Gainsborough’s Pride and Prejudice
Meet a pioneer in museum accessibility, NY Academy of Art returns Epstein money, Seurat and the sea, the politics of the sari, and more.
Lorena Bradford might not be a household name, but she really should be. The first head of Accessible Programs at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, DC, Bradford started monthly tours in American Sign Language, established a program for individuals with memory loss, and brought in medical students to learn soft skills to apply in their caregiving.
"I was a sub-department of one," she joked to writer Emma Cieslik, who spoke with Bradford over Zoom and at the NGA about her own circuitous path into the profession, and the future of the field of museum accessibility. The Trump administration, of course, has taken its toll, but she's hopeful for the future.
Also today, we've got something of a mini fashion issue — Eileen Isagon Skyers walks us through the 18th-century stylings of Thomas Gainsborough (think: Pride and Prejudice), and Associate Editor Lakshmi Rivera Amin proves that the sartorial is political in a feature on the history of the sari in New York City.
—Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor
Meet the Woman Who Made Museums More Accessible
The first head of Accessible Programs at the National Gallery of Art tells us about her path and the future of museum accessibility. | Emma Cieslik
Raven Halfmoon: Flags of Our Mothers
Ballroom Marfa presents the first major traveling exhibition by Raven Halfmoon, featuring colossal sculptures that honor the artist’s Caddo Nation ancestors. On view May 1–October 11, 2026. Join us opening weekend, May 1–2, for an artist talk, a community meal by Chef Nico Albert, and live music by Night Beats.
News
- Last week, the New York Academy of Art told its students and alumni that it will donate $65,900 in funds associated with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to an organization supporting survivors of sex trafficking.
- Traveling photographer Ryan Vizzions has decided to stay in Minneapolis to care for the hundreds of artworks, objects, and messages left in memory of Renee Nicole Macklin Good, who was killed by an ICE agent in January.
From Our Critics
Thomas Gainsborough’s Portraits of Pride and Prejudice
The English artist’s paintings work hard to make social hierarchy feel beautiful, even natural. | Eileen Isagon Skyers
Seurat and the Sea Is Postcard Perfect
Painted during summer trips to the Channel coast, Seurat intended his seascapes to “cleanse one’s eyes of the days spent in the studio." | Olivia McEwan
Olafur Eliasson: A symphony of disappearing sounds for the Great Salt Lake
As the lake’s ecological crisis worsens, the artist’s new site-specific installation in Salt Lake City renders audible what is increasingly at risk of vanishing.
Features
The Sartorial Is Political in “The New York Sari”
At the New York Historical, an exhibition reminds us that the sari is a living art form, an heirloom, a document, and a political statement in one. | Lakshmi Rivera Amin
ICYMI
Epstein Files Expose the Depths of the Art World’s Rot
How do we empower arts leaders to reject funding from corrupt individuals in favor of donors who have proven themselves to be civic leaders? | Hrag Vartanian
