First Pass

5 stories from 2 sources

Arts institutions looked backward while marking cultural change

Day’s Recap

Supporting Articles

Mildred Howard is finally getting a big, full-career moment: the Oakland Museum of California is mounting the first major museum retrospective of her work, spanning 50 years. In her garage, one of her newest pieces looms 10 feet tall, a sculpture of California missionary Junipero Serra bound and blindfolded, wrapped in what she calls “Make America Great Again red.” It is part of a series where she remakes public monuments to colonizers and slaveholders and then literally restrains them.

8:00 AMThe Guardian Art and Design

Carter Brey is stepping down as the New York Philharmonic’s principal cellist at the end of the season. He’s held that chair for 30 years, meaning he’s been the cello sound at the center of the orchestra for an entire era.

5:02 AMNew York Times Arts

Broadway just handed Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” another Tony, taking Best Revival of a Play. It’s not the show’s first lap around the winner’s circle, either. This revival joins earlier wins for the same category in 1984, 1999, and 2012.

10:36 PMNew York Times Arts

Other Developments

A curated list of other prominent stories from this day.

Questlove is out with a new tribute that puts Maurice White, the founder of Earth, Wind and Fire, front and center. “To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World” sketches White as more than a hitmaker, showing how his ideas about spirit, sound, and showmanship shaped the band’s whole universe. The result is a loving portrait of a leader whose influence still echoes every time that groove hits.

1:56 PMNew York Times Arts

Paris decided in 1970 to make a full-on photo time capsule of the city as big redevelopment plans were kicking off. Officials split the map into 1,755 squares and sent photographers out to document every last block during May, producing an eye-watering 91,655 images. A selection is now on view at the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris through 7 October 2026.

2:00 AMThe Guardian Art and Design

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