Brits to pay more for Louvre visits
PLUS: Nepotism row at the National Portrait Gallery
Friday 31 January 2025 | news from museums, galleries, heritage and art, including:
English Heritage axes staff to save cash
Mona Lisa to get own dedicated gallery
Romania outraged at Dutch museum thefts
Happy Friday.
Congratulations, you’ve made it through January.
Yes the month’s seventeen long weeks (or does it just feel like that?) have come to end. Some say it’s the post-Christmas-ness that makes the year’s first month feel like it drags on so long. I like to think it’s because there is bugger all that’s new in museums and galleries.
Yet February marks the end of the drought — this month there’s a huge amount coming up for culture lovers (thank God).
I’m most excited about Leigh Bowery! at Tate Modern. I don’t know a huge amount about his life, but the fact there will be works by Lucian Freud and that there’s some really good vibes about the show, make it a hot ticket for me. Yes, I don’t need much more than vibes.
The Courtauld Gallery will be following its Monet show (its most popular exhibition in its history) with a similarly blockbuster showing of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings that have never been exhibited outside of Switzerland before. Expect Goya, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Cezanne among others. Meanwhile a much-delayed showing of new work by artist Ai Weiwei will finally open at London’s Lisson Gallery. Expect Lego and lots of artworks with titles that rhyme with duck. It’ll be ducking good. 🦆
Elsewhere in the UK, Tate St Ives hosts an intriguing show by occultist and artist Ithell Colquhoun, Chila Burman’s new installation has just been unveiled at Manchester’s Imperial War Museum North, and massive signature large-scales work by British Iraqi artist Emii Arai are coming to the stunning Compton Verney.
In Amsterdam, an expansive and landmark survey of American photography will open at the Rijksmuseum, while a rich treasure-trove of Picasso’s sketchbooks get a landmark showing in Malaga in Spain.
Elsewhere, you may have seen a flurry of media coverage this week around friend-of-the-newsletter Ben Melham breaking the world record for the most museums visited in 24 hours. Newspapers and TV news have all covered this wonderful story. Read the CNN piece here.
But just a reminder that you, dear reader, learnt all about this story in an edition of this newsletter in November!! Proving that if you want to be updated about what’s going on in the world of museums and art and heritage BEFORE ANYONE ELSE than you really are in the right place. (Watch Ben on BBC News talk about his record below).
And in that spirit, I hope you forgive me for this week’s indulgent poll.
— maxwell
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Get ready for Grayson
One of the exhibitions I am most looking forward to in 2025 is Grayson Perry’s takeover of the Wallace Collection in London. It’ll double as a birthday celebration too, as it opens on the very day Sir Grayson turns 65.
The Wallace Director promises the show will “surprise and intrigue.” So now feels like it’s a great time to gen-up on the artist, which is why I’ve picked the three best Grayson Perry books to dive deeper into his art and mind:
📙 Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Girl — a raw, funny, and deeply honest journey from a turbulent Essex childhood to discovering art, identity, and self-acceptance.
📗 Smash Hits — with 75 vibrant works and exclusive insights, this stunning book celebrated Perry’s biggest ever UK exhibition at the National in Edinburgh in 2023.
📘 Playing to the Gallery — a witty manifesto that demystifies contemporary art with humour and insight.
Your ‘need to know’ stories
British art sell-off warning
The British Council — the 90-year-old organisation that promotes British culture around the globe — faces “financial peril” and may sell-off thousands of artworks in its world-class collection to stay afloat.
The Council holds masterpieces from artists including Henry Moore, Tracey Emin, Lucian Freud and David Hockney, and shows them globally. Yet chief executive Scott McDonald said they face the “constant threat of insolvency” due to a £250 million pandemic-era emergency loan from the Foreign Office with interest charged at £14 million annually. Unless there’s a major intervention, they will axe hundreds of staff, withdraw the council’s presence in up to 40 countries, and sell off its art.
Half of the 9,000-item art collection is protected by agreements made with artists who donated work on condition that it would never be sold. But the rest have no such restrictions as they were purchased privately. McDonald said he offered the collection to the government in exchange for writing off the loan but to no avail. (Read more)
Overcrowded Louvre targets 25% more visitors
The Louvre is to undergo sweeping changes, President Macron of France has announced. Speaking at the Paris museum — the world’s most visited — he announced a major new entrance will be created to ease the pressure on the iconic Pyramid entrance.
Speaking to the world’s media in front of the Mona Lisa, he also said the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece will be moved into its own gallery, with visitors able to access it without entering the rest of the museum and with its own ticket.
Macron set a target for 12 million to visit the Louvre each year — up from 9 million today.
The vast renovation, which will also include overhauling ageing infrastructure, will be paid for using the museum's "own resources" including by increasing ticket prices for visitors from non-European Union countries, starting in 2026. Sorry Brits, that means us.
Macron decided to personally address the museum’s crisis, after a leaked memo from its director said the museum was in “poor condition” and visiting was a “physical ordeal.” (Read more)
🔗 COMMENT | Louvre’s decision to move Mona Lisa is a misguided act of snobbery | Jonathan Jones in the Guardian
English Heritage plans redundancies
200 jobs — representing 7% of the workforce — will be axed at English Heritage as the organisation battles poor finances.
10% of the group’s 400+ sites will also have their opening hours reduced, with 21 sites closing for the whole winter season. These include Totnes Castle in Devon and Furness Abbey in Cumbria. 22 others will only open on specific and limited days. This includes Ranger’s House in Greenwich, London, where part of Netflix’s Bridgerton was filmed. Euphemistically, an EH statement called these closures “different ways of sharing” these sites.
Curators are thought to be those that’ll bear the brunt of the redundancies. Trade Union Prospect said losing skilled staff will “damage our heritage.” Staff have been left stunned by the plans, which English Heritage says is needed due to high inflation affecting costs. (Read more)
UK news 🇬🇧
Gallery’s “unknown” photographer is a donor 💰
It’s been revealed that the ‘photographer’ currently enjoying a significant exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery was a major donor to the gallery’s £41m refurbishment. The NPG has now been forced to defend accusations of nepotism for the Zoe Law show, which displays Law’s shots of her famous friends. Until June, Law was a trustee of her own charitable foundation which was a key donor to the revamp. Artists are baffled at the show. A Turner Prize nominee anonymously said Law was “unknown.” Established photographer Chris Floyd said her profile “amounts to zero.” (Read more)
Alleged staff sabotage…again 💻
The British Museum’s exhibitions have reopened, and its systems are "running as normal" again after a major IT shutdown last week. A man in his fifties was arrested on suspicion of burglary and criminal damage after allegedly trespassing into a restricted area of the museum and shutting down several core IT systems including ticketing. The man — a contractor who had recently been dismissed from the institution — has been bailed pending further enquiries. (Read more)
Billionaire buys up British masterpieces 🖼
American billionaire Sir Steve Schwarzman has been revealed as the anonymous buyer offering record prices for British masterpieces in moves that have shook the art market. Schwarzman has bought Joshua Reynolds’ Portrait of Lady Worsley from the owners of Harewood House for £25m, plus Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait Lady Bate-Dudley, the sale of which saw it removed from Tate Britain after 35 years. It’s thought both will go to Conholt Park, a 17th century estate in Wiltshire that Schwarzman bought for £80m in 2022. (Read more)
Scottish culture spending finally settled 🏴
The near farcical rollercoaster of culture funding in Scotland now seems resolved as the Scottish government — through arms-length body Creative Scotland — has awarded £200m in multi-year funding to 251 organisations. The cash means Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts will now reopen, and “stability” has been given to Dundee Contemporary Arts. Scottish Labour welcomed the increase, but said the "constant cycle of promises followed by cuts under the SNP" had left "the sector in crisis for far too long". (Read more)
Global news 🌎
USA 🇺🇸
The Smithsonian Institution is closing its diversity office, following President Trump’s executive order that declared diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to be “illegal and immoral.” It is also freezing federal hiring immediately and instating a five-day return-to-office policy. The move comes days after the separate National Gallery of Art in Washington DC also closed its diversity office. (Read more)
Netherlands 🇳🇱
Three people have been arrested in connection with a brazen heist at a Dutch museum where explosives were used to steal ancient items including a golden helmet that’s one of Romania’s most important treasures. The items were on loan to the Drents Museum from the National History Museum of Romania, whose Director has now been sacked by the culture minister. Romania’s prime minister wants “unprecedented damages” from the Drents Museum, and has alleged that it was not sufficiently guarded. (Read more)
USA 🇺🇸
A stunning golden spike that was used to complete the Alaska Railroad 102 years ago will go on permanent display in the state for the first time. The Anchorage Museum and the city of Nenana (with help from private donors and the Alaska Railroad) won the Christie’s auction for the spike by bidding $201,600 — four times the estimate. The two cities will alternate displaying the spike. Christie’s specialist and Anchorage native Christopher June said they were honoured to handle the sale. (Read more)
Best of the rest
2025 Serpentine architect unveiled
Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum has been announced as the designer for this year's Serpentine Pavilion in London, which will mark the 25th anniversary of the annual commission. A Capsule in Time will open in June. (More)
Storm causes devestation
Last week’s Storm Éowyn toppled over 10,000 trees — some of them historic — from National Trust properties. The organisation and its Scottish counterpart are asking the public to help with the recovery of the storm’s “devastating” effects. (More)
ACE wants its money back
The nightlife tsar for Greater Manchester’s Mayor has resigned after Arts Council England (ACE) demanded a company he was director of pay back a £400,000 Covid loan. ACE accused the company of supplying “wrong or misleading” info. (More)
Lords row over Albert Hall
Shouts of “shame” and “disgraceful” rang out in the UK’s House of Lords as a bitter row about the Royal Albert Hall’s trustees was debated. Peers eventually voted to close a loophole that generated conflict of interest concerns. (More)
AI refuses Ai Weiwei
China’s DeepSeek AI has sent global stock markets into turmoil, but it’s been revealed the chatbot is programmed to refuse to answer any questions about artist Ai Weiwei. The artist has responded that it’s “quite telling.” (More)
👀 Last edition’s most clicked news story
President Donald Trump’s scowling new official portrait reeks ‘revenge’ and resembles his infamous mugshot
💻 New and updated on maxwellmuseums.com
— What's on at the Wallace Collection in 2025
🔍 The week in a number
1kg — the amount of gold thieves might get for the melting down of the revered Helmet of Coțofenești stolen from a Dutch museum this week
📊 Last week’s poll results | Like the Van Gogh Museum, should museums actively try to reduce visitor numbers?
— Yes. They are too crowded 64%
— No. Don't restrict access 36%
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Why are they being punished ?