Trump Removes NEH Chair, Experts ID Rare Delacroix Oil Study, and More

Good morning!

The Headlines

TRUMP REMOVES NEA CHAIR. Shelly C. Lowe, the Chair of the National Endowment for Humanities, has stepped down from her position, “at the direction of President Trump,” reports The New York Times. The 1965-founded NEH awards major grants to museums, historic sites, universities, and libraries, among others. A scholar of higher education, Lowe was the first Native American to lead the federal organization and was appointed by former President Joseph R. Biden. Her dismissal is being viewed as yet another example of anti-DEI measures under the current administration.

DELACROIX DISCOVERY. Experts have positively authenticated a rare artwork by French painter Eugène Delacroix, hanging in a private home near Tour, France, and it will head to auction later this month, reports Le Figaro and AFP. The 20 inches x 24 inches study in oil depicts one of the artist’s favorite subjects: lions. They can be seen lounging and sleeping in seven different postures, rendered in fluid, almost sketch-like strokes. “The owner wasn’t sure that it was a Delacroix. When I came into the living room, my attention was immediately drawn by its magnetism. It was very moving. We regularly see Delacroix oeuvres in museums, but very rarely in private hands,” said Malo de Lussac, an expert who authenticated the piece. Estimated to be worth between 200,000 and 300,000 euros, it will be up for sale at the Drouot auction house on March 28.

The Digest

Archaeologists have unearthed the torso of a 12th or 13th-century statue of Buddha in Cambodia’s Angkor temple complex, which matches a head found at the site nearly a century ago. The torso standing 3.75 feet tall, was found at Angkor’s Ta Prohm temple, along with 29 fragments that appear to be from the same sculpture. [Associated Press]

Staff at the Paris digital, music, and media arts museum, Gaîté Lyrique, have evacuated the institution, leaving it to nearly 450 young migrants, who took over the building and have been squatting there for months. The migrants claim that they are minors and therefore deserve to be housed and supported by the government, but authorities earlier ruled that they were not children, and should be considered undocumented adults. Meanwhile, the museum staff refused to force the squatters out, particularly during the cold, winter months. [Le Figaro]

This summer, the public will get a closer glimpse of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s new David Geffen Galleries. The museum will open parts of the plaza around the new galleries designed by Peter Zumthor and offer tours of the empty building to donors and members in June, plus, a site-specific performance by Kamasi Washington will be held in the new building June 26-28. LACMA’s grand opening is expected in April 2026. [The Los Angeles Times]

A new proposal for renovating Penn Station appears to take cues from Trump’s classical architecture order. Renderings of the design presented by the Grand Penn Community Alliance (GPCA) depict a classical façade lined with Doric columns and a park plaza in place of Madison Square Garden. [Hyperallergic]

The Kicker

ARTIST MIGRATIONS. Artists are moving away from New York’s bustling Lower East Side, and finding welcoming homes in Bushwick and the South Bronx, reports Elephant. These new artist haunts, “offer the perfect balance of ambiance and solitude, fostering creativity without the distractions of busier districts,” writes Jo Rosenthal. Artists interviewed for the story describe how their new, more intimate digs in areas that also have supportive communities, are impacting their art practices. “Outside my window, there’s a tree-lined street and a private park. It’s quiet … Friends live and work nearby, and I work better when someone is in my space with me. These elements play a subtle role in how my paintings come together,” said Zoë Argires.