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Modern Art

Interior: Zebra with Two Chairs and Funky Fur, Mickalene Thomas, 2012

These Colorful Contemporary Artworks Join the Hirshhorn Museum’s Collection as the D.C. Landmark Continues to Celebrate Its 50th Anniversary

The museum is also preparing to reopen its redesigned sculpture garden, featuring new works from eight artists, this fall

Sculptor Alexander Calder and one of his mobiles

Alexander Calder Thought ‘It Would Be Fun’ to Set Abstract Art in Motion. His Mesmerizing Mobiles Transformed the Definition of Sculpture

A new exhibition at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris spotlights 300 of the sculptor’s groundbreaking kinetic artworks, large-scale public sculptures, paintings, drawings and wire portraits

Rotorelief no. 1. This 1935 lithograph, printed on a 7 7⁄8-inch cardboard disc, could spin on a record player to create a hypnotic illusion of three dimensions. 

MoMA Plans a Retrospective for Marcel Duchamp, the Dada Artist Who Was Unimpressed With His Own Masterpieces

The French-American avant garde artist said painting and sculpture exhibitions made him sick. But the collection of 200 of his works may tell the story of art in the 20th century

Gansevoort Street, Willem de Kooning, circa 1949

Willem de Kooning Didn’t Get His Big Break Until His 40s. See the Stunning Abstract Paintings That First Captivated Audiences

Artworks that showcase the painter’s early foray into Abstract Expressionism are now on view at the Princeton University Art Museum

Combat, Lee Krasner, 1965

You’ve Seen Jackson Pollock’s Dizzying Drip Paintings. But His Wife, Lee Krasner, Was Also a Major Player in the Abstract Expressionist Movement

Titled “Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous,” a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will examine the lives and careers of both artists, who met in New York in the 1940s

Xin Ying, principal dancer with Martha Graham Dance Company, wears a costume from the 1948 ballet Diversion of Angels. Graham designed the dress, inspired by a splash of color in a Wassily Kandinsky painting.

Martha Graham Took Classic Ballet and Turned It Into Modern Dance. It’s Still Moving Us 100 Years Later

Her choreography told stories in new ways and her collaborations with costume and stage designers changed the aesthetic of the art. Now, her dance company marks its first century

The four watches, which borrow from 20th-century paintings, are the latest art-inspired products from the Swiss company Swatch.

See How These Wristwatches Reimagine Famous Masterpieces by Claude Monet, Jackson Pollock, Edgar Degas and Paul Klee

The Swiss watchmaker Swatch has partnered with the Guggenheim to create a collection inspired by 20th-century artworks from the Impressionist and Abstract Expressionist movements

A rendering of the planned Rijksmuseum sculpture garden

A Sprawling Sculpture Garden Featuring Modern Masterpieces Is Coming to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

The new space will feature artworks by the likes of Alberto Giacometti, Louise Bourgeois and Alexander Calder. Officials say it will be free for anyone to visit

The company plans to offer tours of its new headquarters, giving members of the public a chance to see the sculpture.

Cool Finds

Forgotten for Decades in a Dusty Mall Basement, a Long-Lost Harry Bertoia Sculpture Is Back on Display

The untitled 26-foot-tall piece now hangs in the seven-story atrium of General Motors’ new global headquarters, in Detroit

Tête de femme, Pablo Picasso, 1941

Have $117 to Spend? You Could Win a Picasso Painting Worth More Than $1 Million

A moody 1941 portrait of a woman by the Spanish artist will be given to the winner of a charity raffle that’s being staged to fund Alzheimer’s research

An art handler stands in front of Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer by Gustav Klimt during a press preview at Sotheby's on November 7.

Watch the Record-Breaking Auction of This Gustav Klimt Portrait, Which Just Became the Second Most Expensive Painting Ever Sold

“Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer,” which played a role in protecting the life of its Jewish subject during the Holocaust, sold at Sotheby’s for a historic $236.4 million. It’s also the most expensive modern artwork ever auctioned

“The Scharf Collection: Goya—Monet—Cézanne—Bonnard—Grosse” is on view at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.

See Masterpieces by Monet, Matisse, Degas and Picasso in the First-Ever Exhibition of This German Family’s Private Art Collection

The Scharf Collection features French artworks from the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as contemporary pieces from around the world

The bidding will start at a number determined by the price of gold on November 18.

This Fully Functioning Toilet Made From Solid Gold Could Sell for More Than $10 Million at Auction

Made by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, the 18-karat gold toilet weighs 220 pounds. Another version of the artwork was famously stolen in a 2019 burglary

Composition IX, Wassily Kandinsky, 1936

You Can Listen to Kandinsky’s Vibrant Paintings at This New Exhibition in Paris

Through artworks and audio recordings, “Kandinsky: The Music of Colors” explores how music influenced the Russian artist’s abstract compositions

Woman at Her Toilette, Berthe Morisot, 1875-1880

See How Manet and Morisot’s Creative Friendship Influenced Their Artistic Styles

A new exhibition in San Francisco reframes the complicated relationship between two renowned 19th-century French artists

On October 21, the New York City Council and the Basquiat Estate oversaw the co-naming of a portion of Great Jones Street in honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat.

You Can Now Take a Stroll Down Jean-Michel Basquiat Way in New York City

A stretch of lower Manhattan has been named in honor of the iconic artist, who rented a studio there from Andy Warhol between 1983 and 1988

The Sleeping Gypsy, Henri Rousseau, 1897

Meet Henri Rousseau, the Untrained Artist Who Wouldn’t Quit Painting—Despite the Ridicule He Received From Critics

A new retrospective at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia examines the career of the 19th- and 20th-century French painter, who toiled in obscurity for most of his life

Pablo Picasso painted Still Life With Guitar in 1919.

This Tiny Picasso Painting Went Missing While Traveling to an Exhibition in Spain

A few days before “Still Life With Guitar” was supposed to go on display in Granada, staffers discovered the piece had vanished from a group of artworks that had recently arrived by truck

"Nigerian Modernism" will run through May 10, 2026, at the Tate Modern. 

Nigeria’s Independence From England Brought Artistic Revolution. For the First Time, England Is Showcasing It

“Nigerian Modernism,” a new exhibition at the Tate Modern, celebrates 50-plus artists spanning half a century

Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy (1968) was David Hockney's first entry in his famed double portrait series.

The First of David Hockney’s Famous Double Portraits Is Heading to Auction

Featuring English novelist Christopher Isherwood and his partner, artist Don Bachardy, the painting is one of Hockney’s most celebrated

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