Monet’s Giverny Gardens Wither in Heatwave—and Other Art World Matters
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A Climate Change Reality Check…
Claude Monet loved capturing the same scenes again and again under shifting atmospheric conditions, but I doubt the Impressionist icon would have been pleased to see his own beloved gardens wilt away in the blazing heat of a climate crisis. Sadly, the impact of successive record-breaking heatwaves this summer has been felt on the ground at Giverny, where Monet spent much of his final decades. The artist’s multi-colored nasturtiums have withered away completely in the heat, despite targeted watering and other stopgap measures put in place. “This is the first time it has happened to this extent,” deputy head gardener Remi Lecoutre told France24. “It’s awful.” Gardeners must now strike a balance between preserving the historic site and seeking to introduce new, more resilient plant species.
Antiquarians Are Up In Arms About…
Lit lovers have long felt uneasy about A.I., but now the technology is suspected of new crimes against the written word. Antiquarian book dealers the world over were surprised by a sudden spate of bulk rare-book orders, leading to speculation that this could be Big Tech’s latest ploy to feed training data to its hungry A.I. algorithms. Speaking to the Guardian, several sellers noted orders with no thematic alignment requested by various aliases all citing the same address, in one case a freight warehouse. To top it all off? Some fear these once beloved books are being stripped of their covers, scanned, and carelessly pulped.
Something To Watch…
The art world’s answer to The Apprentice has arrived on the BBC, as 14 wannabe gallerists compete to source top-notch art to sell at fairs and online in The Big Deal with Steph McGovern. The award? £50,000 ($68,000) of British art. The first episode saw contestants auction off work by newly graduated students from the Royal College of Art—a feat that even those seasoned on the rostrum might be pushed to pull off. Their guru is dealer Matt Carey-Williams, a fixture of the London art scene who appears impressively T.V.-ready as he explains sale-room concepts like “the reserve” and “hammer price.” Other mentors on the show include Art Miami fair director Cordelia de Freitas and Artsy‘s marketing V.P. Ani Petrov.
Cordelia de Freitas, Matt Carey-Williams, and Steph McGovern on the first episode of the BBC’s The Big Deal with Steph McGovern. Image: © Stellify, courtesy BBC, Stellify.
You May Have Missed…
Blackbird Rook, the Substack by artist, dealer, and art advisor Greg Rook, offers plenty of useful insights into the concerns of today’s artists and collectors. But the other day, I stumbled on a post I found particularly entertaining for its truth: The art world’s tendency to hold onto grudges. That includes forever boycotting and badmouthing a gallery where you once felt snubbed at a private view, for example. Because the industry revolves around a luxury—not a need—and is run according to a series of rarely spoken codes, Rook argued, it is particularly susceptible to ego and vanity. I’ll say! But I won’t stop…
Just Something I Like…
Artwork illustrating lyrics to the title track on Phoebe Bridgers’s Lost Weekend (2026). Photo: Jo Lawson-Tancred.
True to form, singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers wants us to sit with the ambiguity of her critically acclaimed third album Lost Weekend. The indie darling has agreed to no interviews and, in a rare radio appearance, implored audiences not to take her dreamlike lyrics too literally, even as they deliver a devastating emotional punch. In keeping with this spirit is a sumptuous booklet slipped into vinyl editions. For each song, artist John Griswold has conjured a Dalí-esque cabinet of curiosities, littered with classical motifs, mystical creatures, and cryptic symbols.
Join us tomorrow, when my colleague Andrew Russeth will be at the helm.