Louise Nicholson is a freelance arts writer and Apollo contributor

The south facade of the original building of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, which opened in 1924

Texas star – at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston

The museum, which boasts one of the leading encyclopaedic collections in the US, has reopened – months ahead of unveiling a major expansion

23 May 2020
Late Maharaja of Benaras (1986), Raghu Rai

From New Delhi to New York – the ever-growing brand of DAG

The Indian art gallery opened its first modest space in Delhi in 1993. Now its spaces and partnerships extend across the globe

12 Dec 2019
Self-portrait (c. 1865), James Tissot. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

From the high life to the Life of Christ – James Tissot’s path to piety

On his 50th birthday the society painter set off for the Holy Land, experiencing something of a conversion

3 Dec 2019
Weeping Crabapple (2009), Helen Frankenthaler.

How Helen Frankenthaler made her mark on the world of printmaking

An initiative spearheaded by the artist’s foundation is spreading her passion for prints across the US

21 Aug 2019
Photograph of Baltimore waterfront in c. 1910/15.

The museums putting Baltimore back on the cultural map

The American city has not one, but two world-class art institutions – both contributing to its wider revival

17 Aug 2019
Daniel in the Lions’ Den (c. 1614–16), Peter Paul Rubens. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

How Rubens made a booming business of his art

Diplomat, entrepreneur, painter – from an early age Rubens knew what it took to achieve success

14 Jun 2019
View of The Shed, from Hudson Yards.

A barnstorming debut for the Shed

The new arrival at Hudson Yards unites the performing and visual arts under one $500m roof

5 Apr 2019
Seed Pushing (1961), Krishna Reddy.

A tour of Kolkata’s thriving art scene

An exhibition devoted to Krishna Reddy and awards for emerging Indian artists are among recent highlights in the city

26 Mar 2019
Devi in the Form of Bhadrakali Adored by the Gods (detail; c. 1660–70), folio from a dispersed Tantric Devi series, attributed to the Master of the Early Rasamanjari

Close encounters with the gods in court paintings from north India

Painters at the Pahari courts found new ways to represent the Hindu gods in the 17th and 18th centuries

8 Jan 2019

The impressive cultural achievements of China’s Qing empresses

New research shows that women in the Forbidden City had more influence on the arts than previously thought

13 Dec 2018
Three Angles (2018), El Anatsui. Installation view at the Carnegie Museum of Art for the 57th Carnegie International in 2018.

Around the globe at the Carnegie International

The 57th edition of the exhibition in Pittsburgh is a truly international affair

15 Nov 2018
Aerial view of the Pavilions and Michael Heizer’s Compression Line (1968/2016).

A game-changing expansion for the Glenstone Museum

The reopened museum in Maryland raises the bar for what we can expect from private collections

16 Oct 2018
Fog x Hill (2018), Fujiko Nakaya. Installation view at the Arnold Arboretum, Boston.

Fujiko Nakaya fills Boston’s parks with fog and shadows

Boston’s Emerald Necklace is an ideal setting for the Japanese artist’s enchanting fog sculptures

5 Oct 2018
Shah Jahan receives his three eldest sons and Asaf Khan during his accession ceremonies from the Padshahnama manuscript (detail; c. 1630–40), Bichitr and Ramdas, Mughal.

The Royal Collection puts its South Asian art on show

Art from the Indian subcontinent, from Mughal manuscripts to a peacock-shaped inkstand, makes a splash

17 Aug 2018
Exterior of the Stony Island Arts Bank

Celebrating the diversity of Chicago’s cultural landscape

The Terra Foundation’s year-long cultural programme shines a spotlight on the ‘third coast’ of America

2 Aug 2018
Pectoral disc (19th century), Ghana, Asante peoples

The great West African kingdom that made its mark in gold

An exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art places the powerfully symbolic gold objects of the Asante peoples centre stage

16 Jul 2018

Approaching the divine at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco

An exhibition at the Asian Art Museum asks visitors to consider what it means to represent divinity in human form

21 Jun 2018
The Paston Treasure (c. 1663), unknown artist (Dutch School). Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Norwich, UK.

The mystery of The Paston Treasure painting

Who was the artist commissioned to record the Paston family’s collection – and what was the purpose of the painting?

20 Apr 2018
The Sculpture Park at Madhavendra Palace, 2017.

How contemporary initiatives are reviving historic sites in Rajasthan

A sculpture park in a hill fort and a mansion showing Indian crafts are just two signs of the region’s cultural renaissance

11 Apr 2018
The Gale, Winslow Homer, Worcester Art Museum

The quiet transformation of the Worcester Art Museum

The Massachusetts institution is a small museum with a world-class collection – and it may even have a Leonardo

31 Mar 2018

A confident return for Asia Week New York

Galleries, auction houses and museums come together to celebrate ancient and modern Asian art

16 Mar 2018
He Kills Me (1987), Donald Moffett

A trip along the East Coast of the United States

From post-war German art at Harvard to Leonardo at the Worcester Art Museum, here are some gems beyond the blockbuster exhibitions

1 Jan 2018
Portrait of John G. Johnson (1917), Conrad F. Haeseler. Philadelphia Museum of Art, gift of Miss Julia W. Frick and Sidney W. Frick

Rediscovering a priceless collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

A century after it was left to the city of Philadelphia, John G. Johnson’s art collection continues to surprise

13 Nov 2017
Self-Portrait (detail; c. 1650–55), Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. © The Frick Collection

Face to face with Murillo at the Frick

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s rare and inventive portraits are on display in New York after a major research and conservation project

9 Nov 2017