Ben Lewis

‘Not for ogling’: forget Titian, Botticelli and the male fantasists – only women can paint great female nudes From Yoko Ono to Frida Kahlo, from Louise Bourgeois to Artemisia Gentileschi, women have long been capturing the unvarnished truth about their own bodies – and that’s why my novel Female, Nude weaves ...

A common misconception:

“The female nude, as depicted and objectified by the male artist, has dominated western art for centuries”

From antiquity til late 19thC male nude dominated. Anybody disagree?

www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

Epstein files show art market financialisation in full flow A Black mark on ‘Château Noir’

Leon Black took out a loan of almost $500m using his art collection, valued at $1bn, as collateral. Stunning sleuthing by @joshspero @joshspero.ft.com in the depths of the Epstein files suggests 'art loans' are far bigger than currently thought. #epsteinfiles #artmarket

www.ft.com/content/89ba...

Bill aimed at giving Israel control over all West Bank heritage sites sparks concern Campaign groups have claimed the proposal violates international law, while Israel maintains it is about taking responsibility for and protecting Jewish heritage

If you control a nation's past, you control its future.
If you steal a nation's past, you steal its future.
If you destroy a nation's past, you destroy its future.

What famous work of art is this a detail of? #HIGAFY

Link please if i might ask. It’s pretty embarrassing Frieze swallowed all this guff but generally these art mags turn everything into advertorial

a Von Erbach-Schonberg suing an East London gallery over unpaid wages equivalent to £500 a week.

The Art World in one image and one article www.frieze.com/article/guts...

How did it all go so wrong? Is she lying like a trooper in the Frieze intv?

Maybe but isn’t this what happened to Johnson and to numerous other govts around the world. After a couple of years it becomes evident that they don’t have solutions and have made awful mistakes- it could be a sign of how difficult it is to satisfy the media and electorate these days?

Congratulations to Manhattan ADA Matt Bogdanos, who almost singlehandedly toughened up America and then the world's approach to looted antiquities. He gave a great interview in my podcast about the Met's Golden Coffin open.spotify.com/show/6Y2M6So...

"In summary, tulip buying is over; it was fun while it lasted."

The Great Contemporary Art Boom 2001-2025 is over says veteran billionaire collector Adam Lindemann. What'd he get for his Murakami's now? #contemporaryart #artmarket

news.artnet.com/art-world/ad...

The World Has Too Much Art. What Will Happen to It? | Artnet News Enormous amounts of art have been created in recent years—too much, former art dealer Adam Lindemann writes.

"In summary, tulip buying is over; it was fun while it lasted."

The Great Contemporary Art Boom 2001-2025 is over says veteran billionaire collector Adam Lindemann. What'd he get for his Murakami's now? #contemporaryart #artmarket

news.artnet.com/art-world/ad...

The biggest threat facing Europe is not a Trump invasion. It’s his global political revolution | Mark Leonard I am convinced that Europe’s ‘new right’ is a radically contemporary movement. Defeating it means understanding its critique of liberalism, says Mark Leonard of the European Council on Foreign Relatio...

He’s sort of right but a) he omits to assess if the policies of the populist right will alleviate or exacerbate the problems wch have driven their political advance b) if they won’t or don’t, it undermines his claim that the ‘liberal order’ has been ‘discredited’

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The World Has Too Much Art. What Will Happen to It? | Artnet News Enormous amounts of art have been created in recent years—too much, former art dealer Adam Lindemann writes.

“masterpieces by the biggest names of the most recent cycle, like a word painting by Christopher Wool or a joke painting by Richard Prince can now sell for half of what they once did.”

Another insider admits the contemporary art market has crashed…

news.artnet.com/art-world/ad...

Court battle over Picasso art exposes offshore finances of Farage’s billionaire Davos sponsor Exclusive: Sasan Ghandehari reluctant to share details of $10bn trust in row with Christie’s auction house

“Ghandehari claims that Christie’s should have told him the painting was being sold by a businessman with a conviction for drug trafficking... Christie’s says it had no obligation to tell him”

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

You don’t need to be so vagie. In fact Fascist parties usually gain power because the state refuses to uphold the law - Ger, Ital.

This the unattainable fantasy of the electorate. He’s not great but he’s the best we can do. Welcome to Planet Earth

Yeah I can’t deny it’s dumb, and the weakest example for my argument, but human beings don’t make the best decisions when they are crapping their pants

Yes but eg sitting in my armchair in London N7 of course I think Starmer was an idiot to appoint twice-disgraced Mandelson… but then again cut off from Europe after Brexit, he was desperate to find someone who could stop Trump slaughtering our economy… try sitting at No 10 with US dictator incoming…

Not every problem has a solution

Exactly but another interpretation would be that governing is especially difficult in this era and the public, perhaps including you, are deluded about how much politicians can do in the current situation. It’s notable how unrealistic the electorate’s expectations are and how quickly they turn…

Is anyone else getting reccomended AI slop by Spotify? I am so insulted. I only listen to the finest jazz @listigeplaylists.bsky.social

What happens to the art market when humanity stops mattering? In a world now governed by force—as US president Donald Trump and his circle would have it—rather than shared values, art risks being relegated to a power play of ‘proven brands’

"Spending hundreds or thousands or millions on an original work of art can be a pretty big ask when you’re waking up every morning thinking, “What the hell is going to happen next?” Scott Reyburn on buying art amidst the descent into fascism

www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/01/30/w...

3/3....or redacted individuals in the files and no evidence Gagosian offered any individual an internship in response to a request by #Epstein

& then in Jan that she is in Gagosian NY. The redacted individual appears to be Swedish and knows Barbro Ehnbom, who is known to have introduced young Swedish women to Epstein.

There are no direct emails between Larry Gagosian or any Gagosian staffer and Epstein relating to internships or... 2/3

Jeffrey Epstein boasted he could get a redacted individual a job at Gagosian in October 2010. Other emails from a female redacted individual dated Sept 2009 and Jan 2010 tell Epstein that she has an interview for an internship at Gagosian, that she met one 'Anita' there ... 1/3 #epsteinfiles

Artquiz #2 What artists am I thinking of? #HIGAFY

1/2

Artquiz #1 Who are the two artists of these two details of paintings? #HIGAFY #haveIgotartforyou

‘He set paint free’ — a new show explores Cezanne’s final flourish An exuberant exhibition of late works at the Fondation Beyeler shows the painter at his most liberated

www.ft.com/content/b226...

Keir Starmer Damien Hirst Andy Burnham

Posing in front of a Damien Hirst ain’t gonna help you with this one, mate