Trump backs away from military confrontation with Iran
Plus: Saudi Ministry of Culture launches first artist residency | and Joyce Foundation announces 2020 recipients of $50,000 award
Activists in Berlin attack controversial Holocaust memorial
Plus: Foundation for Contemporary Arts announces inaugural Helen Frankenthaler Award for Painting | and cemetery of high-status Romans discovered in Somerset
International organisations condemn Trump’s threat to target Iranian cultural sites
Plus: John Baldessari (1931–2020) | National Gallery of Australia closes due to bushfire smoke | British Museum acquires export-barred Pahari painting | and recommended reading
Lawrence Abu Hamdan receives 2022 Future Fields Commission
Plus: Russian collectors in Belgium arrested on suspicion of fraud and money laundering | Cheung Yee (1936–2019)
Alasdair Gray (1934–2019)
Plus: Art-world figures recognised in New Year’s Honours list | Picasso painting of Dora Maar defaced at Tate Modern | and authenticity of dozens of Goya paintings called into question
Syd’s coffee stall heads to the Museum of London after 100 years on the street
Plus: Artgenève to expand with two new Moscow fairs | and Thomas Hart Benton heirs sue Kansas City bank for estate mismanagement
Ulster Museum is first in Northern Ireland to acquire works by Rembrandt
Plus: Eric Shiner to direct Pioneer Works in Brooklyn | and Mellon Foundation cancels $1.5m grant to North Carolina university over plans for Confederate monument
National Gallery reaches £22m target to buy Orazio Gentileschi painting
Plus: archaeologists discover two 3,500-year-old ancient Greek tombs | Aliph announces $10m in grants for 20 heritage conservation projects | and Art Basel Hong Kong offers discounts and flexibility to participating dealers as the city’s protests continue
Nicky Morgan to remain as UK culture secretary
Plus: French culture minister promises to return 26 artefacts to Benin by 2021 | and shortlist announced for Margaret Tait Award
Petition against scrapping of Australian federal arts department signed by 34,000
Plus: Arts Council England to monitor class background of arts workers | Protests at Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts over unpaid staff wages | and Caroline Fowler named director of Research and Academic Program at Clark Art Institute
Monaco court dismisses fraud charges against dealer Yves Bouvier
Plus: TEFAF awards €50,000 in conservation grants to LACMA and V&A | Maurizio Cattelan’s banana artwork sparks uprising from janitors in Miami | and recommended reading
Sotheby’s wins lawsuit over disputed Frans Hals painting
Plus: Art Berlin fair cancelled permanently | and cave painting found in Indonesia believed to be world’s oldest narrative art
Rebecca Salter elected first female president of RA
Plus: Painting discovered in gallery wall could be stolen Klimt | Deborah Cullen-Morales steps down as director of Bronx Museum | An unconventional portrayal of Zapata sparks protests in Mexico | and May Stevens (1924–2019)
Bettina Korek appointed chief executive of Serpentine Galleries
Plus: Charles Saumarez Smith leaves post at Blain Southern | Catherine Opie to chair UCLA’s art department in newly endowed position | and National Museum of the Resistance to be built in Milan
Performance artist eats Maurizio Cattelan banana in Miami
Plus: Maori carvings to return to New Zealand after 130 years | MOCA in LA to recognise workers’ union | and Donald B. Marron (1934–2019)
Penn Museum returns ancient clay tablets to Iraq
Plus: Contemporary Arts Museum Houston announces new director | and recommended reading
Museums across France close or restrict access due to national strikes
Plus: German art collective issue apology for controversial Berlin monument | UN rebukes threats against former Kyrgyz museum director | Dresden police receive more than 500 tip-off calls about Green Vault heist | Smithsonian museums rebrand as National Museum of Asian art
Turner Prize awarded to all four shortlisted artists
Plus: Christopher Breward appointed director of National Museums Scotland | and Stephen Garrett (1922–2019)
Controversial monument containing ashes from Holocaust victims installed in Berlin
Plus: Turkish court rules that Kariye Museum must become mosque | Byron Kim announced as recipient of Robert De Niro, Sr. Prize | and Andrés Jaque announced as curator of Shanghai Biennale
Mayor of Budapest halts construction of €250m New National Gallery
Plus: UNESCO-listed town in Austria damaged by major fire | Danish court prevents Tal R painting from being chopped up to make watches | and burglars steal medals and jewellery from Stasi Museum
State of Saxony returns indigenous remains to Australia
Plus: Reward of €500,000 offered for recovery of Green Vault jewels | Nancy Astor statue unveiled in Plymouth | and recommended reading
Geffrye Museum to reopen as Museum of the Home
Plus: Juan Pablo Langlois (1936–2019) | and three artists elected to Hong Kong District Councils
Russian and Syrian officials agree plans to restore Palmyra
Plus: Cambridge college to return Benin Bronze to Nigeria | Art Basel cancels three-day event in Abu Dhabi | Lecturers at the Courtauld Institute strike over conditions | and Hetty Berg appointed director of Jewish Museum Berlin
Belgian police intervene in ownership dispute over religious sculptures
Plus: Security footage of Dresden heist released | Hetain Patel wins Jarman Award | and Performa prize awarded to Nairy Baghramian and Maria Hassabi
The historic estate that’s next on the demolition list