Ten years ago, if you had told a Londoner that Pikachu would be perched somewhere between the dinosaur skeletons at the Natural History Museum, they might have raised an eyebrow. In 2026, it is drawing the kind of crowds most institutions would envy. The collaboration is a short-term, carefully managed pop-up, clearly designed to bring in a younger generation without compromising the museum’s standing. Judging by the surge in demand, the bet is already paying off.

The 2026 Pokémon Pop Up

In early 2026, the Natural History Museum opened a Pokémon pop-up in partnership with the franchise as it celebrated its 30th anniversary. Yes, we are that old. Entry is free, but you need a timed ticket, and those tickets are flying out the door just as soon as they are issued.

The experience is staged inside the museum’s retail space rather than its permanent galleries, which means you don’t have to worry that you’ll suddenly trip over Pikachu as you wander past fossils. Instead, it is a clearly contained, curated, and temporary event. Visitors can browse exclusive merchandise and pick up a promotional trading card that places Pikachu inside the museum itself, a clever collector’s touch.

In its press material, the museum has leaned into the idea of linking Pokémon creatures with themes of environment, adaptation, and evolution.

Why a Pop-Up?

Pop-ups may seem peripheral and superficial, but they can be very useful to a museum when targeted for a specific purpose. They allow institutions to test concepts without committing them to stone, especially crucial in this modern era of two-minute headlines. A pop-up can be tested, adjusted, and quietly removed, all without disturbing the museum’s long-term identity. Forgotten or engraved in the museum’s history, depending on its success.

For an institution the size and prominence of the Natural History Museum in London, that flexibility is priceless. It also reflects how visitors behave and how retail spaces are no longer seen as a gimmicky afterthought tacked onto the end of a museum visit. For many, especially younger visitors, they can become a destination in their own right. By placing Pokémon in the museum’s retail space, visitors are not forced through a new route through the building, but they’re being enticed to visit for one sole purpose.

And yes, should they feel the urge to buy an admission ticket to see the museum’s other exhibits, that would be just lovely.

The Underrated Usefulness of “Pokécology”

The word itself may sound playfully silly, but it is actually quite telling. The world of Pokémon has always been organized around set systems: creatures belong to specific environments, they adapt to conditions, and even evolve over time. Classification and comparisons are at the core of the franchise, and interestingly, those mechanics can be presented to mirror the foundations of natural history.

Long before visitors delve into taxonomy or ecology on a museum exhibit label, many might already understand these concepts intuitively through games.

What This Collaboration Says About Museum Audiences

The Natural History Museum is not short of visitors. School groups file through its halls every week, and families return year after year. But like many large institutions, it tends to lose appeal somewhere between childhood and adulthood. Once the school trips stop, so do the regular visits. Teenagers and young adults often connect museums with assignments rather than choice, and at some point around the age of 18, they simply stop visiting.

Most Londoners have been at least once, usually as children staring up at dinosaurs or later as adults hosting out-of-town guests. It’s the years in between that are harder to reach.

This collaboration seems to acknowledge that reality. Instead of assuming its reputation alone will pull younger audiences back through the doors, the museum decided to meet them on more familiar ground. Pokémon is not the lesson here; it is the invitation.

Once inside, the institution can do what it has always done well.

There is also a rather practical dimension to all this, of course: the commercial value. As museums operate under increasing financial pressure, retail remains one of the few reliable revenue streams that does not involve increasing admission fees.

Pokémon merchandise has been proven to sell well, particularly when it is exclusive and time-limited. The collab is perhaps best appreciated for its transparency, given that the museum clearly describes it as a retail experience tied to a broader theme. Visitors know exactly what they are engaging with when they pop in, and that kind of clarity does no harm at all.

Why Now?

By 2026, most visitors under thirty will have grown up entirely within digital systems. Their expectations of learning spaces, nowadays, are shaped by interaction, immersion, structure, and feedback rather than static display. A far cry from the learn-by-rote systems in place for prior generations.

Perhaps surprisingly, museums continue to be among the most trusted public institutions, and that trust gives them the room they need to adapt how they present themselves, even if only for a limited time. This Pokémon collaboration sits neatly at that intersection: small enough to be controlled but visible enough to be instructive.

The Pokémon pop-up will run until mid-April 2026, and if you thought the buzz around these creatures had faded with time, look at what has happened this month. When the Natural History Museum opened ticketing in January, its website buckled under the weight of demand and crashed, a level of interest unexpected for an exhibition tied to a beloved childhood game.

The enthusiasm for all things Pokémon doesn’t seem to be waning. In a headline-grabbing sale, Logan Paul’s PSA-10 graded Pikachu Illustrator card has just fetched $16 million at auction, setting a new world record for the most expensive trading card ever sold and confirming that the market for Pokémon memorabilia is in full roar.

For anyone over 50 who considers Pokémon a childhood trend that belonged to a single decade, this is your reminder that it has evolved alongside its fans. If recent events are anything to go by, Pokémon’s impact is as powerful now as it was when we first encountered it. And it’s showing no sign of slowing.

Few things are as impressive as a well-curated collection of rare books. However, without the knowledge, your prized collection could quickly become worthless. This handy guide will help the aspiring and seasoned collector to get the most out of their collections. Throughout this article, the terms “antiquarian” and “rare” books will be used interchangeably. Read on to discover how to turn your passion for books into a treasure trove of rare books.

1.  Decide Your Niche

Collecting rare books is a lot like collecting art and many of the same rules apply to both. Building a rare book collection takes time, patience, and funds. However, your primary aim should always be the enjoyment, excitement, and love for antiquarian books.

Whether you like a particular author or you are after rare medieval manuscripts, starting with a particular focus will help you decide what to purchase or leave behind. For example, Patrick’s Rare Books started as a passion project for collecting antiquarian medical and theological books. Soon, friends and colleagues began requesting books, and a passion project and hobby turned into a lucrative business.

Sometimes collecting books can serve a purely aesthetic purpose. You can arrange your books by color, shape, or interesting patterns—a rare book collection should bring you joy and fulfillment. Take a leaf out of Isabella Stewart Gardner’s book: collect what you love, take pride in it, and enjoy every moment of your collection.

2. Gloves Off

It is a common misconception that you should handle antiquarian books or manuscripts with gloves. Although you might feel the urge to handle a fragile manuscript or rare book with gloves because it is so expensive, do not do it. Wearing gloves takes away your tactile perception and you can easily damage a book. Clean, dry hands are a rare book’s best friend.

Although you might lick your fingertip when paging through a magazine, never do this when handling an antiquarian book.

Unfortunately, leather-bound books have a weakness in the joint—the point where the book bends when you open the cover. When you lay a book flat on a table, it is easy to break it at the joint. Gently pick up the book, support the spine with your non-dominant hand, and open the cover with the dominant hand. Always support the weight of the cover with your fingers.

Large and heavy books are best laid down on a clean, forgiving surface such as a book cushion, foam cradle, or other suitable v-shaped holder. Next, keeping the book upright, you can open the cover until it forms a 90º angle while the book lies flat on the surface. The book block (the bulk of the book you are holding upright, excluding the spine) can be lowered onto the surface. You can now turn the pages carefully until you find the entry or page you are looking for.

These rules will help you keep your rare books in a fine condition without damaging the joints or spine which could lead to loosened pages or breaking the joint or spine.

It should go without saying that you should ensure there is no food or beverages near your old books—whether you are paging through them or when they are stored on their special shelves.

3. Ensure Optimal Storage Conditions

The best way to store any book is upright on a shelf. But there is a caveat—do not pack the books tightly onto the shelf to get as many as possible on there. Books need to “breathe” due to temperature and humidity fluctuations. Larger books can be stacked on top of each other but take care not to stack them too high because it may put pressure on the books at the bottom leading to damage.

If you have books with metal furniture like bosses or clasps they should be kept separate from other books. The best way to store these books is inside a solander or clamshell case.

Sometimes, a book has a dust jacket to preserve its original appearance. The best option in this case is to use polyester or acetate film. Never store a book in a sealed plastic bag because it can trap mold and moisture and destroy your books—remember, books need to breathe.

4. Do Not Pull On the Spine

As Patrick explains in the video above, avoid pulling the book by the top of the spine and tipping it toward you. It will crack the top of the spine and lead to a torn headpiece. The best way is to reach into the shelf and push the book toward you until you can hold the book firmly and pull it from the shelf.

5. Invest in Sturdy Shelves

Shelves need to be level and not sag in the middle—this may lead to irreparable damage in the future and detract from the book’s value. You also need to take a book properly off the shelf.

In the same vein, resist the temptation to line all your books to be flush with the shelf edge. A splayed book is a damaged book and detracts from the book’s value. Shelving books with their spines flush with the edge of the shelf leads to splaying. The boards tend to “open up” or curve outward and away from the spine. Storing too many books on a shelf means they will be too tight—combining larger and smaller books causes the boards to bend outward.

6. Temperature and Humidity Control

Once you have your books properly stored, take note that humidity, light, and temperature are an antiquarian book’s worst enemies in the wrong doses.

Direct sunlight is any book’s worst enemy. Over time, the spines will fade, but even worse, the local temperature will rise. If sunlight is unavoidable because of large windows, a UV film can be applied to the glass panes to filter the sun’s harmful rays. Bookcases with glass doors will also help to filter the light and keep your books happy.

Books dislike warm and dry conditions. The ideal temperature for storing rare books is between 60º and 66ºF (16–19ºC), but most homes are slightly warmer, ranging between 66º and 70ºF (19–21ºC). The upper range is still fine for books, but when the temperature rises above this, it may cause damage to your prized possessions.

It can get even warmer during the summer or in winter when using the central heating. As romantic as a roaring fireplace (or heater) in the library sounds during winter, it is best avoided because it will dry the air and cause damage to the books.

Humidity encourages the growth of mold—not only in bathrooms but also in book collections. When the air is too dry, your books’ pages will become brittle and break when you handle them. A relative humidity of around 50% will keep your books happy and lasting for generations to come.

Storing books in the attic or basement is also a no-go because the temperature fluctuates too much.

7. Starting a Collection Does Not Have to Be Expensive

Becoming a top-tier collector does not fall within a mere mortal’s budget or lifetime. That is alright too! The point of building a collection is to have a springboard from which you can expand your collection.

Some people like collecting wine, other people collect toys, while others like collecting comic books. Yet, the rare book collector is in a class of their own. Starting a collection also puts you in touch with a piece of tangible history. You learn about people’s ideas and you connect with people from a different time.

On the whole, antiquarian booksellers love sharing their knowledge with both new and experienced collectors. Do not be afraid to ask about their less expensive books and explain your intentions and interests. They would be more than happy to show you some of their cheaper books and guide you.

8. Keep Smoke and Dust at Bay

Books are good at absorbing smells—some traditionalists like those smells but it is not advisable. A roaring fire or wood-burning stove in the same room as your books does not provide the best conditions. Likewise, cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoking near your books is not advisable. Smoking of any kind creates a yellow nicotine film on the spines and pages.

We all know the basics about preventing household fires, but storing antiquarian books in clamshell cases can protect them from an accidental fire. When books are properly stored, they can suffer minimal damage from fire, but the spines can be irreparably damaged, necessitating a rebind by a bookmaker or book restorer.

Storing books in a dusty environment is a quick way to introduce insects that love eating paper and inevitably, destroy your books. Using a soft brush is a good way to remove dust from the spine and edges. However, when dusting your books, be careful not to brush the dirt into the pages—you do not want to give those book-eating critters a food source. Bookcases with glass doors are another way to keep the dust away from your books.

9. Do Estate Planning and Catalog Your Collection

We all think our final days on earth are still far away, but as memento mori artworks remind us, we will all eventually die.

You have spent your whole life curating a rare book collection and it would be a shame for it to go to waste. Many collectors do not think about what will happen to their collection when they pass away. Proper estate planning is essential to ensure your collection lives on after you have exchanged the temporary with the eternal.

Quick Tips:

• The first step is to catalog your collection as explained in the video above. Knowing what you have will help to guide future purchases and also assist your loved ones in knowing the extent of your collection.
• Discuss your collection with potential heirs. It may be an awkward conversation, but it will save everyone time and effort if they know what to do with your collection.
• Put your wishes in your testament. A verbal agreement will not hold in a court of law. Put your desires in writing, name your heirs, and specify how your collection should be split, or sold after your death.

Consulting with an estate planner will save a lot of trouble down the line for you and your potential heirs. Remember, you cannot live forever, but your collection and legacy can with proper estate planning.

10. Education is Key

The rare book community loves their jargon like any other trade and learning some of the basic terms in the rare book world and understanding what they mean can help a lot. This will help you understand descriptions you may read on the internet or in rare book dealers’ catalogs. Some helpful websites include:

• The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, who offers advice on collecting interesting articles.
• Stanford University Libraries has a useful list of rare book terms you can consult to broaden your knowledge.
• Another handy guide to antiquarian book terms can be found at Between the Covers Rare Books and it includes thumbnails alongside the explanations.

Do you know the difference between a foolscap, folio, and crown octavo-size book? Learning about book sizes will help you to visualize the size of a book. In simple terms, the terms explain how many times a page was folded before it became a book with printed pages. For example, a folio is folded once and results in two leaves, but a quarto is folded twice and has four leaves—each leaf is a quarter of the original sheet of paper. An octavo? You guessed it! Eight folds.

While rare books give us a glimpse into the minds and worlds of people before us, there are also caricatures, descriptions, ideas, racist tropes, and terms that can be seen as hurtful.

A first edition of Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman may be a tempting buy because it is considered a classic children’s book in the Western canon. However, booksellers are doing their best to be more sensitive and inclusive in the descriptions by asking By, For, and About. It is a book by a white Scottish woman Helen Brodie Cowan Bannerman about Black characters from a white perspective and there are racist tropes and caricatures in the book. Was it meant for a Black audience? Certainly not.

Booksellers will use bracketing when describing the book, perhaps something like [Children’s Literature] along with [Racist Caricature] to show that although it is a children’s book, the Black main character is presented in a racist way.

Although the above is aimed at booksellers, it is important information for aspiring and seasoned collectors to be aware of.

The Final Chapter

Collecting books is a fun hobby that anyone can begin. The options are vast and there is something for everyone’s taste. There is the thrill of tracking down a special copy you need to add to your collection or admiring antiquarian books at book fairs.

Or, maybe, you love books as objects and love surrounding yourself with tomes filled with arcane knowledge. Perhaps you are like Edgar Allan Poe’s character Roderick Usher, who is interested in the occult and has a collection spanning subjects like witch-hunting, and journeys under the earth, among others. Perhaps you would like to invest in antiquarian books because their value may increase.

Whatever your reason for collecting books, take a leaf from Sir John Soane’s book: collect what you like and display it with pride for the world to see and enjoy. Remember, storing and handling your books properly will keep their appearance in top condition and preserve them for the next generation of book lovers.

After toppling the Provisional Government and executing the last tsar’s family, the Bolsheviks seized the former imperial government’s wealth. When the Soviets began running short on funds, they opened the treasure chests stored in the Kremlin’s Diamond Fund. The People’s Finance Committee decided to sell hundreds of jewelry, Fabergé eggs, and tsarist regalia items, such as Catherine the Great’s gems, to Western buyers. Valued at five million rubles or over $1 billion today, some of these items entered private collections, while other notable treasures disappeared from history.

1. Crown Jewels

When World War I broke out in 1914, the Russian government packed and sealed the crown jewels into eight trunks. These trunks, shipped from the capital of Petrograd (St Petersburg) to Moscow, arrived at the Armory Chamber in the Kremlin. The trunks stayed sealed with their wealth of historic treasures until the war ended and the Soviets opened the trunks in 1922. To their surprise, they found 773 jewels, imperial regalia, and bars of gold, platinum, and silver.

After the downfall of the Romanovs in 1917, the Soviets realized that the jewels seized from the imperial family and other aristocrats were disappearing at lightning speed. Even the first 63-member committee, tasked with securing and recording the treasures, fell under suspicion when gems continued to disappear. The Bolsheviks executed several committee members for theft and shipped others off to Siberia.

In 1922, the Bolsheviks established another committee. This time, famous mineralogist Aleksandr Evgenevich Fersman and jewel experts, which included Agathon Fabergé, began cataloging and photographing the 25,300 carats of diamonds, 3,200 carats of rare Colombian emeralds, and 2,600 carats of Ceylon, Kashmir, and Siam sapphires found in Russian crown jewels and regalia. Listed as of “great historical value,” these gems included topazes, amethysts, garnets, turquoises, beryl, and alexandrite, jewelry such as aquamarine diadems, rings, earrings, and necklaces, and loose gemstones such as diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and pearls.

This collection spanned the fourteenth through twentieth centuries, from before the reign of Ivan the Terrible to Nicholas II, and included treasures such as the 189-carat Orlov diamond, the Imperial Nuptial Crown, and the Imperial Globe decorated with a 200-carat sapphire.

The Soviets vacillated between keeping the treasures on account of their historical significance and selling them off to gain hard currency during the post-civil war famine. In 1925, the Soviet government published a special committee report, Russia’s Treasure of Diamonds and Precious Stones, to publicize that they did not intend to sell the 406 Romanov jewels featured in the record. According to a 1719 imperial decree by Peter the Great, no one could buy, sell, or give away these jewels. But since the Bolsheviks had destroyed the old order, these rules no longer applied.

Multiple jewels went up for international auction under Joseph Stalin several years later. Between 1927 and 1938, the Soviets sold three-quarters or 569 of the imperial jewels to buyers at Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses. Many of these jewels disappeared without a trace after the sale.

2. Fabergé Egg – Hen With Sapphire Pendant

Most people have heard of the House of Fabergé, the Russian luxury jewelry firm estimated to have created 150,000-200,000 pieces during its existence. Famed as the court jeweler to tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II, the Fabergé firm made 69 imperial eggs for the Romanovs between 1885 and 1916.

After the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks nationalized the company and seized its stock. In the aftermath, seven Fabergé eggs went missing. These eggs, valued at millions of dollars apiece, currently include one of the first Fabergé eggs commissioned by Emperor Alexander III for his wife, Maria Feodorovna. Known as the Fabergé Hen Egg with a Sapphire Pendant, no known images of this lost egg exist. Commissioned in 1886, the egg, made of gold and decorated with hundreds of rose diamonds, showcased a hen holding a sapphire egg pendant in her beak after taking it out of a gold nest.

Until the Russian Revolution, the egg lived at the Dowager Empress’ home at the Anichkov Palace in St Petersburg. After 1922, when an inventory showed that it was housed in the Kremlin’s Armory Palace collection, the egg’s trail went cold.

Today, it remains a mystery whether the egg is lost or ended up in the hands of a private collector who has never revealed its existence.

3. The Mauve Fabergé Egg

Crafted by Fabergé for the Dowager Empress in 1897, the Mauve Egg likely had a gold and mauve enamel shell enclosing a heart-shaped surprise that opened like a three-leaf clover. These three miniatures, made from rose-cut diamonds, pearls, and red, white, and green enamel, finished with watercolors painted on ivory, are the only parts of the Mauve Egg that survive today. The surprise depicted Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna, and their baby, Grand Duchess Olga.

This Fabergé egg did not appear in either the 1917 or 1922 inventories that listed confiscated Romanov valuables. This leaves the possibility that either Maria Feodorovna escaped with it when she left Russia or someone else took it before the Soviets had a chance to document it.

For treasure hunters, it is interesting to note that in February 1933, the Soviets transferred the Armory to the commandant’s office in the Kremlin. During this transition, Commandant Rudolf Peterson released three Faberge Easter eggs without any documentation other than verbal instruction. With the eggs scattered around the former empire or snapped up by foreign buyers, Romanov memorabilia such as Easter eggs, jewelry, icons, and other valuables turned up in antique shops like Armand Hammer’s department stores in the United States during the 1930s. In 1924, the House of Fabergé moved to Paris, refurbishing and recreating items reminiscent of former imperial glory.

A final possible mention of the Mauve Egg appeared during the Exhibition of Russian Art at Belgrave Square in London in 1935. Lent to the exhibition by the Dowager Empress’ daughter, Grand Duchess Xenia, the exhibition catalogue offered an Easter egg containing a miniature portrait of Empress Alexandra and Grand Duchess Olga. It did not, however, mention a miniature picture of the last tsar.

4. Nicholas II’s Diamond-Encrusted Saber

While there remains little historical information about a specific saber encrusted with diamonds owned by the last tsar, a former KGB officer later revealed that Nicholas II and his son, Tsarevich Alexei, owned diamond-encrusted sabers at the time of their exile to Tobolsk and later at Ekaterinburg, where they were murdered in July 1918.

During the 1930s and early 1940s, Josef Stalin undertook special operations to track down the former tsar’s treasures, with limited success.

The whereabouts of these prized sabers remain unknown today since many personal items of inestimable value that the Romanovs smuggled with them to Siberia have disappeared without a trace.

5. Royal Danish Egg

This deluxe egg, also known as the Danish Jubilee Egg, mysteriously disappeared from its perch at the Gatchina Palace after July 1917.

Made by the Fabergé firm in 1903, this jeweled and enameled Easter Egg belonged to Nicholas II’s mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. Inside the pale blue egg, studded with gold and precious stones, nestled a double-sided stand with two portraits of Maria Feodorovna’s parents, King Christian IX of Denmark and Queen Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Topping out at a whopping nine inches in height, upheld by heraldic lions, and crowned with a miniature figurine of the Danish ancient Order of the Elephant, the Royal Danish Egg was one of the largest Faberge eggs ever made.

Nicholas II sent it to his mother during her Easter trip to Denmark to commemorate the 40th anniversary of her father’s accession to the throne. It is one of the three lost Fabergé eggs that only exists in a single photograph.

6. Wheat Sheaf Diadem

The Wheat Sheaf Diadem is one of the Romanovs’ most fabulous missing treasures. Created for the last tsar’s mother, this stunning headpiece featured six glittering gold wheat ears intertwined with delicate platinum stalks of flax, that inclined toward the tiara’s front. The diadem symbolized the sun rising over Russian fields of grain.

This masterful tiara, encrusted with chunks of diamonds and a giant 32.52-carat, colorless leuco sapphire at the center to represent the sun, disappeared after the 1927 Christie’s auction.

In a bitter historical irony, the sale of this item came just five years after Communism’s mass famine that killed an estimated five million people and three years before collectivization and its associated Holodomor famine, which left around 3.9 million people dead.

Experts have speculated that a buyer might have dismantled the Wheat Sheaf tiara or that it may currently sit in the private collection of old money collectors in either Switzerland or Prague.

In 1980, a Soviet jeweler replicated the lost tiara with a mix of gold, diamonds, and platinum to represent the country’s agricultural wealth. Today, this recreation sits on display in the Kremlin’s Diamond Fund in Moscow.

7. Alexander III Commemorative Egg

Another item that vanished without a trace during or after the Russian Revolution is one of 51 Easter Fabergé eggs crafted by the Romanovs’ court jeweler.

Commissioned by Nicholas II for his mother, the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna in 1909, this imperial Easter egg consisted of a matte white enamel egg decorated with gold bands, two brilliant diamonds, and 3,767 rose-cut diamonds. Inside the egg, the surprise consisted of a miniature gold bust depicting Tsar Alexander III mounted on a lapis lazuli pedestal studded with rose-cut diamonds.

Last seen in July 1917 at the Gatchina Palace before the Bolsheviks seized power, this lost egg only exists in a single photograph.

8. Imperial Gold

For over 100 years, the question of Russia’s lost imperial gold hoard has intrigued generations of treasure seekers. Now, the answer to the mystery might be found at the bottom of the deepest freshwater lake in the world.

During the summer of 1918, a bitter civil war raged between Red and White forces in Siberia. In May, the Czechoslovak Legion revolted against the Bolsheviks and fought to break out of the Russian East via the Trans-Siberian Railway. This event triggered the rise of anti-Soviet governments and the presence of Allied troops on Siberian soil.

In Omsk, an anti-Soviet government rose, led by Admiral Alexander Kolchak, who took the title of Supreme Ruler of Russia. Meanwhile, advancing Bolshevik forces had their eyes on the stores of imperial gold bullion, valued at approximately 410 million rubles, stored in the vaults of the Kazan Bank. When Leon Trotsky and the Red Army pushed the Whites back beyond Kazan in 1919, the Soviets marched up the bank steps to seize the gold. To their surprise, the vaults stood empty. The Bolsheviks discovered that Kolchak had evacuated the gold and shipped it aboard the Czech Legion’s armored train to Siberia where the revolutionary regime did not yet have a foothold. The Reds boarded their own armored train to chase down the treasure.

In Irkutsk, 40,000 members of the Czech Legion, hired by Imperial Russia to fight on the Allied side in the First World War and stranded in Siberia when the Bolsheviks cut off escape routes to the West, waited for a chance to obtain safe passage to return home. Disillusioned with Kolchak authoritarian ways and resentful at their unsuccessful power struggle to control the gold reserves, the Legion cut a deal with the Bolsheviks.

In return for safe passage out of Siberia, the Legion withdrew their support for Admiral Kolchak and the gold reserves and surrendered most of their weapons. They handed them over to the Red Political Center. As a result, the Bolsheviks promised to allow the Czech Legion to set sail from the port at Vladivostok. The Bolsheviks seized the gold and signed a truce that enabled the Czechs to continue their journey to Russia’s Far East. A Soviet firing squad executed Kolchak and pushed his body into a hole cut into the ice on the Angara River on February 7, 1920. After this, the Red Army consolidated its control over Siberia.

While Kolchak’s story ended in Irkutsk, the story of the imperial treasure continued. When the Bolsheviks went to load their train with 235 million rubles’ worth of bullion to ship back to Kazan, they discovered that almost half of the gold had disappeared.

Some researchers suspect that either the Whites or the Czechs tried to smuggle up to 200 tons of gold on a train traversing the Trans-Siberian Railway across the rocky Sayan Mountains to Japan. The overloaded cars may have slipped and rolled down the rocky slopes and disappeared into Lake Baikal’s deep water. According to KGB sources, the Soviets discovered 26 boxes of tsarist gold hidden in an underground stash site three miles from the railway’s Tayga station.

During the 1930s and early 1940s, the search for the rest of the imperial gold continued. Stalin even initiated a major treasure-hunting operation to retrieve the missing gold estimated at £50 billion today. While the operation managed to recover one gold stash in 1933, they failed to uncover the rest of the hoard. In 2010, Russian Mir-2 mini-submarines trawling the lake’s depths uncovered fragments of a broken railway line, civil-war-period ammunition boxes, and the presence of metallic objects lying on the bottom of the lake.

Without further exploration, the legend of what may have happened to the treasure trove of Tsarist gold will continue to intrigue generations of adventure seekers and history buffs.

Every other year, Venice transforms its winding network of canals into a citywide art gallery. The Venice Biennale is often referred to as “the Olympics of the art world.” It is an international art festival that includes a curated main show, dozens of national pavilions, and citywide events, from museum retrospectives to guerrilla performances. From its 1895 debut to the present day, the Venice Biennale has become the world’s most influential gathering of contemporary creativity.

The Royal Beginnings of the Biennale

The Venice Biennale began as a royal celebration. In 1895, the Italian city launched an international art exhibition to honor the silver anniversary of King Umberto I and Queen Margherita. Inspired by earlier European expos, the inaugural Venice Biennale was revolutionary in its scope, featuring artists from 14 countries. Over 200,000 visitors attended that first edition, reinforcing Venice as a locus of global art. Since then, despite pauses during wartime and the COVID-19 pandemic, the mission of the Venice Biennale has stayed consistent: to showcase the best of contemporary art.

The Evolution of a Cultural Powerhouse

What began as a painting exhibition has since evolved into a multidisciplinary cultural powerhouse. The Venice Biennale alternates yearly between contemporary art and architecture and has expanded to include music, theater, dance, and the Venice Film Festival. This makes it one of the most comprehensive cultural platforms globally.

The heart of the Venice Biennale lies in the city’s Castello district, anchored by two iconic venues: the Giardini, home to 30 permanent national pavilions, and the Arsenale, a former shipyard turned into a massive exhibition space. As more countries joined the Biennale, many established their pavilions in palazzos, churches, and storefronts across the city.

Defining Moments and Artistic Breakthroughs

For over a century, the Venice Biennale has served as a springboard for radical ideas and emerging voices. Each edition is shaped by a curatorial theme and awards coveted Golden and Silver Lions to standout artists and national pavilions. In 1964, the American avant-garde artist Robert Rauschenberg won the Golden Lion—the first non-European to do so. His prize marked a major shift in the art world from Abstract Expressionism toward Pop Art.

Two years later, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama staged Narcissus Garden, scattering 1,500 mirrored spheres outside the 33rd Venice Biennale’s Italian Pavilion. Donning a gold kimono, Kusama sold the spheres for $2 apiece beside signs that read “YOUR NARCISSIUM [sic] FOR SALE.” Kusama had not been officially invited to the Biennale, so her piece was a legendary act of subversion—critiquing the art world’s vanity, commercialization, and exoticism.

Contemporary artists of all stripes continue to address politics, identity, and history at the Venice Biennale. In 1993, conceptual artist Hans Haacke shattered the floor of the German Pavilion to confront the legacy of fascism. Zineb Sedira’s 2022 presentation in the French Pavilion explored postcolonial memory through film and installation.

In 2024, the main exhibition’s theme, Foreigners Everywhere, invited artists to reflect on migration and belonging. Jeffrey Gibson, the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States with a solo presentation, responded with a vibrant installation fusing Native motifs, queer aesthetics, and pop culture.

The Biennale Effect: Global Reach and What’s Next

Since the mid-20th century, the Venice Biennale has inspired over 100 international contemporary art biennales, including major events in São Paulo, Istanbul, Gwangju, and Sharjah. These offshoots are helping to shift the art world’s center of gravity away from traditional Western capitals.

Today, the Venice Biennale typically hosts exhibitions from up to 90 countries in its official art and architecture events. Countries use their pavilions to share their stories with a rare global audience. Additionally, while the Biennale formally ended art sales in the 1970s, its influence on the market remains strong. Top galleries strategically position rising artists in the Biennale, while collectors and curators frequent the event to scout new talent.

This year, the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale opened on May 10 and runs through November 23, 2025. Curated by Carlo Ratti, the main exhibition is titled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. and explores how architecture can respond to climate change with various forms of intelligence. The festival features over 750 participants from around the world.

The 61st edition of the Venice Biennale is scheduled to run from May 9 to November 22, 2026. Although the artistic director and central theme of the event have yet to be announced, the art world is already gearing up for the event.

Provenance can be summarized as the documented history of an artwork’s ownership. In auction catalogs and even online auction lot descriptions, there’s always a brief description of an artwork’s prior ownership. This usually comes with various documents proving the past sales and purchases of the artwork in question. So, what is provenance used for, and why should you care about who owned a painting in the past?

Why Unraveling Provenance Matters

First, let’s define provenance. In the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, provenance means “the listing of the previous ownership of a work of art, forming an essential part of its history.” A well-documented provenance provides indispensable background information on an artwork’s origin.

Knowing who owned an artwork throughout the ages makes it much easier to form conclusions about the artwork’s genuineness. Was it really painted by the claimed author, or is it done in their style? Is it perhaps a copy of a famous original? Or a forgery? What is its provenance saying about the way it came to belong to its current owner? There are many scenarios, and knowing an artwork’s documented origin will help decide which one is true in each specific case.

This is illustrated by a recent case when the seller of the pastel Éloge du Maquillage by Degas had assumed that his painting was a fake. After its sale at auction, the painting was found to be a genuine, long-lost Degas worth millions. This would have been less of a surprise if the seller had paid proper attention to the fact that it was acquired in 1940 by the avid local art collector Joan Llonch Salas, heightening the probability that it was original.

There are several good reasons to research art provenance before buying art, both for a private collector and for large organizations like museums, galleries, etc. Good provenance increases the value of a painting offered at auction, for example. This is an important consideration for people who are buying art as an investment. It also helps discover any illicit background history that may prevent or complicate the sale.

Determining if an Artwork Is Subject to Repatriation Claims

Common issues arising from undocumented provenance are art repatriation claims. As museums all over the world are trying to be more aware of unfairly acquired objects in their collections, cases of repatriation claims from previous colonies or underprivileged local groups are becoming more common. There are numerous art repatriation examples where museums returned artworks in their collections that have been stolen in the past, acquired under pressure, or simply taken from a country during times of crisis like war or internal upheaval.

It’s a very controversial subject, as many museums are reluctant to return artworks to countries that have no capacity for securely storing and researching the returned artworks. The Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens are a good example of such a claim, which raises numerous controversies. Lord Elgin had permission to remove the marbles that was given by the Ottoman government, and the British Museum acquired the marbles entirely legally. Still, there are ongoing debates about the moral right of ownership of these masterpieces.

Correct Attribution and Prevention of Art Theft 

Another valid reason for finding out about an artwork’s provenance is to avoid buying a forged or stolen work of art. A questionable provenance has sometimes resulted in museums having to return artworks from their collections when their dishonest ownership was discovered. This happens when there’s proof that an artwork has been looted or stolen in the past, like in the case of the recent returns of the Egyptian coffin by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts or the return of the Cambodian sculptures by the Met.

A Case of Fake Provenance 

Sometimes, in order to provide a convincing provenance, whole fictional collections have been made up of criminals. Such is the case of the Beltracchi forgeries. Often called the greatest art forger, Wolfgang Beltracchi created paintings in the style of Max Ernst, Kees van Dongen, André Derain, and other painters. He later had them sold as coming from the fictional Jaeger collection. To fabricate a convincing provenance, he also forged exhibition labels and photographs of the “collection” in a historical setting.

Another example of the use of a fictitious provenance is Giacomo Medici, who used a fake provenance, the Zbinden collection, to sell stolen artworks to Sotheby’s and the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1985. By selling the artworks to reputable auction houses, he added to the artworks’ fake provenance and could later sell them with a clean history.

What Good Provenance Includes 

The dangers of unresearched or fake provenance include the possibility of financial losses, lawsuits, and even government repatriation claims. So, what makes for good art provenance? And what possibilities exist for researching an artwork’s origins?

While very few pre-20th-century artworks come with a complete set of documents, an ideal provenance would include the following:

• Artist information: This includes a clear signature on the painting, name, and brief biography.
• Previous owner history: Previous owners might include private collectors, museums, galleries, or public institutions.
• Sales records: Documentation proving an artwork’s sale/purchase is a vital part of truly satisfactory provenance. Documents proving a sale can include gallery or auction records, the date of sale, and invoices or other records of the price paid.
• Exhibitions, catalogs, or publications: If the artwork has been part of an exhibition, there would be catalogs, exhibition brochures, or other publications featuring it. It’s even better if there’s a photograph included in these.
• Conservation and restoration documentation: A pre-20th-century artwork has most likely had some restoration or conservation work done to it. Records of such work are a valuable part of the artwork’s history.

Art Provenance Research Methods You Can Use 

There are two possibilities when researching an artwork’s provenance. You can carry out your own research on a particular painting, or you can contact an organization that specializes in this kind of research. If you want to find out more about an artwork, you can start by searching in online resources made accessible by libraries, online journals, and archives. The other option is contacting organizations and online databases that provide provenance information. While it sounds like the ideal way to leave the hard work to professionals, their research will depend on the type of information you can provide. In many cases, you’ll need to submit a photograph of the artwork.

Moreover, these databases are often more useful for researching particular information, such as whether the artwork in question was stolen or whether it is listed among art seized and confiscated from its owners during the Nazi regime, like Claude Monet’s The Parc Monceau. It often helps to first find out as much as you can about the artwork.

Libraries and Digital Archives 

Online sources made available by libraries can be extremely useful for provenance research. Not all primary sources are digitalized and accessible online. However, an online search will often point out which books are available and where. One example of such an online source is the International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR). It offers a free, searchable list of catalogues raisonnés. This is one way to check whether a particular painting is included in the acknowledged body of work of a certain painter.

If you’re looking for documents related to a particular artist or artwork, try searching The Getty Research Institute’s Provenance Index Databases. Or in the case of American artists, the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art. These collections of digital records contain:

• Sales catalogs
• Inventories
• Art dealer stock books
• Financial documents
• Photographs
• Collectors’ files
• Provenance information on European art in major public collections

Stolen Art Databases

In the case of undocumented artworks whose history may hide theft, some online databases are specifically made to cover the information on stolen works of art. These organizations keep track of information about art theft in their databases, enabling a provenance researcher to discover the fact that it has been stolen. Organizations that provide this kind of database include:

• Interpol’s Stolen Works of Art Database
• FBI’s National Stolen Art File
• The Art Loss Register (ALR)
• Art Recovery International’s database, Art Claim
• Lost Art Database – specializing in the provenance research of Nazi-looted art

The use of advanced image recognition software allows exact identification of the submitted object based on photos provided by the client.

Provenance: Final Thoughts 

Provenance gives meaning and background information to an artwork. While its artistic value remains the same whether its origin is known or not, the market value can increase or drop dramatically due to provenance issues. Because art provenance depends on records, it is often extremely difficult to reconstruct an artwork’s background if no documents are available.

If undertaking your own provenance research, it’s sometimes necessary to check for available provenance information in at least several of the resources mentioned above. Art provenance databases can help in uncovering vital information about an artwork’s background. Theft, illegal transfer, lawsuits and claims, and misattribution or forgery are only some of the things that can taint an artwork’s history. This, in turn, can have significant consequences for the market value of an art object, as well as for the possibility of donating it to a museum or loaning it for an exhibition. A full provenance record backed up by documentation can confirm the legitimate ownership of a work of art. It can also help identify stolen artwork or uncover a forged piece being presented as an original, making provenance research highly valuable to art historians and art market professionals alike.

For the casual art appreciator, art fairs fill a leisurely afternoon. They function like portable museums full of new art, names, and creative experiments. Collectors, on the other hand, experience Art Fairs differently. It is their chance to see inventory from galleries all over the world, all in one place. Art markets and fairs, in particular, are notoriously intimidating and confusing for newcomers. Here are a few of the tricks you will need to know if you’d like to get into the world of art collecting.

Do Your Research

Art Fairs are vast and varied, like the art world itself. Each fair usually has its own category and average price point. This information is readily available so the collectors can prioritize fairs that fit their needs and desires. Someone who is looking for lower-priced objects may want to check out a budding fair like TOAF (The Other Art Fair), while a long-time collector with a large budget may be more interested in something like TEFAF Maastricht. Various cities worldwide hold an annual Affordable Art Fair, with top prices never reaching higher than $12,000. This event is particularly useful for aspiring collectors who want to try to collect art but either do not have significant funds or are too afraid to splurge.

Consider the Logistics

Though there is no limit to how many art fairs you can attend, it is best to do your research beforehand. This will save you wasted afternoons and money, especially if you plan on traveling for these events. Once you have researched and found the perfect fair, it is time to make travel arrangements. If you live near major art hubs like New York City, Los Angeles, or Chicago, the fairs often come to your doorstep. If not, it may take some traveling to see that perfect piece. Art fair websites typically show deals with local hotels, and if not, they offer suggestions for the best local stays. Apart from finding a suitable location close to the event, staying there will probably help you socialize and meet other collectors and gallerists who attend the fair.

Check Your VIP Status Before Buying Tickets

Most art fairs have VIP card systems. VIP holders can usually enter and exit the fair at any time, free of charge. This often includes special events, like receptions and talks, and separate VIP rest areas. VIP cards are meant for serious collectors and other people in the art industry. If you already have a reputation as a collector, consider contacting the art fair and informing them that you plan to attend. If you have any prior relationship with a gallery at the show, you can ask them for a VIP pass as well. Just remain polite and do not be to pushy—excessive pressure can lead to the opposite result and ruin your relationship with art dealers.

Attend the Opening Night

Though significantly more costly than an average day at the fair (unless you get one of those VIP cards), opening receptions are important events for collectors. They are full of serious collectors and other important figures of the art industry. In most cases, the most prestigious works are sold either on the opening night or even before it, during special events for VIP clients. If you are looking for top works with less competition, opening night is a must. Even if you are not in the market for those works, receptions are a great time to network with other collectors and dealers.

Go More Than Once

Before purchasing something or leaving empty-handed, it might be useful to attend the fair several times. This will help you avoid impulsive, expensive purchases. The artwork you buy will be something you look at for a long time, so make sure you do not get tired of it after a few visits. This will also allow you to look at it with a fresh eye that may notice a previously overlooked issue. This may even help you get a better deal on the last day of the fair. However, all these tips do not apply to top pieces that sell immediately, even before the official opening.

Research the Market

Once you have found possible purchases, it is time to do more research. Check the past auction results to see how much other collectors pay for similar works or the same artist. Compare the price offered by the gallery you want to purchase from and determine its legitimacy. Though the galleries ultimately decide their own prices, it is important to have market knowledge to avoid overspending—especially if you are a beginner.

Talk to the Dealers

If you are in a gallery’s booth and find art worth collecting, introduce yourself. Gallerists and artists are there to talk about their collections and provide more information. This can be as simple as asking for a price list or more in-depth, like asking them about the historical significance of a piece. You should also ask them about their gallery to establish that the piece is coming from a reputable source.

Don’t Forget Your Business Card

Though you may expect to grab business cards from the galleries, bring a stack of your own cards as well. Often, conversations with sellers lead to great networking opportunities to swap cards. This will make it simpler for the gallery to contact you later. It will also put you on their radar for receiving catalogs and emails. The gallery can reach out to you with new acquisitions that you may find interesting or simply invite you to future events.

Negotiating Is Fine as Long as You Know the Rules

It is common practice to negotiate prices. After a gallery announces a price, you can very politely ask if this is their absolute best offer. Often, they will give you a slightly lower price. You can also just offer a price. Try about 10% less than the asking price and see how that is received. Still, be careful: proposing too low might insult the dealer. If you are trying to significantly lower the price, you need to have good reasons and behave professionally. Before negotiating, study the work’s condition and the current market values for similar works.

Know Your Limits

If a gallery gives you a firm price, accept it. Some galleries do not negotiate prices, or they may already have other interested clients. Be polite and accept that it is their business and, ultimately, their choice. Understanding boundaries is crucial if you want to build a vast collection and healthy connections. This also applies to the amount of the gallery’s time you spend on communication and acquisition. There is nothing wrong with asking questions, but try not to take up so much of their time that they miss other potential clients—especially if you are not entirely sure if you want to purchase from them.

Arrange the Shipping

In many cases, you can just take your newly acquired piece and leave. Still, it would be wiser to ask the gallery about shipping and taxes. Sometimes, shipping an artwork out of state can save you money on sales taxes or fair fees. If the gallery takes the work back to its space, it has a chance to reframe the piece and polish up the glass before shipping. Galleries often ship higher-priced works for free or at a low price, which can be worth it for the convenience alone.

Keep in Touch with the Gallery

If you are happy with your purchase and the procedure, continue the relationship with this gallery. Simply sending a thank you note after receiving the work would be a nice gesture. This will also let them know that you might return for another artwork. Do not hesitate to ask if you are searching for something particular—galleries have large networks of colleagues and potential sellers.

Returning clients usually have first choice on new pieces and often receive prior notice of new acquisitions. Some galleries even keep an eye on auction houses for whatever your collection is missing. Many beginner art collectors are afraid of being seen as amateurs and thus avoid asking galleries extra questions. Despite the number of snobs in the art world, galleries exist to assist you with your requests and make your collection journey easier. Keep that in mind!

Peer through the lenses of American photographers in Amsterdam. Explore Hiroshige’s Edo-period Japan in modern-day London. Discover poignant new perspectives on the origin story of Surrealism, the trailblazing women of Modernism, the surprisingly diverse legacy of British landscape painting, and much more. Spanning various cultures and several centuries, these are ten of the best art exhibitions heading to European museums in 2025.

American Photography

1 February–9 June at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

The first major retrospective of American photography in the Netherlands will showcase over 200 photographic works by influential artists, including Nan Goldin, Andy Warhol, Diane Arbus, and more. American Photography will also introduce images by lesser-known and anonymous photographers who have captured authentic and oft-forgotten facets of American life.

“The exhibition presents the country as seen through the eyes of American photographers,” says Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum. “It shows how photography as a medium became deeply rooted in American society.”

Kandinsky’s Universe: Geometric Abstraction in the 20th Century

15 February–18 May at Museum Barberini in Potsdam, Germany

Wassily Kandinsky’s work boasts an innovative interplay of colors, lines, and shapes. The Russian-born artist is often credited with pioneering abstract art in Western culture. This exhibition tracks Kandinksy’s indelible impact at a time when modern artists turned to abstraction. Instead of representing strictly visible phenomena, they used geometry to visualize elusive spiritual themes.

The Museum Barberini’s presentation of Kandinsky’s Universe unites over 100 abstract artworks by nearly as many artists—including Josef Albers, Sonia Delaunay, Bridget Riley, Frank Stella, and, of course, Kandinsky himself.

Gustav Klimt: Pigment & Pixel

20 February–7 September at Belvedere Museum in Vienna, Austria

At the turn of the 20th century, Gustav Klimt was commissioned to decorate the vast ceilings of the University of Vienna’s festival hall. The resulting “Faculty Paintings”—with their unidealized allegorical figures, unfamiliar symbolism, and shocking eroticism—attracted both crowds and controversy. Unfortunately, the original paintings have since been lost, and only black-and-white photos remain.

In 2021, the Leopold Museum of Vienna collaborated with Google to ascertain the original colors of Klimt’s Faculty Paintings using artificial intelligence and imaging technology. Gustav Klimt: Pigment & Pixel unveils these exciting new insights into the Austrian artist’s work.

Gothic Modern: From Darkness to Light

28 February–15 June at Nasjonalmuseet in Oslo, Norway

Artists across Northern Europe have long been fascinated by all things Gothic. This exhibition investigates how modern artists—such as Edvard Munch, Käthe Kollwitz, and Ernst Kirchner—found inspiration in their distant Gothic Age counterparts—like Albrecht Dürer and Hans Holbein. It is being billed as the first international exhibition to explore such a juxtaposition.

Gothic Modern is presented in seven thematic chapters: The Journey to the Gothic, Pilgrims of Art, Encounters with Death, Fellowship, Gothic Variations, From Love to Suffering, and Between Light and Darkness.

Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1500 

8 March–22 June at the National Gallery of Art in London, England

Florence is typically thought of as the birthplace of Italian Renaissance art. However, this exhibition asserts Siena’s important influence on the course of art history as we know it. Over 100 works by Sienese artists—including paintings, sculptures, metalwork, textiles, and more—offer a fresh perspective on the development and dissemination of Italian painting in the Renaissance era.

Siena: The Rise of Painting is heading to London after a successful run at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Notably, the exhibition reunites long-separated panels from Duccio’s Maestà Altarpiece and Simone Martini’s Orsini Polyptych.

Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road

1 May–7 September at the British Museum in London, England

Join master 19th-century printmaker Utagawa Hiroshige on a colorful journey through the lush landscapes and bustling urban life of Edo-period Japan. This exhibition is the first to focus on the ukiyo-e artist at the British Museum. It will illuminate Hiroshige’s important influence on modern and contemporary artists, including Vincent van Gogh and the French Impressionists.

Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road showcases woodblock prints, drawings, illustrated books, and paintings from the British Museum’s collection, as well as a significant gift loan of prints from a major U.S. collector of Hiroshige’s work.

Rendezvous of Dreams: Surrealism and German Romanticism

13 June–12 October at Hamburgerkunsthalle in Hamburg, Germany

In 1924, Surrealism emerged from the ashes of World War I in Paris. A century later, there are still new things to discover about the transformative movement. This exhibition draws fascinating connections between 20th-century Surrealism and 19th-century German Romanticism. It brings together hundreds of works, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, literature, film, photography, and other objects.

According to Hamburgerkunsthalle, “fascinating parallels come to light with respect to fundamental questions, attitudes, motifs, and even pictorial processes” in Rendezvous of Dreams. “The supernatural and irrational, dreams and chance, a feeling of community, and encounters with a changing natural world were vital sources of inspiration for German Romanticism and shaped international Surrealism differently a century later.”

Radical! Women Artists and Modernism, 1910–1950

18 June–12 October at Belvedere Museum in Vienna, Austria

This exhibition creates a compelling conversation between modern women artists from over 20 countries. From the technicolor Orphism of Sonia Delaunay to the striking Art Deco portraiture of Tamara de Lempicka, these women broke through barriers by capturing their rapidly changing surroundings across a wide range of artistic practices.

Radical! “challenges the male-driven art history that marginalized or even erased women artists from the canon” and “enriches this art-historical narrative with a kaleidoscope of new perspectives,” says the Belvedere Museum.

Leonora Carrington

October 2025–February 2026 at Palazzo Reale in Milan, Italy

Following a year of bidding wars and record-high sale prices at auction, the Surrealist superstar Leonora Carrington is getting her first-ever retrospective in Italy. The exhibition will examine the complex influence of Carrington’s international travels and immigration, from her formative teenage visits to Florence to her camaraderie with European Surrealists in Mexico.

The official title and exact opening dates of the Leonora Carrington exhibition at Milan’s Palazzo Reale are yet to be announced.

Turner and Constable

27 November 2025–12 April 2026 at Tate Britain in London, England

Two of Britain’s most beloved landscape artists face off in a dual exhibition commemorating the 250th year of their births. John Constable aimed for authenticity in his masterfully meticulous portrayals of classic British landscapes. Meanwhile, his peer, J. M. W. Turner, painted sublime sunsets and shipwrecks, approaching near-abstraction with audacious expressivity. This exhibition examines the artists’ intertwined—and often rivaled—lives and legacies.

“Art critics compared their paintings to a clash of ‘fire and water,’” says Tate Britain. Turner and Constable is a unique opportunity to discover the two painters “as they often were in their own time—side by side.”

The 2024 Artsy Art Fair Report stated that more than 350 art fairs took place that year worldwide. In recent years, art fairs have gained prominence outside Europe and the USA, opening new art markets. For gallerists and art collectors, the emotional pressure and energy necessary to see most of these have been leading to a phenomenon called fair-tigue. Thankfully, the abundance of art fairs globally makes it easier to find great art close to home. Here are the most prestigious art fairs with the highest attendance rates.

United States and Canada: 1. Art Basel Miami

Art Basel started in 1970 as an art fair in Switzerland. Later, it expanded to Miami Beach, Hong Kong, and Paris. Miami Beach was a perfect location, located just between Latin and North America. It attracted 30,000 visitors in its first year, rising to 79,000 in its 2023 edition. Art Basel Miami presents all forms of art within the modern and contemporary scene—paintings, sculptures, film, digital art, etc. It boasts a variety of pieces from both young artists and big established names. The most notable sales from the 2023 Art Basel Miami included Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, and Philip Guston. You can visit the famous art fair every December.

2. The Armory Show

The first Armory Show was a collective exhibition of modern artists in New York in 1913. It was the first such show in the United States, introducing Americans to European avant-garde movements such as Cubism and Fauvism. Since then, it has become an annual event, with the first art fair held in 1994 in several hotel rooms. The Armory Show aims to maintain New York’s status as the center for contemporary art. In 2024, 50,000 collectors and art lovers visited the show, which featured the works of Robert Motherwell and Yayoi Kusama. 

3. TEFAF New York

TEFAF is one of the leading European art fairs, usually taking place in Maastricht, the Netherlands (read more under Europe). However, in 2016, it opened a New York branch that soon joined the list of the most visited art events in the region. Previously, TEFAF New York had a Spring and Fall edition every year, yet after the coronavirus pandemic, they switched to annual spring events. TEFAF New York covers contemporary art and design, antiquities, and modern art. 

4. Art Toronto

Art Toronto is dedicated to modern and contemporary art. It’s held downtown each year at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. In 2024, it celebrated its 25th edition and showcased over 100 galleries from Canada and abroad. The central exhibition explored the concept of home as both a physical and non-physical space. Art Toronto usually features a section for solo shows, a verge section for young galleries, and one for cultural Institutions. 

Europe: 1. ARCOmadrid

This Spanish fair is one of the most visited art fairs in the world, with almost 100,000 visitors in 2024. Given its connection to Latin America, it invites a large fanbase of art collectors from Peru, Argentina, Colombia, and more. Like with most other fairs, artists and galleries who exhibit here have the opportunity to win various awards. 

2. Frieze London

This contemporary art fair opens annually in The Regent’s Park, London. It started in 2003, when it was organized by the team of the contemporary art magazine Frieze. Following the post-pandemic drop in attendance, Frieze 2024 set a new record with 90,000 visitors. This year, Frieze London will represent 270 galleries from 43 countries.

3. TEFAF Maastricht

TEFAF’s original fair in Maastricht, Netherlands, prides itself on presenting 7,000 years of art history. It might feel a little like if you were walking through the Louvre or the Met, except that visitors are welcome to buy the Renoirs or the Greek gold jewelry at this large exhibition. TEFAF Maastricht sells paintings, sculptures, jewelry, decorative art objects, and even exquisite antique tableware. In 2024, the closing day of the fair was attended by 50,000 people.

4. FAB Paris

In 2023, La Biennale Paris and Fine Arts Paris were merged into a single art fair that focuses on all types of art, from Antiquity to cutting-edge contemporary works. The 2024 FAB Paris took place in the Grand Palais, the famous glass exhibition hall built in 1900. FAB Paris united the networks of art dealers and collectors who frequented the two preceding fairs, growing in scale and expanding their reach.

5. BRAFA Art Fair

The biggest art fair in Belgium, BRAFA, promotes itself as more than an art fair. Every edition includes a special exhibition hosted by either a major museum, cultural institution, or artist. Art tours are provided to educate visitors about the masterpieces, and each day offers a schedule of art talks with experts. The special guests of the 2024 fair included the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos and representatives from the Belgian Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage. 

6. PAD London

PAD stands for Pioneering Event of Art & Design. Living up to its name, it represents a collection of modern and contemporary art, design, and décor in London’s affluent Mayfair borough. In 2024, PAD London presented the works by Fernando Botero, Lucio Fontana, Niki de Saint Phalle, and others. Although this fair often hosts fewer galleries than its alternatives, some people are attracted to it for its selective, refined experience.

7. PAD Paris

PAD Paris is held near the Louvre at the Jardin des Tuileries. A large portion of its exhibitors are French, but galleries from China, the UK, and Greece also make the list. In addition to ceramics and jewelry, it often features indigenous, pre-Columbian, and Asian art. 

Asia Pacific (including Australia, New Zealand): 1. Melbourne Art Fair

Melbourne Art Fair is the most influential art event in the Australasian region. It creates a platform for the region’s living artists. The 2025 edition will present artists from Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. The fair has opened every two years since 1988, attracting thousands of visitors in each edition. 

2. India Art Fair in New Delhi

This annual fair takes place in India’s capital city of New Delhi. It is the leading event for South Asian contemporary art, which attracts thousands of local and international collectors. In recent years, it has been representing more Indian galleries to support emerging artists who are not on the international radar yet. It also has a program particularly designed for young art collectors.

Latin America: 1. ArtBo

ArtBo is held annually in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the official international art fair of Colombia, created by the nation’s Chamber of Commerce in 2005. Since its opening, it has become one of the leading art fairs in its region. Vogue magazine even dubbed it the Art Basel of Latin America. In 2024, the fair featured 39 galleries, 26 of which were Colombian. Despite a relatively small number of exhibitors, it nonetheless presents an extensive variety of local contemporary art, ranging from paintings inspired by pre-Columbian tradition to media works created with the use of AI.

2. arteBA

Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, arteBA opened its doors in 1991. In 2024, it featured over 400 artists, a performance program, charity initiatives, and a gastronomic experience designed specifically for the event. Some galleries came from Bogota, Rio de Janeiro, Caracas, and Punta del Este. ArteBA is held annually during the summer months.

3. Zona Maco

Zona Maco began in 2002 and is now the largest art fair platform in Latin America. In addition to contemporary art, it offers design pieces, photography, and antiquities. Apart from the main presentation, the 2024 edition of Zona Maco featured an array of parallel exhibitions, dance performances, and a meeting with the French multimedia artist ORLAN.

Africa and the Middle East: 1. Contemporary Istanbul

Contemporary Istanbul is an annual fair that opens every Fall. In 2024, it opened its doors for the 19th time with 50 galleries from 14 countries. Istanbul’s cultural scene is strengthening despite the region’s political instability. The city is fostering its art sector by hosting this event alongside the Istanbul Biennale and the opening of new museums and galleries.

2. 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair

This is the most prestigious fair dedicated to African art worldwide. It began in 2013 in London but has expanded to locations in Marrakech and New York. The name is based on the 54 countries that comprise the African continent. Unfortunately, the Marrakech fair is less popular with art collectors due to its location. Still, it remains an important and well-organized event. The upcoming 2025 fair offers workshops on art and fashion as well as discussions on the connection between African cultural heritage and contemporary art. 

3. Art Dubai

Located in the major hub and financial center of the UAE, Art Dubai reported 30,000 visitors in its 2022 edition. The fair is managed by The Art Dubai Group, which provides a unique educational program to local artists. Today, Art Dubai is considered the leading art fair in the Middle East. The fair also runs several digital projects. The 2020 edition of the fair occurred entirely online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Wandering the embankments above the River Thames it is not unusual to see people down on the foreshore at low tide. Kneeling or hunched over, with eyes scanning the gravel and mud, they are mudlarking  — hunting for little treasures. With the help of museums, the finds they make are shaping our understanding of London’s past. In this article, we will explore the world of mudlarking, look into the hobby’s grimy origins, and talk about some of the many pieces that can be found on the muddy banks of the famous river.

One Giant Archaeological Dig

With centuries of riverborne activity and human habitation along its banks, the Thames foreshore is one giant archeological dig. This is especially true along the frontage of the City of London, Southwark, Wapping, Rotherhithe, Deptford, and Greenwich, which was a maritime center for hundreds of years.

Discoveries can be made as far east as the Thames Estuary, up to 40 miles from central London, although mudlarks tend to use their own boats in this broad island-strewn reach of the river.

The mighty churn of the Thames, with its powerful currents and massive tidal range, dredges and deposits material on the foreshore. When the opaque brown water retreats, beachcombers step down to hunt for things that have been mislaid or discarded over the course of London’s long history. Objects survive in near-perfect condition, partly because oxygen cannot permeate the Thames’s mud.

Many mudlarks uncover something interesting on their first try. Each year, hundreds of finds with real cultural or material value qualify as treasure. But more often the worth of a find comes from the story that springs from it, and the picture it can help build about London’s past.

Long before mudlarking became a hobby, a lot of exciting things had been hauled from the bed of the Thames. During bridge construction in the mid-19th century, workers came across the Battersea Shield. On show at the British Museum, it is considered one of the finest pieces of Celtic art discovered in the UK.

The History of Mudlarking

One glance at the thick gloop that coalesces in patches along the banks, and it is easy to see why these collectors are commonly known as mudlarks and not beachcombers. All through the Victorian Era, mudlarks eked out a desperate living hunting for scrap.

It was often children who scavenged the banks. This was dangerous and highly unpleasant work, picking through sewage among the corpses of animals and sometimes humans for a pittance.

By the early 20th century, the mudlarking trade, in its traditional sense, had ended. Later that century the name was readopted by hobbyists, some swinging metal-detectors but many simply using their own eyes. Indeed, over time, mudlarks develop an astonishing ability to spot long-lost trinkets in the collage of pebbles, gravel, and mud.

What Treasures Can Be Found on the Banks of the Thames?

The variety of pieces waiting to be discovered is vast. Just to summarize, they might include Tudor earrings, or buttons of all shapes, sizes, and periods. People find thimbles, Roman hairpins, shards of 17th-century German glazed stoneware, keys, padlocks, coins, clay pipes, guns, and shell casings. Also hiding in the mud are medals, trade tokens, Medieval belt mounts, engraved lockets, 18th-century gin bottles, and clustered links of 15th-century chainmail armor.

Poison bottles, manufactured to hold hazardous chemicals like arsenic, show up often, usually in fragments, but sometimes whole. Dating from the 17th to the early 20th century, these were made in a standard hexagonal shape out of blue or green glass. This makes them easy to distinguish by those fortunate enough to find one.

Iron nails are ubiquitous. Most of these once held boats and ships together, and date from the 17th and 18th centuries. There are subtle clues that help people distinguish the exact time they were forged.

A big help is that the mass-production of nails, an American innovation, began at the turn of the 19th century. These streamlined nails differ from handmade nails, which have larger, pyramidical shanks with four distinct panels created by a blacksmith’s hammer. It can be humbling to pick up something as simple as a nail and inspect a professional’s handiwork 300 years later.

A Couple of Captivating Recent Finds 

Every few months a news story surfaces about an interesting discovery made by a mudlark. In 2018, one Alan Suttie was taking a few minutes to browse the foreshore by Old Billingsgate Market while passing time before a meeting in the City. It was only the second time he had ever stepped onto the foreshore.

His eye was caught by something that had just been washed ashore by a wave and had lodged in the mud. What he found was an intact Roman-era oil lamp. It was crafted from terracotta in Carthage in the 4th or 5th century CE, and after appraisal was declared a “significant artifact” and claimed by the Museum of London.

The river’s highly preservative mud yields a lot of extremely delicate pieces that might otherwise not survive. For example, in 2021 another mudlark came across something utterly unique. Perusing the shore, her gaze was met by a human skull in miniature. This had been carved into a spherical piece of bone, and on the reverse side was a woman’s face, most likely representing the Virgin Mary. It was a single rosary bead, dating from around the mid-15th century, with the skull serving as a memento mori.

The Present and Future of Mudlarking

This niche hobby went mainstream in the early 21st century. In 2016, the Port of London Authority (PLA) introduced a permit scheme for mudlarking to keep things under control. Then, spurred by social media accounts and a need for outdoor hobbies during the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020s brought on a “Wild West” of mudlarking.

Something easy to forget is that every stretch of the foreshore has an owner, requiring permission for access, as well as the right to pore over the beach. One of the largest landowners is the Crown Estate, which jointly runs the license scheme with the PLA.

At the time of writing, the PLA had put a temporary pause on applications for new foreshore permits. This is to preserve the historical integrity of the Thames foreshore. On the upside, the explosion in beachcombing hobbyists has helped historians understand London’s past better. Mudlarks are diligent when it comes to reporting finds that are deemed to be important, or are at least 300 years old, to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), administered by the British Museum.

Since the turn of the 2020s, annual records for reported treasures have tumbled year on year. The most recent figures at the time of writing were for 2022, in which some 53,500 finds were recorded across the United Kingdom. Of which almost 1,400 were legally defined as treasure.

Since 1998, the PAS has built an ever-growing, publicly accessible database of objects, with 1,715,745 items registered at the time of writing.

A Few Mudlarking Musts

The River Thames has an astonishing tidal range of more than 25 feet. Like the rest of the UK, London usually has two high tides and two low tides each day. This means that in a couple of hours a wide open beach will not just be submerged, but lost under multiple feet of roiling, murky water. So while the foreshore is engrossing, it is important to be aware of exit points.

A mudlark’s typical inventory will include a trowel, wellington boots (rubber boots), and gardening knee pads to make it easier to spot a Roman coin in the gravel. Many do not bring full-size metal detectors, which can be impractical, but may pack a handheld pinpointer. However, magnet fishing is not permitted on any part of the Thames foreshore.

Finally, while it has never been entirely safe to poke around the River Thames, microbiological dangers lurk in the 2020s. The quality of the water has declined sharply in recent years, and there are a few factors to blame. Lack of investment in the infrastructure is a big one, another is the sharp increase in groundwater caused by a series of record-breaking wet winters. Also key is that London’s population has increased from seven million in 2000 to nine million in 2024. The result is more sewage, which overflows more often when the groundwater level is high.

E. coli is a threat, as is the highly dangerous Weil’s disease, which is contracted from the urine of infected rats. Mudlarks are encouraged to wear gloves, keep cuts covered, and always refrain from touching their face when they’re on the foreshore.

How Can I Get Involved in Mudlarking?

We have seen that there is a hiatus on new permits, and new regulations from the Port of London Authority are in the pipeline. So for now, the best way to get a feel for mudlarking and the history on the Thames foreshore is through the Museum of London Archaeology. They run a variety of programs, including guided walks on the foreshore, community digs, exhibitions and conferences.

Like art, the age and cultural popularity of old toys can make them worth a lot more today. Also like art, their worth can fluctuate depending on the market. Many people who sell hit toys from the 50s through the 90s tend to auction them off on eBay. One might see PEZ dispensers sell for upwards of $250 and rare Pokémon cards sell for between $1500-3000. The market price is determined more than ever by consumer demand, rarity, and condition. There are some toys that fans have generally agreed are worth over the thousand-dollar mark. Below are some of the most valuable toys on the collectible market today.

Pokémon Cards: Rare Cards Can Be Worth Thousands

Since Pokémon was created in 1995, it has launched a franchise of video games, movies, merchandise, and cards that fans religiously follow. People are so nostalgic for the original games that they download GameBoy emulators to play them from their computers, or even on the Apple Watch. Certain Pokémon cards are far more scarce than mass-produced games.

First Edition Holofoils might be found in the Pokémon collection of someone who was an early fan. These were available in English & Japanese, released when the first game came out.  A full set of these cards has been auctioned for $8,496.  A quirkier option are misprinted Krabby cards, which have part of its trademark fossil symbol at the bottom right of the image missing. These can fetch around $5000. Limited releases of 15 cards or less can net a whopping $10,000+.

Beanie Babies: Plush Toys With a Sky-High Price

The Beanie Baby plushies were a fad in the 90s. Part of the reason they became such a fascinating collector’s item is because their creator, Ty Warner, would frequently change designs after launch. For example, only a few units of Peanut the Royal Blue Elephant were sold before Warner changed the color to light blue. One of these Royal Blue models was offered for $2,500 in a 2018 eBay auction.

A Patti the Platypus, one of the first models to be released in 1993, was offered on eBay for $9,000 in January 2019. The Beanie Babies company also made an error when manufacturing a crab toy. The 1997 model of Claude the Crab was known to have several errors across different plushies. These ‘mistakes’ can reach several hundred dollars on the auction market.

Beanie Babies that are autographed or attributed to a cause can reach high prices. In 1997, Warner released Princess Diana, a purple bear that was sold to benefit the various charities of Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.

Hot Wheels: Models of Classic Cars Worth a Fortune

Hot Wheels was released in 1968 from the same brand that made Barbie, Mattel. Out of the 4 billion+ models created, there are some rare gems. Many models from the 1960s-70s sell for thousands. For instance, the 1968 Volkswagen Customs can sell for over $1,500. It was only released in Europe, while most Hot Wheels at the time were sold in the UK and Germany.

The 1971 Purple Olds 442 is another desired item because of its color; purple Hot Wheels are a rarity. This model also comes in Hot Pink and Salmon and is estimated at over $1,000. The price soars to $15,000 if the model is a 1970 Mad Maverick with the word ‘Mad’ inscribed at the base. It was based on the 1969 Ford Maverick, and there are very few available.

The rarest model is the Pink Rear Loading Beach Bomb. This car never made it to production; it is only a prototype. The only one ever to make it to market reportedly sold for a whopping $72,000, making it an extremely expensive toy.

Lego Sets: High-Value Models and What They’re Worth

The most sought-after Lego sets are those based on pop culture. Some of these models have already sold for over $1,000 as a first release. One of the largest sets ever made was the 2007 Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon 1st Edition. It was originally sold for about $500, but an eBay user bought it for $9,500, making it the most expensive Lego set ever sold on eBay.

Another prominent edition is the 2008 Taj Mahal set. Certain vendors like Walmart and Amazon offer relaunch models from $370 and up, but a 2008 original set can be sold for upwards of $5,000 on eBay.

Barbie Dolls: Fashion Dolls With High Price Tags

She needs no introduction – As of 2019, it’s estimated that 800 million Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide. But of that number, only about 350,000 are the original model from 1959. The most expensive one ever sold went for $27,450 in 2006 at Sandi Holder’s Doll Attic in Union City, California. But if you don’t have her, you’re not out of luck.

Barbie dolls based on pop culture figures tend to fetch high prices. The 2003 Lucille Ball doll is worth $1,050, while the 1996 Calvin Klein has sold for $1,414. In 2014, Mattel produced only 999 copies of the Karl Lagerfeld Barbie. One can find them on eBay with price tags as high as $7,000.

Video Games: Rare and Vintage Finds Worth Thousands

Vintage gaming consoles are not to be confused with gaming consoles such as the Gameboy or Nintendo DS. If an old console has already been opened, its value may have decreased.  Collectors seek unopened consoles released before 1985, such as the Atari 2600 or the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The price for opened consoles still ranges in the hundreds. Games for these consoles (that haven’t burnt out) can be sold for much more.

Unopened kits of the 1985 NES game Wrecking Crew are worth over $5,000. The Flintstones (1994) sells for about $4,000; the game is a rare find, although it’s unknown why so few models were produced. A model of Game Stadium for NES (1987) has been sold for $22,800. Another game, Magic Chase (1993) has sold for about $13,000 because it was produced toward the end of the TurboGrafx-16 console’s sale span. This list would not be complete without a game that’s still popular today. A 1986 version of Super Mario for NES with Asian artwork has been sold for $25,000.

A Rare Variety of Characters: PEZ Dispensers

PEZ dispensers can also be worth thousands, depending on the design. PEZ is a candy and candy dispenser brand founded in 1927. Their dispensers have character heads on top of them, and vintage and rare designs can fetch a lot of money at auction or on eBay.

The most expensive PEZ dispenser is the Political Donkey, made in 1961. Only two of these dispensers are known to exist today, making them the rarest out there. The Political Donkey was created by the PEZ company as a gift for President John F. Kennedy. One of these dispensers sold for $13,000 at a rare items auction in 2013.

Collectible Toys with More Affordable Pricing

Many other household name toys were popular for their time, but not old enough to be worth thousands yet. Many of these were released in the 90s to early 2000s. Some examples are Polly Pocket, Furbies, Tamagotchis, Digimon, Sky Dancers, and Ninja Turtle Figures. These are still competitive on eBay for hundreds. For some, though, the nostalgia of their toy makes it worthwhile to keep forever, or at least to hold on to for another 20 years.