Restitution Reckonings and Museum Power Plays

A major repatriation story is unfolding at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. The Art Newspaper reports the museum will deaccession three bronze sculptures and return them to India after provenance reviews revealed they had been removed illegally. Two bronzes date to the Chola period—one around 990 and another from the 12th century—and a third dates to the Vijayanagar period in the 16th century. They depict Hindu figures used in temple worship and ritual processions, made with the lost-wax technique. Researchers working with the Photo Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry found the three bronzes were photographed in Tamil Nadu temples between 1956 and 1959, and India’s Archaeological Survey concluded they were taken in violation of national laws. The oldest work, Shiva Nataraja, will remain at the museum on long-term loan from India with updated signage providing full historical context.

Staying with cultural-heritage politics, another Art Newspaper report flags a proposed bill that would give Israel broad control over antiquities and archaeological sites in the West Bank. The bill, approved for a first reading by the Israeli Knesset’s Ministerial Committee on Legislation on 8 February, would establish an Israeli civilian authority and grant sweeping powers to the minister of heritage—currently Amihai Eliyahu—to appoint a governing council, declare antiquity sites, and expropriate land and antiquities across the West Bank. Peace Now, the Geneva Initiative, and Emek Shaveh issued a joint statement calling it “extraterritorial annexation” and arguing it violates the 1954 Hague Convention and the Fourth Geneva Convention, and would undermine the Oslo II Accord’s framework for Areas A, B, and C. Eliyahu, in a Facebook post, confirmed plans for an “independent Antiquities Authority for Judea and Samaria” and framed it as Israel taking responsibility for its heritage.

Across the channel to London, The Art Newspaper says the Royal Academy of Arts held a discussion and a vote about whether to revoke Ai Weiwei’s membership as an international Royal Academician after he posted—then deleted—a controversial tweet in late 2023 about the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Guardian reported the vote followed accusations the post was antisemitic; after discussions, the General Assembly decided to take no further action and the RA voted to retain his membership. Ai also claimed an article he wrote for RA Magazine was withdrawn, but an RA spokesperson said he was contacted to write a piece for the spring 2026 issue about his current book and that, before any piece was received, the magazine reduced its book review section, leaving no space. The RA added that it supports freedom of expression and that plurality of voices and tolerance are central to the institution.

Now to New York, where reputational crises are landing with real career consequences. The Art Newspaper reports David A. Ross resigned as chair of the Master of Fine Arts in art practice department at New York’s School of Visual Arts, effective 3 February, after newly released documents revealed past ties with Jeffrey Epstein. The correspondence spans decades and includes Ross praising Epstein’s idea for a controversial project involving teenagers and young adults “ages 14 - 25” whose ages would appear ambiguous, and emails expressing sympathy long after Epstein’s first criminal conviction in 2008. SVA students called for Ross’s resignation in an open letter citing parts of the correspondence. Ross had been at SVA since 2009 and previously served as director of the Whitney Museum of American Art from 1991 to 1998, and then as director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art for three years. In a statement to Artnews, Ross said he met Epstein in the mid-1990s as a wealthy patron and collector and believed Epstein’s claim of a political “frame-up.”

Continuing with that same thread, ARTnews reports Bard College president Leon Botstein is being scrutinized for his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein following the release of emails included in the “Epstein Files.” The reporting focuses on the messages made public and the questions they raise about how prominent figures in the arts and higher education interacted with Epstein even after his 2008 conviction. Botstein, a longtime leader of Bard, is presented in the article as part of a widening public re-examination triggered by the newly published materials. The story situates the scrutiny within a broader arts-world reckoning over reputational risk and institutional ties—who corresponded with Epstein, what the communications suggest about access and influence, and how institutions respond when previously private relationships become visible through document releases. ARTnews frames the situation as ongoing scrutiny rather than a resolved institutional outcome, with attention centered on the content and implications of the newly disclosed emails.

Across the Pacific, ARTnews reports investigators found decades-long mismanagement and corruption at China’s Nanjing Museum. The article describes an investigation that concluded problems persisted over a long period, highlighting governance failures rather than a single isolated incident. ARTnews characterizes the findings as serious and systemic, focusing on how breakdowns in oversight can undermine a museum’s public role as a steward of cultural heritage. The reporting emphasizes the investigators’ conclusions about institutional mismanagement and corrupt practices, presenting them as part of a larger accountability story rather than a narrow personnel issue. In ARTnews’s framing, the case underscores why collections management, internal controls, and transparent administration matter, especially for major public museums charged with preserving and exhibiting cultural material. The investigation’s conclusions have fueled public attention toward how the museum was run across multiple decades and what reforms might follow.

Back in the United States, ARTnews brings some bright news from Los Angeles: Ali Eyal has won the Hammer Museum’s one hundred thousand dollars Mohn Award. ARTnews reports the prize in connection with the museum’s Made in L.A. biennial, which is the context in which the Mohn Awards are given. The story names additional award recipients as well: Carl Cheng and Greg Breda also received awards of twenty five thousand dollars each. The reporting centers on the museum’s recognition of artists working in the Los Angeles area and the significance of the awards as both financial support and major institutional visibility. While the article is an awards announcement, it also functions as a snapshot of what the Hammer Museum is elevating through Made in L.A., with the Mohn Award positioned as the headline honor and the other awards noted as part of the same set of biennial-linked recognitions.

Staying on the East Coast but shifting to institutional churn, ARTnews reports that the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s chief of staff has departed as tumult continues at the institution. The article presents the departure in the context of ongoing internal instability and leadership upheaval, emphasizing that the change is occurring amid broader strains rather than as a routine transition. ARTnews connects the development to continuing turbulence at the museum, focusing on what high-level turnover can mean for operations, staff confidence, and the institution’s ability to execute long-term plans. The reporting frames this as one more significant change in the museum’s leadership picture, noting that the departure comes while the museum remains in a period marked by disruption. ARTnews’s account keeps the focus on the institutional moment—an organization navigating continued unrest while another senior administrator exits.

Now to a story about public memory and who gets to be visible in it. Hyperallergic reports that a Pride flag was removed from the Stonewall National Monument at President Trump’s directive. The article notes the move comes a year after the National Park Service scrubbed mentions of queer and trans people from its website, prompting protests at the New York City landmark. Hyperallergic frames the flag’s removal as a significant symbolic act at a federally designated site closely tied to LGBTQ+ history. The reporting focuses on the monument’s meaning, the practical removal of the flag, and the broader context of federal decisions affecting how Stonewall is presented to the public. In this telling, the issue isn’t only a physical banner—it’s the interpretive and political battle over what the national monument communicates, especially through official actions that shape signage, language, and visibility at a place that draws visitors precisely because of its historic association with queer resistance.

Finally, looking ahead to Venice, Artnet News reports Ecuador has announced its first-ever national pavilion at the Venice Biennale. According to the report, the pavilion will feature artist Óscar Santillán and the Tawna Collective, and it will meld Amazonian ritual and emerging technology. Artnet positions the announcement as a milestone for Ecuador on the Biennale’s international stage, highlighting the specific participants and the conceptual direction described for the pavilion. The story focuses on Ecuador’s debut in this format and the way the pavilion is being presented—through a combination of Amazonian ritual practice and tech-driven approaches—rather than offering a full preview of the works. It’s framed as an official national entry that expands Ecuador’s presence within the Biennale structure, with attention on the named artist and collective and the promised interplay of cultural practice and new tools.

That’s today’s download—links to every story are in the show notes. Come back tomorrow for more art world news you can actually use… Chinga la migra

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