From ancient Hercules to NFTs: How art is rewriting history and markets
The art world is seeing major shifts this season, from groundbreaking exhibitions to legal fallout from past scandals. A new NFT platform by Christie's marks the latest move in a volatile digital market, while historic discoveries and fresh tributes reshape public spaces and museums.
A monumental 2,000-year-old statue of Hercules has been unearthed in Philippi, Greece. The discovery adds to the ancient city's legacy as a key archaeological site.
In London, Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth now features a statue honouring Malawian anti-colonial leader John Chilembwe. Artist Samson Kambalu created the piece, which stands as a permanent tribute in the capital. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has opened *Hear Me Now*, an exhibition of 50 ceramic works by enslaved African American potters from 19th-century South Carolina. The show highlights their craftsmanship and enduring cultural impact. The NFT market, once booming after Christie's 2021 sale of Beeple's *Everydays: The First 5000 Days*, has faced steep declines. After peaking in 2021–22, sales crashed over 90% by late 2022 due to crypto collapses like FTX, stricter regulations, and widespread scams. By early 2025, volumes had shrunk to $197 million annually, with only $23.8 million in Q1 2025. The sector is now stabilising near pre-2021 levels, pivoting toward gaming (e.g., *Axie Infinity*), tokenised real estate, and Web3 projects. Marketplaces like Blur have also overtaken OpenSea in dominance. Christie's is entering a new phase with *Christie's 3.0*, its own on-chain NFT platform on Ethereum. The auction house's inaugural sale will feature nine works by 18-year-old artist Diana Sinclair, who was named one of Fortune's 50 most influential figures in NFTs in 2021. In the courts, UK art dealer Rob Newland has pleaded guilty to involvement in Inigo Philbrick's $86 million fraud scheme. The case follows years of deception involving fake sales and forged documents, with multiple convictions already secured against Philbrick and associates.
The art scene is balancing innovation with reckoning. Christie's NFT platform signals cautious optimism in a recovering digital market, while exhibitions and public artworks refocus attention on underrepresented histories. Legal outcomes, like Newland's guilty plea, continue to address past frauds that shook the industry.
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