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Monet's 'Iris' sells for 50 million euros in Paris, a French auction record
Sotheby's sold Claude Monet's 'Iris' in Paris on Thursday, 22 October, for 50 million euros including fees, more than double its low estimate. The price is the highest ever paid at auction in France, surpassing a 2010 Modigliani sculpture.
Éditions du Boréal ends ties with Thélyson Orélien after finding AI use in his novel
Canadian publisher Éditions du Boréal ended its work with novelist Thélyson Orélien on 21 October, saying new evidence showed AI was used to write his bestseller despite his repeated denials.
Sally Rooney's books pulled from UK sale; more than 140 artists sign letter in her defence
Faber has stopped supplying Sally Rooney's books in the UK over her support for Palestine Action. An open letter signed by more than 140 cultural figures calls the move censorship and asks the government to change the anti-terror law.
Bayeux Tapestry tickets: 230,000 in online queue as Hastings residents miss out
The British Museum put a second batch of Bayeux Tapestry tickets on sale on Wednesday, 21 October, with tens of thousands joining the online queue. Hastings residents say the phone system meant they could not get through for early access.
Julian Barnes warns of authoritarian drift and doubts he will see Britain rejoin the EU
Julian Barnes, winner of the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Literature, called the international situation terrifying and said he doubts he will see Britain back in Europe. He spoke in Oviedo, where he also criticised UK anti-terrorism laws.
Patti Smith urges Americans to vote and calls US leadership deplorable
Speaking in Oviedo on Tuesday, 20 October, the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts laureate said she felt ashamed of the current administration and urged people to vote. She marks 50 years since her first Spanish concert with two shows in Gijón on 20 and 21 October.
Isabel Allende wins the 75th Premio Planeta with 'La hora antes del alba'
The Chilean writer took the 75th Premio Planeta on Thursday evening, 15 October, with a sequel to 'La casa de los espíritus', chosen from nine finalists out of 1,424 submitted novels.
German entrepreneur funds 1.4 million euro restoration of Pompeii's grandest house
The House of Marcus Fabius Rufus, closed to the public since 1980, is being restored with 1.4 million euros from the company PompeiAR. Park officials expect part of the house to open to guided groups by Christmas.
JK Rowling publishes new essay defending her stance on transgender activism
In an essay published on her website on 21 October, the Harry Potter author said she will keep funding women who take legal action over their rights, and she reported receiving threats.
Princess of Asturias Awards 2026 honour Leo Messi, Patti Smith and Christina Koch in Oviedo
The 2026 Princess of Asturias Awards were presented on Friday, 23 October, at the Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo, with Princess Leonor, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia presiding over the ceremony.
Winnie-the-Pooh turns 100 as the first book marks its centenary on 14 October
Alan Alexander Milne's bear first appeared in a book published on 14 October 1926, and broadcasters and newspapers across Europe marked the centenary on 14 October 2026 with features on his origins, his screen career and his afterlife as an internet meme.
Ipswich, Middlesbrough and Portsmouth miss out on UK City of Culture 2029 shortlist
Ipswich, Middlesbrough and Portsmouth were among nine longlisted places that failed to reach the shortlist. Blackpool, Milton Keynes, Sheffield and Wrexham will now compete for the title and a £10m prize, with the winner due in early 2027.
Goncourt-excluded author Thélyson Orélien denies using AI but admits plagiarism
The Canadian-Haitian author says no sentence of his novel was written by a machine, while apologising for copying passages from established writers after moving to Canada.
Brazilian artist Anna Bella Geiger wins 2026 Velázquez Prize for Plastic Arts worth 100,000 euros
The jury chose the Brazilian artist, born in Rio de Janeiro in 1933, for her permanent experimentation and teaching work across generations. The prize carries 100,000 euros and succeeds Patricia Belli, last year's laureate.
Looted Kandinsky painting Das bunte Leben sells for 31.9 million euros in London
The Lewenstein heirs had the painting returned after a 2023 German restitution ruling. Christie's then sold the 1907 work at its London auction in October 2026.
Louvre director warns the museum could close without a renovation
Louvre director Christophe Leribault says the Paris museum could eventually have to shut to the public without a renovation, days before the first anniversary of the 2025 jewel heist. Security works are under way, but he calls the wider overhaul the only way to secure its future.
South Korean study dates Van Gogh's Starry Night sky to a dawn on 22 July 1889
The painting's sky matches the view from Van Gogh's asylum window at dawn on 22 July 1889, about a month later than the date long assumed. The paper also places the moon, Venus and the Hyades cluster where the painting shows them.
Hundreds queue in Hong Kong to see long-unseen Van Gogh before $180 million sale
Hundreds of people queued in Hong Kong on Tuesday to see Chestnut Trees in Blossom, a Van Gogh painting not shown publicly in more than six decades, before its 18 November sale in New York.
Michel Foucault at 100: new books, a Collège de France exhibition and renewed debate on power
Michel Foucault was born in Poitiers on 15 October 1926. For the centenary, two previously unpublished texts appear, the Collège de France opens an exhibition on his work, and commentators link his ideas on surveillance and self-discipline to digital life.
Pirelli's 2027 calendar is shot in India for the first time, by three photographers
The 53rd Pirelli calendar, The Cal 2027, was presented in New Delhi on Friday, 23 October. It combines work by Sølve Sundsbø with photographs by Raghu Rai and his daughter Avani Rai, who finished the project after his death in April.
Karol Wojtyła elected Pope John Paul II on 16 October 1978, first non-Italian since 1522
Cardinals chose the 58-year-old metropolitan of Kraków on the eighth ballot after a conclave that opened on 14 October 1978. He took the name John Paul II and became the 264th pope, and he went on to lead the Church until his death in April 2005.
Glasgow museum removes mummified remains from display over missing consent, sparking Conservative criticism
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum has taken a mummified male head, a priest's coffin and other Egyptian remains off display, saying there is no informed consent from the deceased. Murdo Fraser, a Conservative MSP, called the move "woke madness".
Museo Sorolla opens former Volvo workshop extension in Madrid on Thursday, 15 October
The 2,050 square metre extension at 68 Zurbano Street opens to visitors on Thursday, 15 October, while the Sorolla house itself remains under renovation. An exhibition on the building's architecture from 1905 to 2026 opens alongside it.
Japanese novelist Ryu Murakami dies at 74, author of the Akutagawa-winning Almost Transparent Blue
Gentosha confirmed the death on Friday, 23 October. Murakami's debut, Almost Transparent Blue, won the Akutagawa Prize in 1976 and sold 3.5 million hardcover and paperback copies.
Saviano's new novel retells the 1981 presumed killing of Rossella Casini, which ended without a conviction
The novel Mi amor no muere, published in Spain by Alfaguara, is based on a real 'Ndrangheta case involving a Florentine student who fell in love with a man from a Calabrian mafia family. Nobody was ever convicted in her case.
UK publisher Faber stops supplying Sally Rooney's books over Palestine Action royalties
Faber will stop supplying Sally Rooney's books in the UK in any format, saying royalty payments could breach the terror ban on Palestine Action. Shops may still sell the copies they already hold.
Italian photographer Federico Veronesi wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 with elephant image
The image, called The Aftermath and shot in Namibia's Huab river valley, shows an elephant carrying a dead calf that was not her own. It tops the Natural History Museum's 2026 contest, which drew more than 65,000 entries from 121 countries and territories.
Greece swaps asphalt for Aliveri marble at Unknown Soldier memorial, clears museum expansion
Greece's heritage councils gave unanimous backing to replacing the asphalt in front of the Unknown Soldier memorial with grey Aliveri marble, and to the final designs for the National Archaeological Museum expansion.