Record Sales, Gulf Ambitions, and Museum Reckonings

Show notes for today's episode of The Daily Art Download — your ten minute crash course in today's art world news. Lost Michelangelo Draws $27 Million, Trouncing Estimate and Smashing Record https://news.artnet.com/market/michelangelo-sistine-chapel-study-christies-2718805 Saudi Arabia looks to its Modern art history as the art world eyes up the Gulf https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/05/saudi-arabia-looks-to-its-modern-art-history-as-the-art-world-eyes-up-the-gulf Philadelphia Museum of Art Walks Back Controversial Rebranding https://news.artnet.com/art-world/philadelphia-art-museum-rebranding-2743304 Buffalo AKG Director Hasn’t Repaid $335K Museum Loan Used to Buy Home, State Report Finds https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/buffalo-akg-director-museum-loan-buy-home-state-report-1234772402/ The World Has Too Much Art. What Will Happen to It? https://news.artnet.com/art-world/adam-lindemann-too-much-art-column-2743340 Lawrence Abu Hamdan and Lydia Ourahmane among artists confirmed for new Qatar quadrennial https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/05/lawrence-abu-hamdan-lydia-ourahmane-among-artists-confirmed-new-qatar-quadrennial How the Debates Over Art, Race, and Tech Have Changed https://news.artnet.com/multimedia/aria-dean-art-race-tech-2740206 Vatican Orders Removal of Fresco Depicting Far-Right Leader as Angel https://news.artnet.com/art-world/vatican-orders-removal-meloni-fresco-2743309 Pulitzer-Winning ‘Washington Post’ Art Critic Sebastian Smee Laid Off in Cutbacks, But Philip Kennicott Remains https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/washington-post-art-critic-sebastian-smee-laid-off-1234772489/ Fast-Rising Sculptor Yuko Mohri Wins $50,000 Calder Prize https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/yuko-mohri-wins-calder-prize-1234772341/