Fine Art

The Villa Aurora in Rome housing the only mural by Caravaggio failed to find a bidder in an auction Tuesday.

Arts

No one bid on this Italian villa with the world's only known Caravaggio ceiling mural

3:20pm January 19, 2022

by Nell Clark

The Villa Aurora in Rome, a sprawling 16th-century palace, was listed on the market for a starting price of $534 million but will need an estimated $11 million in restorations.

Artist Milton Avery created many amazing works before his death in 1965

7:22am January 17, 2022

by Susan Stamberg

Although he died nearly 60 year ago, Milton Avery is very much a man for our times. He drew and painted things he knew, and helped viewers see them his way — works with colors and shapes.

Queue Listen Now

Three Cones, 1964, Art © Wayne Thiebaud / Licensed by VAGA, New York, N.Y.

Arts

Wayne Thiebaud, known for his colorful depictions of everyday life, dies at age 101

5:48pm December 26, 2021

by Elizabeth Blair

The artist explored everything from pastries to cityscapes in his work. Paintings, he once told NPR, can be "powerful statements about the sort of astounding capacity of the human mind."

A pen and black ink drawing by Albrecht Dürer titled "The Virgin and Child with a Flower on a grassy Bench" is seen at London Art Week dealer Agnews, on Nov. 19, in London.

Arts

Opinion: Albrecht Dürer's lesson for all of us today

8:32am December 18, 2021

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon reflects on "The Virgin and Child with a Flower on a Grassy Bank," by Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. The previously unknown drawing was unveiled this week in London.

Queue Listen Now

Tanya AguiÃ±iga worked with indigenous communities in Chiapas and Oaxaca, Mexico and in Alaska, but always felt drawn back to the border.

Arts

Artists win awards for highlighting life on the border and reclaiming African art

6:08pm December 03, 2021

by Ashley Pointer

Tanya Aguiñiga's art explores what happens to people when they cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Sanford Biggers' works challenge the 'black-washing' of African history.

The pandemic was a major blow to the museum's budget. But this historic gift will allow it to expand its collection of modern and contemporary art.

Arts

The Metropolitan Museum of Art scores its largest capital gift ever — $125 million

4:23pm November 30, 2021

by Andrew Limbong

The money will be used to complete a long-delayed renovation the museum's Modern Wing and comes from philanthropist Oscar Tang, a museum trustee, and his wife Agnes Hsu-Tang.

Frida Kahlo self-portrait breaks records by selling for $34.9 million

5:11pm November 17, 2021

by Mia Estrada

A 1949 self-portrait by Frida Kahlo broke records when it sold for $34.9 million this week. It's now the highest price paid for Latin American artwork. It was sold in just under two minutes.

Queue Listen Now

Mexican painter Frida Kahlo's "Diego y yo" set a new auction record for art by a Latin American artist, selling for $34.9 million at Sotheby's on Tuesday night.

Frida Kahlo just shattered an auction record, ousting her husband

11:17am November 17, 2021

by Bill Chappell

"Diego y yo" depicts Kahlo's husband, Diego Rivera, on her forehead. It fetched $34.9 million in a Sotheby's auction — shattering a record set by Rivera.

Arts

Amir Nizar Zuabi: How one puppet's 5,000 mile journey delivers a message of hope

9:33am October 29, 2021

Amal is a nine-year-old Syrian refugee. She's also a giant puppet. Theater director Amir Nizar Zuabi discusses how art can deliver a new message on the plight of refugees in his project "The Walk."

Queue Listen Now

A 1951 oil painting by Gertrude Abercrombie entitled Search for Rest. Collection of Sandra and Bram Dijkstra.

Arts

A midcentury 'jazz witch' artist finds a fandom in the future

5:48am October 29, 2021

by Neda Ulaby

Gertrude Abercrombie was a bohemian midcentury painter whose surrealist paintings, newly coveted by collectors, are now touring museums as part of the show "Supernatural America."