Why Canaletto sold for $43.9 M, Identity Politics & Arts and more

To receive morning links in your inbox every weekday, sign up for us Breakfast with Artnews communication.

good morning!

Headline News

Digital processing. For passing puck Wednesday night, Art Data Company Artdai The auction data for the first half of 2025 were analyzed to create the top 50 sales artists through the total auction volume, sales quantity, total hammer ratio and the highest price obtained for artists. The results are available here to download, indicating that the buyer is “seriously pursuing the works done by historically important artists – some lives, many die [and] It seems we are at the beginning of the cycle. “according to puck‘ Marion Manneker, Buyers are still chasing low-value works “In a rather powerful edit, they are not afraid to bid for the works they want – although we may not see high-value purchases from the past.” It seems that the biggest deals happen privately, but there is no way to confirm them. “Nevertheless, when you see these data, the idea that buyers lose interest in art doesn’t make sense,” he wrote. “They just shift the focus to underrated works, and long-term projects seem to be building momentum.”

“The 18th century is not ashamed.” In a good choice above Artnet News‘ Eileen Kinsella Try to achieve why canaletto‘ Venice, Bucintoro on the Ascension Day returns (around 1730) sold £31.9 million ($43.9 million) for a “inadequate” price Christie’s Last month, the artist’s auction record was smashed. This article comes from the opinions of several elderly experts and raises similar questions. Is this a perfect picture? How does a shortage affect prices? However, according to the dealer Nicholas Hall, Here is all the above: “It’s glittering Downing Street Source [once owned by a British prime minister]its high-top composition, each possible Venetian ingredient is inserted into the mixture and has an impressive scale [make it] “The final trophy purchase. However, it’s not ashamed of date and taste and has high guarantees. This hasn’t suppressed some of the most intense and competitive bids seen in old master auctions over the years.”

Digestion

Current exhibitions National Gallery of Art in Singapore Other institutions in the country are showing “a subtle exploration of the island nation’s history as it continues to struggle with its colonial heritage.” [The Art Newspaper]

Polish Minister of Culture decided to fire long-term director last year Polish Museum of History (MHP) exist Warsaw It is illegal. Remove Robert Kostro It was aroused widespread criticism at the time, some of which accused the government of political interference. [Notes from Poland]

Hayward Gallery Tour Have planners and writers Ekow Eshun guide British Art Performance 10opened in Coventry in September 2026, and then launched Swansea, Bristol, Sheffield and Newcastle Gateshead. [Artlyst]

GaypalaniWaṉambi Take home Australia’s most prestigious Aboriginal people Art Awards and $100,000for her works Burwu, bloomsaw thousands of string insects and bees that she etched. [The Guardian]

Kicking

Identity crisis. when Dean Kissick Put some steam in Harper’s Magazine Earlier this year, people believed that identity politics undermined contemporary art and many stood up and disagreed with him. Steven Pie It seems to be the latest; his latest article Artreview Criticism ruled art with identity politics and reduced the notion that art was. He questioned whether identity had ever truly shaped art, but instead believed that great art transcends personal identity, focusing on universal themes and expressions of innovation. “Even the YBA, once represented as a brave individualist, is more concerned with sustainability and historiography,” he wrote. “Tracey Emin’s tent, hand-stitched the names of all people close to her, is a call for multiple epistemological and cognitive ways. Bed-Everyone’s Bed-It seems that this has always been the role of the artist.