The Mystery of the Girl in Blue at the Frans Hals Museum
February 26 2026
Picture: Frans Hals Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem will be opening a new display next month delving into the mystery sitter of Johannes Verspronck's Girl Dressed in Blue.
According to their website:
The portraits of the young girl in a striking blue dress [Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam] and her parents [Rijksmuseum Twenthe] remained together for a long time, but eventually ended up in different museums. In the Rijksmuseum, the “girl in blue” became a public favourite. Yet to this day, we still do not know who the girl and her parents are. That is why Professor Frans Grijzenhout, known from the television programme Kunstraadsels, set out to discover the identity of the trio.
The display will run from 12th March until 11th October 2026.
Honthorst acquired by Centraal Museum Utrecht ahead of Exhibition
February 26 2026
Picture: Tefaf via Linkedin
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News has arrived that the Centraal Museum Utretcht have acquired Gerard van Honthorst's The ecstasy of Mary Magdalene. The work was acquired with assistance from the John & Marine van Vlissingen Art Foundation. Painted in Rome between 1618-20, it was acquired in anticipation of the museum's upcoming exhibition Gerard van Honthorst – Different to Rembrandt which opens on 25th April and will run until 13th September 2026. Lucky visitors to TEFAF in Maastricht this year will get a chance to preview the work at the fair later in March.
Raphael Visitation Returning to L’Aquila after 371 years
February 26 2026
Picture: Prado
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Raphael's Visitation, dated to 1517, will be returning for a special exhibition in L’Aquila after being taken from the town by Spanish troops in 1655. The picture, which is now housed in the Prado Museum, will be placed in a special exhibition exploring the dialogue between the master's work and Pontormo’s Visitation of Carmignano. The display will open at the National Museum of Abruzzo on 27th June 2026.
Christophe Leribault appointed new Director of the Louvre
February 26 2026
Picture: The Guardian
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News from France that Christophe Leribault has been appointed the new Director of the Louvre. Leribault has previously directed the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée de l’Orangerie, before he took up his current position at the Palace of Versailles in 2024.
According to the article above:
The culture ministry said in a statement: “Leribault’s priority will be to strengthen the safety and security of the building, the collections, and people, to restore a climate of trust, and to carry forward, together with all the teams, the necessary transformations for the museum.”
Salon du Dessin 2026
February 25 2026
Picture: Salon du Dessin
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The 2026 edition of the Salon du Dessin will open at the Palais Brongniart, Paris, in a month's time. Featuring a wide selection of the French and European art trade for works on paper, the fair will also be accompanied by the usual series of events and talks which are worth looking through. Click on the link above to read more.
Prado Conserve Van Orley
February 25 2026
Video: Prado via Instagram
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Prado in Madrid have published the following video on their Instagram page regarding the recent restoration of Bernaert van Orley's The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John.
Conservation Webinars at Lincoln Conservation
February 25 2026
Picture: Lincoln Conservation
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Lincoln Conservation, based within the University of Lincoln, started a new webinar series at the end of 2025. The series covers lots of interesting topics and February's edition (on the 27th of this month) will be on the curious subject of 'Case studies in Mimetic Retouching and the Art of Texture Replication'. Click on the link above for more details regarding ticket prices and how to log on to watch.
Louvre Director Resigns
February 25 2026
Picture: artnews.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News arrived yesterday from France that the Louvre's director Laurence des Cars, who had been in the post since 2021, has resigned. Her resignation comes after many difficult months following a major heist (with a purported $100m of jewellery still unaccounted for), workers strikes, ticketing scams and structural leaks. Reports suggest that increased scrutiny following these incidents has temporarily put breaks on the planned $778m expansion to rehouse the Mona Lisa.
Research at Chatsworth
February 25 2026
Picture: Chatsworth
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Devonshire Collections at Chatsworth House are hiring a Research Fellow (18 months).
According to the job description:
Supported by a generous grant from Art Fund, Chatsworth House Trust is seeking an exceptional early or mid-career researcher to undertake the inaugural Devonshire Research Fellowship, a ground-breaking role that will reimagine the potential of object-focused scholarship within a historic house context. [...]
This 18-month fellowship will investigate the provenance and journeys of objects relating to Ancient and Classical Civilisations within the Devonshire Collections. The Fellow will develop object biographies, trace histories of acquisition and circulation, and contextualise objects through their socio-political, material, and cultural histories.
As a pilot for a new Fellowship programme, this role places equal value on scholarly rigour and public impact. You will co-create research with communities, embed lived-experience perspectives, and work closely with cross-departmental teams to shape outputs that will inform interpretation, programming, and a major forthcoming exhibition in 2029.
The role comes with an annual salary of £48,000 and applications must be in by 22nd March 2026.
Good luck if you're applying!
Recent Release: Biltmore House - The Interiors and Collections of George W. Vanderbilt
February 24 2026
Picture Rizzoli
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The publisher Rizzoli have just this month released a new book focusing on the house and collection amassed by the American collector George W. Vanderbilt. The volume has been penned by Darren Poupore and Laura C Jenkins.
According to the blurb:
The largest house in America and an example of Gilded Age magnificence, Biltmore opens its doors for a tour of both its grand and belowstairs rooms in the first book on the iconic residence in more than thirty years.
George W. Vanderbilt created one of the greatest self-sustaining American country estates of the late nineteenth century—at its center, Richard Morris Hunt’s splendid 250-room French Renaissance château. Beyond the acres of gardens designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and the imposing castle exterior lies one of the most notable private collections of fine and decorative art in the nation. Discover the wealth of treasures assembled in the historic rooms: paintings by Monet, Renoir, Sargent, and Whistler; Renaissance tapestries; rare books; and exquisite French and English furniture.
Spinello Aretino Triptych Restored
February 24 2026
Video: Siena News
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence have unveiled their recently conserved triptych by Spinello Aretino. The most recent campaign of restoration, which began in 2024, will be the focus of a temporary exhibition in the gallery which runs from today until 11th May 2026.
Christie's Paris Sales
February 24 2026
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's Paris have uploaded their upcoming Chefs-d'oeuvre de la collection Veil-Picard auction, which will take place on 25th March 2026. A few of the top lots of the upcoming Dessins Anciens et du XIXe siècle incluant une sélection de terres cuites sale, which will take place on the very same day, have also been uploaded to their website.
Curate 'Visual Arts' at The National Trust
February 24 2026
Picture: The National Trust
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The National Trust are hiring a Senior National Curator - Visual Arts.
According to the job description:
In this role, you’ll be the National Trust’s lead for Visual Art collections, responsible for shaping ambitions for their contribution to the Trust’s strategic goals of ‘ending unequal access’ as well as ‘inspiring millions’.
As a Senior National Curator, you’ll use your deep expertise to help shape curatorship throughout the organisation. You’ll be an experienced curator, innovative and creative in your approach, and able to inspire and lead others to evolve and enhance our practise.
You’ll champion research and apply new knowledge in the development of interpretation and engagement, be it on-site, off-site, or through digital channels. You’ll be committed to increasing physical and intellectual access at properties, working increasingly in collaborative ways, and sensitive to promoting broad, engaging, and inclusive histories.
The job comes with a salary of £54,639 per annum and applications must be in by 8th March 2026.
Good luck if you're applying!
There's also a Decorative Arts curatorial role going, for those who are more interested in Boulle than Bol.
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Curiously, not single mention of 'painting', or print watercolour drawings or likewise, is made on the job page. Why the fear of using such terms, I wonder?
Hispanic Society of America Treasures at the Musée Jacquemart-André
February 23 2026
Picture: Musée Jacquemart-André
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris will be opening a special exhibition of forty paintings from the collection of the Hispanic Society of America next month.
According to the museum's website:
In spring 2026, the Musée Jacquemart-André, in collaboration with the Hispanic Society of America (New York), will be showcasing Hispanic Baroque art. The exhibition will offer the public the opportunity to admire some forty works from the prestigious American institution, brought together in France for the first time, including paintings by the great masters of the Golden Age such as Velázquez, El Greco, and Zurbarán. [...]
The exhibition also includes major works by 17th- and 18th-century artists who were active in or originated from Latin America. Heirs to the great Spanish pictorial tradition introduced after the conquest of the “New World,” these painters successfully combined Western influences with local techniques and traditions. This fusion gave rise to a unique and remarkable body of work—still very rarely shown in French museums—which the exhibition will offer a valuable presentation of.
The show will run from 26th March until 2nd August 2026.
Teaching Fellow Jobs at the Courtauld
February 23 2026
Picture: Courtauld.ac.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Courtauld Institute in London are hiring several Teaching Fellows presently, including those in Early Modern French Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, Modern and Contemporary Art and Critical Race Theory Art History and Twentieth Century Modernism.
Applications must be in by 6th March 2026. Click on the link above to read the full job descriptions and for further terms and conditions.
Good luck if you're applying!
Mr & Mrs Swinburne Batoni Pair Reunited in Newcastle
February 21 2026
Picture: Laing Art Gallery / Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
La Tribune de l'Art have drawn attention to the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle's acquisition (through the AIL Scheme) of Pompeo Batoni's portrait of Mrs Martha Swinburne. The gallery had already owned Batoni's corresponding portrait of Martha's husband Henry. Let's hope Mrs Swinburne's portrait is conserved in the near future, so that the quality of the pair can be admired to the full!
Recent Release: Constable's Year
February 21 2026
Picture: Thames & Hudson
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I'm slow to news that Thames & Hudson released Susan Owens' new book Constable's Year: An Artist in Changing Seasons at the beginning of 2026 (spotted via Trois Crayons - have you read the February edition of their brilliant online magazine yet?).
According to the publisher's blurb:
As exhilarating as a lungful of oxygen: that’s how some of his contemporaries felt about John Constable’s paintings. Others, though, were baffled by his uncompromisingly fresh and realistic treatment of the natural world. Susan Owens follows Constable through the seasons, tracing the rhythms and resonances of the artist’s year to offer a vivid, unconventional perspective on this beloved figure.
Whether in London in May, preparing pictures for exhibition and longing for the Suffolk spring, or painting boat-builders and waiting to be married in a particularly gloomy September, Constable’s life and work were unusually shaped by the yearly cycles of weather and agriculture, as well as by the often competing demands of the art world. Raised in Suffolk and trained to manage his father's land, his rural background had an enduring impact on his painting. His was the approach of one who knew the laneways, ploughs and millponds he painted intimately, and who understood the countryside as a place of both labour and natural phenomena.
Update - A reader has kindly been in touch to point out extracts of the book were featured on Radio 4 earlier this year and can be listened to on the BBC IPlayer.
KHM sends Treasures to Rome
February 21 2026
Picture: Palazzo Cipolla
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna are sending 50 masterpieces from their collection to the Palazzo Cipolla in Rome for a special exhibition which opens next month. The show will include works by Rubens, Velázquez, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Van Dyck, and Lucas Cranach, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Arcimboldo, and Orazio Gentileschi.
The exhibition will run from 6th March until 5 July 2026.
Rosa Bonheur's Pegasus acquired by Château de By
February 21 2026
Picture: Digard
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Château de By in France, the former home of Rosa Bonheur which is now a museum, have announced their acquisition of the artist's painting of Pegasus. The work had recently made €65,000 at the auction house Digard late last year.
Degas Drawings Online
February 21 2026
Picture: degas-catalogue.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
La Gazette Drouot have drawn attention to news that the Edgar Degas online Catalogue raisonné project, edited by Michel Schulman, has this month uploaded over 1,500 drawings to their website.
