Benjamin Sutton
@bhsutton.bsky.social
Copy jockey, pun-slinger and Editor-in-Chief for the Americas at The Art Newspaper. Journalist, editor, critic, occasional curator, smothering cat dad, and year-round cyclist.
Pinned
Benjamin Sutton
@bhsutton.bsky.social
· Oct 3
Trump fires members of group that advises National Endowment for the Humanities
All but four members of the National Council on the Humanities were informed via email that their positions had been terminated
www.theartnewspaper.com
Trump administration fires most members of council that advises National Endowment for the Humanities on grants, medals and projects—including Trump's patriotic sculpture park. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/02/t...
Legal feud between the Philadelphia Art Museum and its former director Sasha Suda keeps getting uglier, with the museum claiming in a recent legal petition that Suda "misappropriated funds from the museum." www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/24/p...
Philadelphia Art Museum accuses fired director of ‘theft’ in court filing
In a petition in response to Sasha Suda’s lawsuit claiming unfair treatment, abuse and more, the museum claims "misappropriated funds”
www.theartnewspaper.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Legal feud between the Philadelphia Art Museum and its former director Sasha Suda keeps getting uglier, with the museum claiming in a recent legal petition that Suda "misappropriated funds from the museum." www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/24/p...
The US State Department has confirmed that Mexico-based sculptor Alma Allen will represent the US at the 2026 Venice Biennale, "furthering the Trump Administration’s focus on showcasing American excellence." www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/24/a...
Sculptor Alma Allen officially selected to represent US at 2026 Venice Biennale
The state department’s announcement, delayed by the US government shutdown, says Allen’s presentation will further Donald Trump’s “focus on showcasing American excellence”
www.theartnewspaper.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:18 PM
The US State Department has confirmed that Mexico-based sculptor Alma Allen will represent the US at the 2026 Venice Biennale, "furthering the Trump Administration’s focus on showcasing American excellence." www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/24/a...
Daniel Weiss, Metropolitan Museum leader from 2015-23, is the next Philadelphia Art Museum director. In a lawsuit filed after her firing earlier this month, predecessor Sasha Suda claims Weiss told her of PAM leadership: “It is a very dysfunctional board.” www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/21/p...
Philadelphia Art Museum taps former Metropolitan Museum leader after firing previous director
Daniel H. Weiss, who led the Met from 2015 to 2023, will succeed Sasha Suda, who is suing the Philadelphia Art Museum over the circumstances of her firing
www.theartnewspaper.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Daniel Weiss, Metropolitan Museum leader from 2015-23, is the next Philadelphia Art Museum director. In a lawsuit filed after her firing earlier this month, predecessor Sasha Suda claims Weiss told her of PAM leadership: “It is a very dysfunctional board.” www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/21/p...
Following the end of the longest government shutdown in US history, the National Gallery of Art is now fully reopened and all parts of the Smithsonian will be back to normal opening hours tomorrow: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/14/u...
With end of US government shutdown, National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian museums start reopening
Areas of the National Gallery of Art and parts of the Smithsonian were open to the public for the first time in more than a month on Friday
www.theartnewspaper.com
November 16, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Following the end of the longest government shutdown in US history, the National Gallery of Art is now fully reopened and all parts of the Smithsonian will be back to normal opening hours tomorrow: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/14/u...
Patience, you must have: more than a decade after the project first started to take shape, the $1bn Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open in Los Angeles next September. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/12/l...
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art sets September 2026 opening date
The $1bn museum co-founded by the ‘Star Wars’ director George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, will open its futuristic doors next autumn in Los Angeles
www.theartnewspaper.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Patience, you must have: more than a decade after the project first started to take shape, the $1bn Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open in Los Angeles next September. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/12/l...
Sasha Suda, who was abruptly fired by the Philadelphia Art Museum last week, is suing the institution and alleging, among other things, "breaches of contract, bad faith, unfair treatment and abuse": www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/10/s...
Fired director sues Philadelphia Art Museum
Sasha Suda claims in a lawsuit that she was terminated after she “clashed with a small, corrupt and unethical faction” of the museum’s board of trustees
www.theartnewspaper.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Sasha Suda, who was abruptly fired by the Philadelphia Art Museum last week, is suing the institution and alleging, among other things, "breaches of contract, bad faith, unfair treatment and abuse": www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/10/s...
Reposted by Benjamin Sutton
NEW EPISODE | The Week in Art Podcast
MFA Boston returns work by enslaved artist David Drake to his heirs, Wifredo Lam, Ghirlandaio’s Adoration of the Magi
Download and listen to the full episode: buff.ly/c50ZR7b
MFA Boston returns work by enslaved artist David Drake to his heirs, Wifredo Lam, Ghirlandaio’s Adoration of the Magi
Download and listen to the full episode: buff.ly/c50ZR7b
November 7, 2025 at 6:45 PM
NEW EPISODE | The Week in Art Podcast
MFA Boston returns work by enslaved artist David Drake to his heirs, Wifredo Lam, Ghirlandaio’s Adoration of the Magi
Download and listen to the full episode: buff.ly/c50ZR7b
MFA Boston returns work by enslaved artist David Drake to his heirs, Wifredo Lam, Ghirlandaio’s Adoration of the Magi
Download and listen to the full episode: buff.ly/c50ZR7b
Reposted by Benjamin Sutton
A 34-year state democratic socialist assemblyman from Queens, Mamdani became the city’s first ever Muslim mayor—and the first immigrant mayor in half a century.
Zohran Mamdani drags the Democratic Party into the future
This was a local race with national implications, whether the party's leaders liked it or not.
www.motherjones.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:41 AM
A 34-year state democratic socialist assemblyman from Queens, Mamdani became the city’s first ever Muslim mayor—and the first immigrant mayor in half a century.
Sasha Suda, the director of the Philadelphia Art Museum (fka the Philadelphia Museum of Art), has been ousted following a divisive rebrand: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/04/p...
Philadelphia Art Museum’s director ousted following divisive rebrand
Sasha Suda had been in the role for three years, but board members complained of a lack of transparency around the institution's recent rebranding
www.theartnewspaper.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Sasha Suda, the director of the Philadelphia Art Museum (fka the Philadelphia Museum of Art), has been ousted following a divisive rebrand: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/04/p...
🗽 It's election day in New York City. 🗳️ Here's where the three leading candidates for mayor stand on arts and culture: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/23/n...
Where do New York City’s mayoral candidates stand on the arts?
While it is not a central topic in their campaigns, Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa have all addressed issues relevant to artists and arts workers
www.theartnewspaper.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:37 PM
🗽 It's election day in New York City. 🗳️ Here's where the three leading candidates for mayor stand on arts and culture: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/23/n...
More than 1,000 objects—including Native American baskets, modernist jewelry, daguerreotypes, scrimshaw and more—were stolen from the Oakland Museum of California's off-site storage site in a robbery: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/30/o...
More than 1,000 objects stolen from Oakland Museum of California in storage facility break-in
Museum leaders and investigators believe stolen objects may soon start to turn up at area pawn shops and second-hand stores
www.theartnewspaper.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:31 PM
More than 1,000 objects—including Native American baskets, modernist jewelry, daguerreotypes, scrimshaw and more—were stolen from the Oakland Museum of California's off-site storage site in a robbery: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/30/o...
Trump has fired all six members of the federal Commission of Fine Arts and will replace them with appointees who "are more aligned with President Trump’s ‘America First’ policies", per a White House spokesperson www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/29/p...
Trump fires all members of fine arts commission that reviews construction projects in Washington, DC
The White House plans to install new Commission of Fine Arts who “are more aligned with President Trump’s ‘America First’ policies”
www.theartnewspaper.com
October 29, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Trump has fired all six members of the federal Commission of Fine Arts and will replace them with appointees who "are more aligned with President Trump’s ‘America First’ policies", per a White House spokesperson www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/29/p...
The vast new terminal one at JFK Airport will include site-specific commissions by Yinka Shonibare, Kelly Akashi, Tomás Saraceno, Ilana Savdie, Julie Curtiss, Firelei Báez and Woody De Othello www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/27/j...
$9.5bn terminal at New York's JFK Airport will feature art by Yinka Shonibare, Firelei Báez, Tomás Saraceno and others
Seven monumental public art commissions will land at the airport’s massive new terminal
www.theartnewspaper.com
October 27, 2025 at 8:48 PM
The vast new terminal one at JFK Airport will include site-specific commissions by Yinka Shonibare, Kelly Akashi, Tomás Saraceno, Ilana Savdie, Julie Curtiss, Firelei Báez and Woody De Othello www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/27/j...
Big drama over a big billboard: the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science is suing the Florida Department of Transportation and seeking the removal of a digital billboard erected by its neighbor, the Pérez Art Museum Miami. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/24/p...
Science museum files lawsuit to have Pérez Art Museum Miami’s billboard removed
According to the Frost Museum of Science next door, the Pamm’s large digital billboard—subject of a previous dispute with the city that was settled last month—violates state laws
www.theartnewspaper.com
October 27, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Big drama over a big billboard: the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science is suing the Florida Department of Transportation and seeking the removal of a digital billboard erected by its neighbor, the Pérez Art Museum Miami. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/24/p...
Reposted by Benjamin Sutton
In Los Angeles, decommissioned Confederate statues confront contemporary art by Kara Walker, Torkwase Dyson and others in a powerful new show on race and memory.
buff.ly/1rVyQOV
buff.ly/1rVyQOV
October 20, 2025 at 3:11 PM
In Los Angeles, decommissioned Confederate statues confront contemporary art by Kara Walker, Torkwase Dyson and others in a powerful new show on race and memory.
buff.ly/1rVyQOV
buff.ly/1rVyQOV
He don't need permission to curate: BTS member RM will show art from his personal collection at SFMoMA next year. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/03/b...
BTS member RM will exhibit art collection at SFMoMA
The museum will display around 200 works from RM’s personal collection and the museum’s holdings
www.theartnewspaper.com
October 5, 2025 at 10:44 PM
He don't need permission to curate: BTS member RM will show art from his personal collection at SFMoMA next year. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/03/b...
Trump administration fires most members of council that advises National Endowment for the Humanities on grants, medals and projects—including Trump's patriotic sculpture park. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/02/t...
Trump fires members of group that advises National Endowment for the Humanities
All but four members of the National Council on the Humanities were informed via email that their positions had been terminated
www.theartnewspaper.com
October 3, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Trump administration fires most members of council that advises National Endowment for the Humanities on grants, medals and projects—including Trump's patriotic sculpture park. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/02/t...
The US National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian Institution museums will stay open for a few more days but, assuming the government shutdown lasts past the weekend, they will be forced to close: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/01/u...
US government shutdown will force federally funded museums to close in a few days
Most of Washington, DC’s top attractions will shutter by the beginning of next week unless US lawmakers reach an agreement to fund the government
www.theartnewspaper.com
October 1, 2025 at 5:08 PM
The US National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian Institution museums will stay open for a few more days but, assuming the government shutdown lasts past the weekend, they will be forced to close: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/01/u...
UC Irvine has finalized its takeover of the Orange County Museum of Art—henceforth to be known as the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/09/29/u...
University of California, Irvine completes takeover of Orange County Museum of Art
As part of the acquisition, the institution has been renamed the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art
www.theartnewspaper.com
September 30, 2025 at 4:00 PM
UC Irvine has finalized its takeover of the Orange County Museum of Art—henceforth to be known as the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/09/29/u...
Nine participants in this year's Chicago Architectural Biennial have withdrawn amid objections to a sponsor's stake in a military contractor that has sold weapons to the Israeli army: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/09/24/c...
Participants withdraw from Chicago Architecture Biennial over sponsor’s investment in weapons manufacturer
In a letter to the biennial’s organisers, more than 20 participants wrote that Crown Family Philanthropies’ “sponsorship is incompatible with the values of our work”
www.theartnewspaper.com
September 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Nine participants in this year's Chicago Architectural Biennial have withdrawn amid objections to a sponsor's stake in a military contractor that has sold weapons to the Israeli army: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/09/24/c...
The private Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art in Japan is offloading 80 works from its collection at Christie's this autumn, led by a Monet waterlily painting expected to bring upwards of $40m: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/09/19/c...
Japanese museum’s collection of Western art could bring $60m at auction
The Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art will sell off its treasures this autumn at Christie’s in New York
www.theartnewspaper.com
September 19, 2025 at 3:37 PM
The private Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art in Japan is offloading 80 works from its collection at Christie's this autumn, led by a Monet waterlily painting expected to bring upwards of $40m: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/09/19/c...
The artists Jennifer Packer and Marie Watt have received this year's Heinz Awards for the Arts and will each get unrestricted cash prizes of $250,000 www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/09/16/a...
Artists Jennifer Packer and Marie Watt receive $250,000 Heinz Awards
Both artists will receive a cash prize of $250,000
www.theartnewspaper.com
September 16, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The artists Jennifer Packer and Marie Watt have received this year's Heinz Awards for the Arts and will each get unrestricted cash prizes of $250,000 www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/09/16/a...
Reposted by Benjamin Sutton
Amid heightened immigration enforcement, US artist residencies report cancellations, funding cuts and a growing reluctance among international artists to take part.
buff.ly/gFZ8mVw
buff.ly/gFZ8mVw
September 10, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Amid heightened immigration enforcement, US artist residencies report cancellations, funding cuts and a growing reluctance among international artists to take part.
buff.ly/gFZ8mVw
buff.ly/gFZ8mVw
More than a dozen works from the collection of late casino billionaire Elaine Wynn are headed to Christie's, but its crown jewel—which she bought from Christie's for what at the time (2013) was the most ever paid for an artwork at auction—is going to LACMA: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/09/09/e...
Christie’s expects Elaine Wynn’s collection to bring $75m, while her record-breaking Bacon triptych goes to Lacma
Wynn, who died in April, owned trophy works by Lucian Freud, Richard Diebenkorn, Joan Mitchell and others
www.theartnewspaper.com
September 9, 2025 at 6:49 PM
More than a dozen works from the collection of late casino billionaire Elaine Wynn are headed to Christie's, but its crown jewel—which she bought from Christie's for what at the time (2013) was the most ever paid for an artwork at auction—is going to LACMA: www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/09/09/e...
Happily not-vetoed headline of the day: “Artist’s doobie-ous Snoop Dogg collaboration tokes in $148,100 at auction” www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/08/21/s...
Artist’s doobie-ous Snoop Dogg collaboration tokes in $148,100 at auction
The artist Erica Kovitz used the remainders of blunts smoked by Tha Doggfather to make a series of mixed-media works
www.theartnewspaper.com
August 21, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Happily not-vetoed headline of the day: “Artist’s doobie-ous Snoop Dogg collaboration tokes in $148,100 at auction” www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/08/21/s...