Louvre Abu Dhabi director Manuel Rabaté leaves to head India’s largest private art museum • The first Art Basel Qatar heralds a new model for art fairs in the region • British Museum’s A.I.-Generated Post Sparks Online Backlash

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Louvre Abu Dhabi director Manuel Rabaté leaves to head India’s largest private art museum
On 2 February 2026, the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) in New Delhi appointed Manuel Rabaté as its first chief executive and director, marking...

The first Art Basel Qatar heralds a new model for art fairs in the region
Art Basel launched its first Qatar edition on 2 February 2026 with an inaugural fair featuring 87 exhibitors and a format designed to feel more...

British Museum’s A.I.-Generated Post Sparks Online Backlash
Artnet News reported that the British Museum faced online backlash after publishing a social-media post containing A.I.-generated images....

Documentary tracks Indigenous efforts to recover ancestors’ remains from museums and universities
The documentary Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild] (2026), directed by Adam Khalil and Zach Khalil, follows Indigenous...

Sotheby’s Second Sale in Saudi Arabia Tops $19.6 M., Sets Record for Saudi Artist
ARTnews reported that Sotheby’s second sale in Saudi Arabia totaled $19.6 million, signaling continued growth in the kingdom’s auction market. The...

One battle after another: Trump’s war on federal architecture
On 2 February 2026, The Art Newspaper detailed President Donald Trump’s recent interventions in Washington, DC architecture, including demolishing...

Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts to close permanently
Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) announced it is closing permanently and entering liquidation, with all programmes cancelled and 39...

Photomontage of Israel bombing Gaza will go on show at Art Basel Qatar
Pakistani artist Rashid Rana will present Black Square (2025) at the inaugural Art Basel Qatar (5–7 February 2026; preview days 3–4 February), a...

Jeffrey Epstein Advised on Leon Black’s Purchase of $115 M. Picasso from Gagosian, Files Show
ARTnews reported that newly surfaced files indicate Jeffrey Epstein advised financier Leon Black on the purchase of a Pablo Picasso painting...

Palestinians Decry Israel’s Plan to Seize West Bank Archaeological Site: ‘A Violation of Our History’
ARTnews reported that Palestinians criticized an Israeli plan to seize control of a West Bank archaeological site, describing it as “a violation...

—The Daily Art Download