze back in 2023.
Rhodes, Hart and Aitken sales at Christie's New York
December 20 2025
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
For those of us who are impatiently hanging around the landing pages of the auction houses, waiting for the upcoming New York sales to be uploaded online, Christie's New York have already published quite a few interesting single owner sales for the 2026 Winter season.
The sales of Irene Roosevelt Aitken, which split the pictures between English and French sales, feature some rather fine examples from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (including this shimmering Lawrence pictured above).
Equally, the two sales dedicated to A Life of Discerning Passions: The Collection of H. Rodes Sr. and Patricia Hart feature some rather choice works on paper, including those by Turner, Rubens and Claude, alongside some highlights from the decorative arts.
Griffoni Polyptych Reconstruction
December 19 2025
Video: 12Porte
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Bologna that the Griffoni Polyptych, a large fifteenth century altarpiece which was dispersed in the early-eighteenth century, has been 'reconstructed' in in the Basilica of San Petronio. The panels, undertaken by Ercole de' Roberti and Francesco del Cossa, are now dispersed in museums across the globe and have been reunited in this modern reconstruction with the help of reproductions.
Adélaïde Labille-Guiard pre-empted by Palace of Versailles
December 19 2025
Video: tajan_auction via Instagram
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from France that the aforementioned Self Portrait by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard has been pre-empted by the Palace of Versailles. The work realised €650,000 over its €300k - €500k estimate at Tajan the other day.
Upcoming Publication & Exhibition: Painters, Ports, and Profits: Artists and the East India Company, 1750-1850
December 19 2025
Picture: Yale Center for British Art
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Yale Center for British Art will be opening a new temporary exhibition in January entitled Painters, Ports, and Profits: Artists and the East India Company, 1750-1850. The show also coincides with a publication of the same name edited by Laurel O. Peterson and Holly Shaffer.
According to the book's description on their website:
Painters, Ports, and Profits: Artists and the East India Company, 1750–1850 tells the story of the remarkable creative exchanges that coincided with the rise of one of the most ruthless and powerful corporations in history. Scholarship on this period often separates Indian, Chinese, and British artists; Painters, Ports, and Profits instead foregrounds the vital interactions between their practices. Artistic experimentation with papers, pigments, and other materials produced works of astonishing beauty and variety. Compelled by new subjects and techniques, these artists, many now unknown, had a profound effect on visual and material culture within and beyond Asia.
The exhibition will run from 8th January until 21st June 2026.
Prado acquire Juan Bautista Maíno Visitation
December 19 2025
Picture: arsmagazine.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
More acquisition news from the Prado that they have acquired Juan Bautista Maíno's Visitation. The work, dated 1636 and exhibited at the 2022 edition of TEFAF, was acquired from dealer Jaime Eguiguren's gallery for €375,000.
Samuel H. Kress Foundation Grants
December 17 2025
Picture: Samuel H. Kress Foundation
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Samuel H. Kress Foundation are inviting applications for their latest round of History of Art Grants.
According to their website:
The History of Art Grants program supports scholarly projects that will enhance the appreciation and understanding of European works of art and architecture from antiquity to the early 19th century. Grants are awarded to projects, including those incorporating the use of digital methodologies and tools, that create and disseminate specialized knowledge, such as archival projects, development and dissemination of scholarly databases, documentation projects, museum exhibitions and publications, photographic campaigns, scholarly catalogues and publications, and technical and scientific studies.
Grants are also awarded for activities that permit art historians to share their expertise through international exchanges, professional meetings, conferences, symposia, consultations, the presentation of research, and other professional events.
Applications must be in by 1st March 2026. Click on the link above to read the full terms and conditions.
Caravaggio in Goa
December 17 2025
Video: National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru via Instagram
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A collaborative project between the Embassy of Italy in India and the Consulate General of Italy in Mumbai has seen the loan of Caravaggio's Magdalene in Ecstasy to the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa. The same painting had been displayed in the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art earlier this year. Here's a video of Dr. Jayaram Poduval's take on the work.
Giotto and St. Francis Exhibition in 2026
December 17 2025
Picture: arte.it
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Gallery of Umbria will be opening a special exhibition next March commemorating the 8th centenary since the death of St. Francis of Assisi and the various connections with early Italian artists such as Giotto, Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti. The show will feature no fewer than 60 works and will run from 14th March until 14th June 2026.
Palazzo Spinola acquire Castiglione Adoration
December 17 2025
Picture: finestresullarte.info
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from Italy that the National Gallery of Liguria based at the Palazzo Spinola in Genoa have acquired Salvatore Castiglione's Adoration of the Shepherds (spotted via @mweilc). Recent conservation of the painting revealed the artist's monogram, confirming it not to be the work of his older brother Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione.
Turner's Auction Acquisitions
December 17 2025
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's have published an interesting article online by Melissa Chaplin, head of their archives in London, on the acquisitions JMW Turner made at auction. Click on the link to read the full article.
Pietro Antonio Ferro Fresco Restored in Polla
December 16 2025
Video: InfoCliento
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
An early 17th century fresco attributed to Pietro Antonio Ferro in the Franciscan Sanctuary of San Antonio in Polla has been conserved and revealed to the public. The scene, depicting The Descent into Hell, is located in the same church where in 2010 a statue of Saint Anthony was found to be shedding tears.
Rijksmuseum Branch in Eindhoven
December 16 2025
Picture: CODART
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from CODART that the Rijksmuseum are planning to open a new branch in Eindhoven. The 3,500 square meters building, supported in-part by tech company ASML, is expected to open in 6 to 8 years.
Old Masters soar at Stern Sale
December 16 2025
Picture: Christie's Paris
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
There were some Old Masters that performed rather well in the recent Les Stern: une famille de collectionneurs sale at Christie's Paris last week. Works by Hubert Robert, Fragonard and Maria van Oosterwyck soared past their top estimates, with a pair of Robert landscapes reaching €3,720,000 (inc. commission) against their estimate of €300k - 400k.
Jordaens drawing acquired by Snijders&Rockoxhuis
December 16 2025
Picture: @galerie_ldw
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Belgian dealers Galerie Lowet de Wotrenge have shared news on Instagram that Snijders&Rockoxhuis in Antwerp have acquired the following still life drawn by Jacob Jordaens. The work is a preparatory study for The King Drinks.
Pietro Francesco Guala Portraits at Casale Monferrato
December 16 2025
Picture: monferrato.org
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I'm very slow to news that a special exhibition of portraits by Pietro Francesco Guala will run at the Casale Monferrato until 6th January 2026. In particular, the show highlights a group of 15 reunited likenesses made for the Marquises Scarampi di Camino begun in 1738.
Prado acquire portrait of Luis de Paret's daughters
December 16 2025
Picture: Ars Magazine
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News via the Ars Magazine in Spain that the Prado have acquired Luis de Paret's portrait of his daughters Maria and Luisa. The picture was acquired for €395,000 (inc. taxes) with assistance from a legacy left by Juan José Luna.
Rembrandt & Workshop of Rembrandt side by side in Chicago
December 16 2025
Picture: Art Institute Chicago
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Art Institute Chicago are putting on a special display from tomorrow (17th Dec) onwards of featuring their fully attributed Rembrandt of a Old Man with a Gold Chain next to a Workshop of Rembrandt repetition.
According to the very interesting article on the museum's website:
This work had previously been considered an original by Rembrandt, but as the article reported, after carefully evaluating both paintings—the one now in the Art Institute’s collection and this painting on canvas—the connoisseur Dr. Wilhelm Bode believed the work on canvas to be “a clever reproduction by one of the artist’s talented pupils.” Recent technical research suggests that Bode’s assessment was spot-on: the painting [some text redacted not to spoil the fun], now in a private collection, appears to have been made in the workshop of the young Rembrandt around 1632.
Once you've decided which of the paintings above is the copy, click on the link above the find out if you were right!
Restoration on View at the Royal Palace of Caserta
December 12 2025
Picture: finestresullarte.info
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Visitors to the Royal Palace of Caserta will be able to see the 'live' restoration of a monumental canvas by Ilario Giacinto Mercanti showing Elisabetta Farnese leaving Parma after her marriage to Philip V of Spain. The work is being sponsored in-part by a film company called Eagle Pictures who used one of the halls in the Palace for filming earlier in the year.
Baroque in Forli for 2026
December 12 2025
Picture: San Domenico Civic Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The San Domenico Civic Museum in the town of Forli, Italy, will be hosting a big exhibition of Baroque art in 2026. The show will contain 200 works with major loans from across Italy and Europe, including artworks by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Francesco Borromini, Pietro da Cortona, the two Gentileschi, Luca Giordano, Guercino, Guido Reni, Van Dyck, Andrea Pozzo, Nicolas Poussin, Peter Paul Rubens and Francisco de Zurbarán. The show will run from 21st February until 28th June 2026.
