Zachary Small
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zacharyhsmall.bsky.social
Zachary Small
@zacharyhsmall.bsky.social
Culture Reporter, New York Times ||
TOKEN SUPREMACY now available in the link below ||
Tips: zachary.small@nytimes.com ||
Why should only deep-pocketed millionaires enjoy the sorts of profits that can come from investing in high-end art?

Inside the company that sells artworks like stocks.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/a...
A Company Sold Investors $1 Billion in Art. Did it Paint Too Rosy a Picture?
www.nytimes.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:45 PM
SCOOP: Sasha Suda filed a lawsuit against the Philadelphia Art Museum, arguing breach of contract for her surprise dismissal.

The lawsuit gets into details we rarely hear about from inside the board room.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/a...
Recently Ousted Director of Philadelphia Art Museum Sues Over Her Dismissal
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:01 PM
BREAKING: Trump signs order "MAKING FEDERAL ARCHITECTURE BEAUTIFUL AGAIN"

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/a...
Trump Signs Executive Order to Make ‘Federal Architecture Beautiful Again’
www.nytimes.com
August 28, 2025 at 8:31 PM
For the last five months, I've been reporting on curators and artists who feel their exhibitions have been censored in some way, because museums fear backlash from Trump. Here are those stories.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/a...
As Trump Targets the Smithsonian, Museums Across the U.S. Feel a Chill
www.nytimes.com
August 23, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Trump continues to scrutinize the Smithsonian, now with a list —

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/a...
White House Lists Smithsonian Exhibits It Finds Objectionable
www.nytimes.com
August 22, 2025 at 2:03 AM
ICYMI — We profiled five leading players in Trump's effort to change American cultural institutions.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/a...
Who’s in Charge of Trump’s Cultural Realignment? Here Are Key Players.
www.nytimes.com
August 21, 2025 at 2:08 PM
The Carnegie Museums had guidelines against political events; one happened anyway, igniting a firestorm in Pittsburgh. Our article breaks down what happened, and the question of who knew what when.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/a...
$5,000-Per-Plate Dinner Tests Museum Ban on Political Fund-Raisers
www.nytimes.com
August 15, 2025 at 7:29 PM
When his wife died, the paleontologist Barry James poured his grief into the reconstruction of a $25M triceratops skeleton that they had started together.

Surrounded by the bones, an unconventional way for him to honor April started to form ...

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/06/a...
Their Last Love Token: A Dinosaur Rebuilt From Its Excavated Bones
www.nytimes.com
August 6, 2025 at 2:31 PM
An effort to extend a 2016 law helping Holocaust victims and their heirs retrieve artworks stolen by the Nazis is pitting Jewish organizations that want to strengthen the law against major museums that have been quietly lobbying to keep it as it is.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/a...
Museums Lobby Against Strengthening a Holocaust Art Recovery Law
www.nytimes.com
July 31, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Zachary Small
Today’s Editor’s Pick is 'Politics Looms Over the World’s Biggest Contemporary Art Fair' by @zacharyhsmall.bsky.social for @nytimes.com. With all eyes on Art Basel, art world leaders provide insight as global conflict and economic uncertainty cast a shadow over the fair.
Politics Looms Over the World’s Biggest Contemporary Art Fair
www.nytimes.com
June 20, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Four days after the president said he was dismissing the head of the National Portrait Gallery, the Smithsonian has yet to accept or challenge his authority.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/a...
Smithsonian’s Reaction to Trump’s Firing of Its Museum Director: Silence
www.nytimes.com
June 3, 2025 at 8:01 PM
The auction houses performed lower than their low estimates this season, but still cleared the $1B sales mark. Fear is growing that the industry might be shrinking.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/a...
New York’s Spring Auctions Aimed for Trophies. They Got Troubles.
www.nytimes.com
May 19, 2025 at 12:48 PM
A painting by Lucio Fontana that had sold for nearly $14 million at Christie’s in 2017 (or $17.4 million with inflation) returned to the auction house on Monday evening. It sold for just $7.5 million, including fees.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/a...
With Guarantees Galore, Christie’s Has a Rocky Start to Auction Week
www.nytimes.com
May 13, 2025 at 1:51 AM
NEW: Trump nominates Mary Anne Carter as head of NEA. She had previously served as the agency's chair during the first admin.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/a...
Trump Nominates Former N.E.A. Chair to Head Embattled Arts Agency
www.nytimes.com
May 8, 2025 at 6:14 PM
A darkness that once simmered below the surface of his paintings was now starting to seep through the canvas.

On Salman Toor's new paintings — his largest exhibition to date.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/28/a...
Painting From Memory, Salman Toor Conjures Passion and Freedom
As Salman Toor’s work has become more politically conflicted and emotionally raw, he finds himself wondering, “What am I doing here in America?”
www.nytimes.com
April 28, 2025 at 3:30 PM
We analyzed the relationship between museums and mega-galleries. Of 350 exhibitions since 2019, nearly 25 percent went to artists represented by just 11 of the biggest galleries in the world.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/27/a...
How Hauser & Wirth Took Over N.Y.C.’s Museums This Spring
Hauser & Wirth artists have major exhibitions everywhere you look, spotlighting the rising influence of powerful art galleries on the city’s top museums, a Times report found.
www.nytimes.com
April 27, 2025 at 1:08 PM
NEW: Nintendo announces Switch 2 will release June 5 with a Mario Kart launch title allowing you to drive anywhere. Updates to come.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/b...
Nintendo Switch 2 Will Release in June and Emphasize Streaming
The company said Mario Kart World would be part of the new console’s initial game lineup, also sharing details on its technical upgrades.
www.nytimes.com
April 2, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Trump's executive order faulted a Smithsonian show for promoting "the view that race is not a biological reality but a social construct,” a position widely held by scientists.

We looked at the history behind that position and the actual show.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/a...
Taking Aim at Smithsonian, Trump Wades Into Race and Biology
His executive order faulted an exhibit which “promotes the view that race is not a biological reality but a social construct,” a widely held position in the scientific community.
www.nytimes.com
March 31, 2025 at 10:42 PM
SCOOP: MoMA has announced internally that its next director is Christophe Cherix, currently chief curator of drawings and prints.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/a...
MoMA’s New Director Will Be Christophe Cherix
The Museum of Modern Art in New York is promoting Christophe Cherix, who currently leads its drawings and prints department.
www.nytimes.com
March 28, 2025 at 4:18 PM
NOW: The Guggenheim cut 20 employees today. The union has filed a grievance because they were not given advanced notice. Senior leaders won't be taking any pay cuts.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/a...
Guggenheim Lays Off 20 Employees as Financial Challenges Persist
The museum has suffered from rising costs and lower attendance. The cuts followed those at the Brooklyn Museum, which trimmed 10 percent of its staff this month.
www.nytimes.com
February 28, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Love this story —

“When the library was about to open, we had the opportunity to have a tour in the library for the tenants. When he saw that, I explained to him, ‘We are the first ones seeing the library because we live on top of it.’ He was like, ‘Oh, mommy. Oh my God, oh my God!’”
For a Mother and Son, Life Above a Brooklyn Library
When Miguelina Minier heard that her local library was being renovated with affordable housing added on top, she applied. It was about the 40th time she had tried a housing lottery.
www.nytimes.com
February 25, 2025 at 10:47 PM
The first big test of the art market this year has been announced: Christie's will offer the $250M Riggio collection, from the family that brought you Barnes & Noble.

Read on for the art — and the dog named Cookie.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/a...
Barnes & Noble Widow to Auction $250 Million Art Collection
Louise Riggio is downsizing her Manhattan apartment, which means selling more than 30 works by artists including Mondrian, Magritte and Picasso.
www.nytimes.com
February 20, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Ms. Schiff helped advance the field of advising from the vanity project of bored socialites into a respected profession, more akin to an asset management firm.

Then her clients realized she stole millions. Our @nytimes.com story on her difficult path to repentance.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/a...
Art Adviser. Friend. Thief.
Lisa Schiff became the country’s leading art consultant, and drew her clients close. Then she stole millions from them. Now facing up to 20 years in prison, is she ready to repent?
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2025 at 1:18 PM
BREAKING: Daniel Sikkema is charged by US officials in murder-for-hire plot that led to husband's death.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/a...
Husband of Prominent Gallerist Is Charged With Hiring His Killer
Federal officials said that Daniel Sikkema was part of a murder-for-hire conspiracy that resulted in the stabbing death of the art dealer Brent Sikkema in Brazil.
www.nytimes.com
February 11, 2025 at 7:09 PM