David Attenborough museum experience announced
PLUS: Yayoi Kusama smashes national record
Friday 25 April 2025 | news from museums, galleries, heritage and art, including:
Wharhol artwork accidentally binned 🥫
Turner Prize’s 2025 picks 🏆
Boston Benin Bronzes gallery closed for good 🇺🇸
Happy Friday.
“Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.”
Shakespeare fans will recognise this as the witches’ prophecy in Macbeth. Non-Shakespeare fans will recognise it from triggering school memories.
But did you know that Macbeth was real? And so was Birnam Wood. And so is Dunsinane Hill. (The witches are still tbc.)
I know this because a few weeks ago, I stood on Dunsinane Hill. In the bright Scottish sunshine (yes that exists too, sometimes) I surveyed the green fields of Perthshire all around me.
Perthshire is Macbeth country. The real Macbeth ruled these lands from 1040 until his death in 1057. In Shakespeare’s 17th-century telling, Dunsinane was his castle and possibly the site where he’s slain by Macduff. In reality, while this did used to be an Iron Age fort — the ramparts of which are still visible — there’s little evidence of the hill being in use by the 11th century when the real Macbeth reigned.
After my hill hike, I and a group of journalists had a short mini-bus ride to Dunkeld, a tranquil and picturesque town at the very foot of the Highlands and on the River Tay. A quick stroll along the Tay’s banks took us to the Birnam Oak, of witchy ‘Great Wood’ fame. At 400+ years old, it’s not old enough to have existed during the Middle Ages, but it does come tantalisingly close to Shakespeare’s time. Either way, it’s one of only two surviving trees from the actual ancient Birnam Wood mentioned in the play. As an oak, it’s the very tree in the prophecy. It’s an incredible natural monument.
Why my Shakespearean Scottish adventure you ask? Well, the story of Macbeth is being told in a major new exhibition at the Perth Museum, the city’s new £27m cultural landmark. It opened today.
But in my preview visit, down in the museum’s stores, I got to see the star of the show early. It’s an “incredibly rare” 11th century sword from Scotland, from the time of the real Macbeth, and expertly handled by the exhibition’s curator David Freeburn on my visit. Carved with germanic runes, Freeburn tells me it’s in “remarkable” condition. It comes to Perth on loan from a private collector and has never been displayed in public before. You wouldn’t know it was a millennia-old.
Macbeth: An Exhibition explores the deep connections between Macbeth the play, Macbeth the man, and the region for the first time. Freeburn told me it “was a gift” for the area to be staging this exhibition on Shakespeare’s first “completely Scottish” play in the landscape where it’s set.
Freeburn also hopes the show counters the “fake news” around the real Macbeth. He’s Scotlands most globally-famous king “for all the wrong reasons.”
“From the moment [Shakespeare’s] Macbeth is performed in front of contemporary audiences…[he] becomes this sinister, troubled, bad king.” But this is far from the truth of history. Freeburn invites visitors to come and learn why — hoping that it will “change a few minds.”
Macbeth: An Exhibition runs until August.
Now let’s dive into this week’s news!
— maxwell
Top stories 🚨
Attenborough’s show of humanity
Sir David Attenborough is bringing a brand new ‘360° immersive experience’ to the Natural History Museum.
Located in the Museum’s Jerwood Gallery, Our Story with David Attenborough will open in June and will be a 50-minute bells-and-whistles projection experience that will tell the story of humans — from our earliest beginnings and how we evolved to how we came to change the world around us.
Sir David said he hoped “that visitors of all ages will experience our extraordinary journey at the Natural History Museum and come away feeling inspired, informed and most of all, empowered.” Museum Director Doug Gurr said “Our Jerwood Gallery has played host to some of our most unique experiences” and this “will certainly be one of its most special.”
If you’re a Natural History Museum member and used to getting in free to temporary exhibitions, for this one you’ll have to stump up some cash. Members just get a 50% discount on the £20 (off-peak) tickets. (Read more)
Warhol taken out with the trash
In an astonishing revelation, a Netherlands town hall has said it accidentally BINNED 46 publicly-owned artworks, including a rare Andy Warhol print of former Dutch Queen Beatrix.
Authorities in the town of Maashorst confessed that the artworks were “most likely” taken away with the bins during renovation work to the town hall last year. Mayor Hans van der Pas told the media: "That's not how you treat valuables. But it happened. We regret that.”
The findings of an independent investigation concluded one reason why the artworks could have been taken out with the trash was a complete absence of any policies, procedures or guidelines for “the registration, storage, conservation and security of artworks”. The pieces were part of a collection from the borough of Uden, which merged with others three years ago to form Maashorst.
The report found that some of the artworks were stored in wheelie bins in the basement. Several had sustained water and other damage when they were last seen in 2023.
Maashorst said it was unlikely they would ever be recovered. (Read more)
Kusama smashes Australia record
Yayoi Kusama’s blockbuster exhibition at Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has became the most-visited ticketed visual art exhibition in Australian history.
The retrospective closed this week after 4 months. In total, 570,537 tickets were sold. In the final days the gallery extended opening hours to midnight to accommodate demand. About 40% of visitors were from interstate or overseas. The exhibition attendance broke the institution’s own record of 462,262 tickets sold for the gallery’s 2017 exhibition Van Gogh and the Seasons.
The NGV acquired two major works from the show. They are the five-metre tall sculpture Dancing Pumpkin (2020) and Narcissus Garden (1966/2024), an installation of 1,400 glimmering silver balls.
The exhibition didn’t quite beat the all-time Australian exhibition record. That belongs to Melbourne Museum’s 2011 show Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, for which 796,277 tickets were sold. (Read more)
UK news 🇬🇧
Turner Prize’s 2025 picks 🏆
This year’s Turner Prize nominees have been revealed. The four-strong shortlist includes the second youngest artist to be nominated (27 year-old Rene Matić) and Iraqi painter Mohammed Sami who once created murals of Saddam Hussein. The Telegraph says Sami is the clear frontrunner. The Guardian’s Jonathan Jones agrees, but concludes this year’s nominees will “dig the ailing Turner prize deeper into irrelevance and empty bourgeois ritual.” (Read more)
🔗 OPINION | An irrelevant bourgeois ritual: this year’s Turner prize shortlist is the soppiest ever | Jonathan Jones in the Guardian
Bridgerton’s back! 🏰
The results of a five-year restoration at one of Britain’s grandest country houses has been unveiled. Castle Howard in North Yorkshire was the location of the iconic 1981 series Brideshead Revisited and more recently Netflix’s Bridgerton, and from today the public can enjoy the renovated interiors and a complete rehang of its art collection. Also unveiled is the lost Tapestry Drawing Room, which has been restored to its original 18th-century splendour for the first time since a devastating fire in 1940. (Read More)
National Gallery criticism “hurtful” 📐
The architect renovating the National Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing said criticism of her plans from the Wing’s first designer “was very hurtful.” In 2022, Denise Scott Brown said Annabelle Selldorf was “making our building look like a circus clown.” In a new interview, Selldorf defended her work on the Wing — which will be unveiled next month — saying the Sainsbury Wing was “flawed from day one.” (Read more)
Royal art tour at Palace 🗺️
70 artworks by 42 artists who have accompanied HM the King on his overseas royal tours for the past 40 years will go on display at Buckingham Palace this summer. Drawn from the King’s personal art collection, many will be publicly shown for the first time. Since 1985, Charles has invited artists to capture the countries he visits. Curator Kate Heard said “the freedom given to each artist… has led to the formation of a rich and varied collection.” (Read more)
Arts Council eyes future 👀
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said “the Arts Council was set up in a very different era” as she reiterated support for the current review into the organisation by Baroness Hodge. Speaking to the Telegraph Politics newsletter, she said the review was important as there are “lots of concerns in the arts world.” It comes as the Council’s chief executive claimed the body has suffered because of “London-centric” media coverage. (Read more)
Global news 🌎
USA 🇺🇸
The gallery showing the Benin Bronzes in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts is to close, as the private owner of the works who had loaned them has taken back possession. The royal leader of the Kingdom of Benin has been seeking the return of the 30 bronzes on show. But with only five owned by the museum (donated by the same collector), discussions between the three parties broke down. The 25 remaining pieces are being returned to the lender. “This was not the outcome anyone wanted,” Director Matthew Teitelbaum said. (Read more)
USA 🇺🇸
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — the minions tasked with gutting the federal government — visited the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. where they “discussed the museum’s legal status.” The gallery ostensibly is operated at arm’s-length from the White House. A statement from the museum said “As a public-private partnership, we have worked with every administration since our inception and will continue to work with the Administration and Congress while we remain focused on fulfilling our mission.” (Read more)
Switzerland 🇨🇭
The foundation overseeing the Emil G. Bührle collection has reached a settlement with the heirs of a Jewish collector over a prized Édouard Manet painting. Manet’s La Sultane (c.1871), is one of 205 works from the Bührle collection that have been loaned to the Kunsthaus Zurich since 2012. While there’s still disagreement between the parties on whether its 1937 sale was the result of Nazi persecution, the agreement allows the painting to remain on view at the gallery. The deal’s details have remained confidential. (Read more)
Netherlands 🇳🇱
Dutch police have reaffirmed their commitment to “tracking down” a hoard of ancient Romanian gold artefacts that were stolen from a museum in an overnight heist, as they revealed two more suspects have been arrested. Four suspects previously arrested are still in custody. “The investigation into the stolen masterpieces from the Drents Museum does not stop with these arrests,” Dutch police said in a statement. “Tracking down these pieces is still our priority.” (Read more)
News in brief
City’s new museum gets opening date
Leicester's new multi-million pound Roman museum will open to the public on 26 July it’s been confirmed. The £16.8m Jewry Wall Museum has been delayed due to a major contractor going bust. (More)
No longer friends forever
The Friends charity that supports the Bowes Museum in County Durham has voted to wind up its operations after 75 years due to falling membership numbers and income, and a lack of volunteers to run the organisation. (More)
Royal appointment in Rotterdam
Her Majesty Queen Máxima will officially open Rotterdam’s brand new museum dedicated to migration art. The day before Fenix’s official first day, the Dutch queen will be part of an opening celebration that the public are invited to attend. (More)
Cate comes to Serpentine
Cate Blanchett is to host this year’s Serpentine gallery summer party. The bash — a huge fundraising event and the opening of the annual pavilion — will be on 24 June. Blanchett is the first ‘sleb to host it solo in 25 years apparently. (More)
Staffordshire museum shuts for final time
Staff and visitors of the Museum of Cannock Chase have said a final farewell as it closed its doors today for the last time. After 36 years, the museum dedicated to the forest has shut due to council budget cuts. (More)
👀 Last week’s most clicked news story
— Paris Metro bans David Hockney exhibition poster because artist is smoking
💬 Catch up on my latest Big Interview
— The art of asking for money from Art Fund’s Director of Development
📊 Last week’s poll results | Did you visit the Louvre in 2024 and help it claim the crown as the world's most popular museum?
— Yes! More than once actually! 5%
— Yes, one visit last year 13%
— No, I didn't make it in 2024 65%
— I've actually never visited! 17%
📊 This week’s poll
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