The Baer Faxt

The Baer Faxt Art industry newsletter written and published by Josh Baer.

07/31/2026

The conversation continues—what really is American art, and how has it changed over 250 years? Here is Part II of highlights from a longer walk-through of Sotheby's selling exhibition “American Views: People & Places,” with Sotheby’s Head of Private Sales, Modern Art, Nick Deimel and Josh Baer. ➡️ Link in bio.

The two get into the politics: how to***co company Philip Morris International Inc. used culture to wash its image, how Richard Prince pushed back, and why photographers like Avedon are masters of the craft now dominated by iPhones.

Plus: why the exhibition closes not with art of today, but with Pop Art—the first truly American art movement, and the first time Europe looked to America for influence rather than the other way around.

Two more weeks to see “American Views: People & Places” at Sotheby’s 945 Madison Avenue, New York through August 16. 🐻📠

07/30/2026

What really is American art? This question has never yielded an easy answer — just more speculative questions. Should it be patriotic? Is it inherently political? Does it have to be made by an American, and if so, who decides who counts?

This July, we set out to hear a range of voices for our monthly dispatch, This Month in the Market—and we weren’t the only ones thinking about America’s artistic legacy on the occasion of America’s 250th birthday. We headed to the Breuer Building to explore Sotheby's selling exhibition “American Views: People & Places,” which showcases the multiplicity of voices that have shaped American visual and material culture across five chapters with over 120 artworks and objects.

Here are some highlights from the conversation between Josh Baer and Sotheby’s Head of Private Sales, Modern Art, Nick Deimel—from the universality of the American landscape in Hopper to Richard Prince’s early Marlboro cowboys and what it means to idealize a way of life—around the question at the heart of the issue: what really is American art, and how has it changed over 250 years? ➡️ Link in bio.

It’s a great show and there’s two more weeks to see it at Sotheby’s 945 Madison Avenue, New York through August 16.

Highlights Part II dropping soon! 🐻📠

The Aspen Art Museum’s annual ArtCrush Auction is live now, with works donated by artists and their galleries ranging fr...
07/28/2026

The Aspen Art Museum’s annual ArtCrush Auction is live now, with works donated by artists and their galleries ranging from $500 to over $500,000. Bernie Lagrange of Gagosian Art Advisory shares his top picks in our swipe-through —from Adrián Villar Rojas’s monumental bronze triceratops skull, to the ‘Mischief’ of Ding Shilun to Rachel Rose’s cosmic landscape, and more.

Lots are on view at Aspen Art Museum through July 30. Online bidding is open now through August 1 at 12pm MT. The live auction will take place at the ArtCrush Gala on July 31, conducted by Christie's.



🖼️📸Bernard Lagrange. Photo by Max Montgomery.

Adrián Villar Rojas, ‘Untitled (From the Series The Language of the Enemy)’, 2025. Installation view, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, USA, 2026. Co-commissioned by Aspen Art Museum and Audemars Piguet Contemporary. Photo by Jörg Baumann. Courtesy the artist, Aspen Art Museum, Audemars Piguet Contemporary, kurimanzutto and Marian Goodman Gallery.

Ding Shilun, ‘Mischief’, 2026, courtesy of the artist and Bernheim Gallery London. Photo: Eva Herzog

Anne Imhof, ‘Untitled (Cerberus series)’, 2024, courtesy of the artist and Sprüth Magers. Photo: Ingo Kniest

Rachel Rose, ‘The Rest’, 2026, courtesy of the artist and Gladstone. Photo: Evan John

Ali Eyal, ‘Berlin Drawing Pad, and, (AE 20.002)’, 2020, courtesy of the artist and François Ghebaly Gallery. Photo: Charles Benton

Few artists have confronted the weight of American history as insistently and articulately as Titus Kaphar. The breadth ...
07/23/2026

Few artists have confronted the weight of American history as insistently and articulately as Titus Kaphar. The breadth of the painter, sculptor, and filmmaker’s work is formidable; it’s difficult to know where to start. So when The Baer Faxt set out to profile Kaphar this summer, we began with a simple, open-ended prompt: What’s been on your mind lately? The artist, whose thoughtfulness comes through in conversation as clearly as it does in his art, had a lot to say.

Become a paid subscriber to receive your copy of July’s issue of This Month in the Market—link in bio 🐻📠



📸 © Titus Kaphar. Courtesy Gagosian. Photo: Thomas Lannes

What is American art, and who gets to decide? Our July issue of This Month in the Market just dropped, and it couldn’t b...
07/22/2026

What is American art, and who gets to decide? Our July issue of This Month in the Market just dropped, and it couldn’t be more timely. On the occasion of America’s 250th birthday, we’re asking a question that has never yielded an easy answer but in this political moment, feels more urgent than ever.

Whitney Museum curator and scholar Marcela Guerrero penned a nuanced, galvanizing essay that reframes the question entirely: is “American art” a mirror held up to nationalism, or a stealthy Trojan Horse for dissent?

Subscribe today to read the full take. Also in the issue: a profile of Titus Kaphar, an artist who has who has long confronted the weight of American history; an artwork by Bruce Nauman, one of America’s greatest “post-Pop” artists; and a video walkthrough of Sotheby’s selling exhibition “American Views: People & Places” with Josh Baer and Sotheby’s Head of Private Sales, Modern Art in New York, Nick Deimel.

Become a paid subscriber to receive your copy via the link in bio 🐻📠

London’s Tate (Tate) announced that Jessica Morgan—current Director of Dia Art Foundation—will be the next Director, com...
07/22/2026

London’s Tate (Tate) announced that Jessica Morgan—current Director of Dia Art Foundation—will be the next Director, commencing January 2027.

Jessica returns to Tate after more than a decade at Dia, before which she was The Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, from 2010 to 2014 at Tate Modern, and Curator at Tate from 2002 to 2010.

Congratulations Jessica! Who will be the next Director of Dia, we wonder? 👀

ICYMI — highlights from our June issue of This Month in the Market, where Basel took center stage. We spoke with Elena F...
07/14/2026

ICYMI — highlights from our June issue of This Month in the Market, where Basel took center stage. We spoke with Elena Filipovic, Director of the Kunstmuseum Basel, and Michael McGinnis, former Phillips CEO and Mnuchin Gallery Partner, about their histories with the city and its fair.

Become a paid subscriber to receive your copy, and stay tuned for our July issue, dropping next week. On America’s 250th birthday, we’re tackling the question: what is American art?

🐻📠

Summer is the time to travel, so why not plan an itinerary around one of the global art fairs happening now through Labo...
07/08/2026

Summer is the time to travel, so why not plan an itinerary around one of the global art fairs happening now through Labor Day? Check out our round-up of this summer’s key art fairs, conveniently located in some of The Baer Faxt’s favorite destination cities: Aspen, Seattle, Sydney and Seoul. 

Click the ‘share’ button to rally your fellow art world travelers, and tell us your summer art plans in the comments below.

📸
1. Courtesy of Manifesta
2. Courtesy of Manifesta
3. Courtesy of Seattle Art Fair
4. Courtesy of Aspen Art Fair
5. Courtesy of Frieze Seoul
6. Courtesy of Kiaf Seoul
7. Courtesy of Sydney Contemporary

The New Museum’s new director is anything but new to the institution—congratulations to Massimiliano Gioni (Massimiliano...
07/07/2026

The New Museum’s new director is anything but new to the institution—congratulations to Massimiliano Gioni (Massimiliano Gioni) on his appointment! Gioni has been with the institution since 2006, making him one of its longest-serving and most formative voices.

New Museum

07/07/2026

In recent years, the art world has bemoaned the proliferation of art fair preview PDFs—an evil necessity, some might say. This year for Art Basel in Basel, a new initiative was unveiled: Art Basel Exclusive—where galleries could opt-in to withholding one or more works from their previews, creating more anticipation and excitement around opening day. Did it work? Hear it straight from CEO Noah Horowitz! For those that call bias—we were there, and the energy was too.

Hear more in the full interview on our YouTube channel — link in bio 🐻📠

This episode of The Baer Faxt Live was recorded on Wednesday, June 17th, 2026 and is sponsored by Manuela New York () by ArtFarm.

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