Mural of ‘Afrocentric’ Nefertiti Painted Over in Cairo Following Backlash, UK Collectors ‘Poised to Move’ if Assets Taxed, and More: Morning Links for October 2, 2026

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• Cairo removed a mural of Pharaoh Tutankhamun and Queen Neferti following criticism that their skin looked too dark.
• UK dealers say local art collectors have “got their fingers poised to move on October 29” if the government announces a rise in capital gains tax rates.
• Nine Swiss museums are teaming up to research the provenance of over 6,300 objects from Cameroon.

The Headlines

ANCIENT CONTROVERSY. The city of Cairo removed a mural depicting Pharaoh Tutankhamun and Queen Nefertiti ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s arrival, following angry backlash from locals who alleged it depicted the royal duo with dark skin, reports The Guardian. “We used a golden-bronze tone that cast a kind of shadow on the faces at night, so they appeared dark-skinned,” said Ahmed Moussa, who participated in the mural’s creation, only to be asked by local officials to paint over it. However, controversy began to build as allegations circulated that the depictions perpetuated an “Afrocentric” view asserting that the ancient Egyptian civilization was of Black African origins. “Claims linking ancient Egyptian civilization to sub-Saharan Africa are nonsense,” said Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s former antiquities minister, who also scolded authorities for allowing the project without proper oversight.

TAXATION TREPIDATION. UK art collectors have “got their fingers poised to move on October 29” if the government announces a rise in capital gains tax rates, said Philip Hoffman, chief executive of the Fine Art Group, speaking to the Times of London. There is widespread speculation that Chancellor John Healey will introduce the tax later this month, which could apply to assets, such as artworks, leading some dealers to remove artworks from the country, according to the report. A new rate could amount to a 40 percent or 45 percent tax on asset sales, raised from the current 24 percent, per the Times.

The Digest

Nine museums in Switzerland are teaming up, with federal funding, to research the provenance of over 6,300 objects from Cameroon in their collections. [The Art Newspaper]

Fondation Beyeler Director Sam Keller discusses the reasons for the Swiss institution’s $144.9 million expansion, and no, it was not a business decision. [ARTnews]

Jackson Pollock’s one-bedroom, 687-square-foot Manhattan loft is up for sale for $1.9 million. [Artnet News]

In a final “Libra Season” column for Spike Magazine, critic Travis Diehl explores “what criticism is good for.” [Spike Magazine]

Cyra Levenson has been named the next president of the Yaddo artist residency in Saratoga Springs, New York. [Hyperallergic]

The Kicker

GATEWAY TURNED GATE. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has fenced off its central plaza, beneath the spaceship-like, hovering building, reports the Los Angeles Times. But that was not part of the original plan, or immediately apparent to visitors while previewing the much-awaited new museum in Los Angeles. What was first billed as a “gateway, it turns out, is more like a gate,” writes Sam Lubell. The museum has cited safety concerns as one reason visitors will have to pass security controls before entering the plaza, and an adjacent park has no such barriers. But Lubell says the new blocks “will dramatically limit the public’s desire to enter and change the tenor and experience of a space that should feel porous and inclusive.” He later adds that the privately controlled public space means “access ultimately depends on the owner’s discretion,” despite the museum leasing the site from the state for just $30 a year.