Marseille Museum President Suspended After Harassment Investigation, Christie’s Old Masters Sale, and More: Morning Links for July 1, 2026

Good Morning!

The Headlines

BEATEN TO THE PUNCH. The Manhattan District Attorney‘s office seized dozens of ancient artifacts in June from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, bringing the total value of looted objects recovered from the New York institution to $95 million, the New York Times reports. Paradoxically, the museum has characterized the seizures as a collaborative effort in sharing provenance information with investigators, pointing to the fact that it agreed to part with the items rather than categorically refuse an official demand to hand over stolen art. The Met has also expanded its in-house provenance research team. Yet, as Matthew Bogdanos, head of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit, noted in a statement, the museum’s “collaborative” framing contradicts the very notion of a police seizure—the bureau has also grown frustrated at the slow pace of the Met’s provenance review. The high number of seizures “spoke for themselves,” he said. “The question has to be asked, ‘Why are we the ones doing this?’” Meanwhile, the Met’s head of provenance research, Lucian Simmons, insists: “The Met doesn’t want any stolen art in our collection.” Among the seized items are antiquities from Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and elsewhere, ranging in value from $20,000 to $26 million.

OLD MASTERS MAGIC. Christie’s Old Masters sale in London totaled $48.7 million on Tuesday, as the house testedthe running mantra that “collectors will open their hearts and their wallets for exceptional work.” Thanks to competition over a handful of standout works and relatively few disappointments, the sale managed to surpass its pre-sale estimates of between £25 million and £37.5 million, excluding fees. Leading lots included sumptuous still lifes of overflowing fruit by Jan van Huysum and a Thomas Lawrence portrait of the Duke of Wellington. The night’s biggest surprise, however, came from an anonymous Dutch School painting—a haunting 17th-century vanitas still life depicting two skulls on a marble ledge—estimated at £80,000 to £120,000. It fetched £431,800 (about $572,500), hinting that collectors are hoping for a future attribution.

The Digest

Canadian politician Avi Lewis (New Democratic Party) has accused Heritage Minister Marc Miller of interfering with the independence of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights exhibition about Palestinian displacement. [CBC]

Pierre-Olivier Costa, the president of Marseille’s Musée des civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée (MuCEM), was suspended for four months following an investigation for psychological and sexual harassment and a preliminary investigation opened by the Marseille prosecutor’s office. [Le Monde]

Prized 4th-century Etruscan frescoes that were first discovered in a tomb in 1857, and recently acquired by Italy for $17 million, just went on display in Rome’s Villa Giulia National Etruscan Museum. [Associated Press]

The Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB) has just announced the names of a second cohort of 27 artists participating in its fifth edition, titled “Angels and Mara” from October 29, 2026 to February 28, 2027. [ArtAsiaPacific]

The Digest

BANKSY, IS THAT YOU? A possible mural by the famously elusive street artist Banksy may have just popped up on the UK’s Hove seafront, reports the Independent. The artwork was first spotted on Monday, not far from the beach, and it shows a kneeling police officer spray-painting a large, dripping heart made out of chains. For now, the waiting game is on to see if Banksy himself will confirm that he is behind the mural, a move he usually makes on social media or his website. But locals are divided. “It’s a nice piece, but it’s definitely by an amateur, it’s smudged from the stencils, zero shading, and it’s not crisp,” writes one Banksy fan on Facebook.