The art market is thriving in Texas, with an increasing number of transactions over $1 million, per a report by Bank of America and ArtTactic.

Why it matters: The state's art boom is a byproduct of its growing population and more ultra-wealthy families moving to the state, Bank of America Dallas president Jennifer Chandler tells Axios.

• Texas' arts and culture industry generated almost $460 million in sales tax revenue in 2023, per the Texas Cultural Trust.

Follow the money: About 46% of the country's overall art spending last year came from buyers in California, Florida, New York and Texas, per the Bank of America report.

• The four states also accounted for about 80% of the country's art purchases over $1 million.

The intrigue: Texas wasn't a top 10 state in 2015 for art transactions over $1 million. Now, the state is fourth, with a 6% market share for the transaction type, Bank of America says.

State of play: Art is a "heartstring purchase" that's attracting a new generation of buyers, including tech founders diversifying their portfolio and young people whose families have collected art for generations, Chandler tells Axios.

• Sales of impressionist and modern art increased last year, along with art made by women.

Zoom in: At least three Austinites — David Booth, Suzanne Deal Booth and Suzanne McFayden — are listed in ArtNews' 2025 list of 200 top art collectors globally.

What they're saying: "If it doesn't move you physically, you don't buy it," Austin collector Jeanne Klein once told Texas Monthly. "We were in London once, and I walked into a room and saw an Ellsworth Kelly and almost felt like I might faint."

• "So many people have it wrong that you can only buy fine art in New York. That's ridiculous. Everyone should go to their local galleries. Local galleries have local artists, yes, but they also bring in artists from other countries. The art world has changed, because now the world is flat."

Flashback: Klein and her husband Mickey, along with the Booths, helped underwrite the campaign to pay for the chapel-like Ellsworth Kelly installation at the Blanton.

Grab your phone and sunscreen — nature is calling.

Why it matters: The City Nature Challenge calls itself the largest community science biodiversity census in the world.

The big picture: The four-day challenge, which starts today in Austin and cities across the world, is meant to document how species are responding to climate change and urban sprawl.

Flashback: Greater Austin placed 16th globally last year in the number of species observed, with nearly 3,500 species documented by about 1,800 people.

What they're saying: "A lot of times, people think of nature as something you go away to get to. We go to these fantastic national parks, and those places are great, but there's also nature all around us," Nathan May, an educator at the Trinity River Audubon center in Dallas, tells Axios.

How it works: Download the iNaturalist app on your phone or go to this website to upload photos of wild organisms around you. "Wild means that it wasn't put there, and is not being taken care of by people," per the challenge's website.

• Take your photos by Monday and upload them by May 10. They will automatically be entered into the City Nature Challenge.

📷 Pro tip: Make sure the subject can be clearly seen in the photo and isn't blurry. You can also upload multiple photos of the same subject, showing attributes like leaves, flowers, nuts and bark.

The bottom line: We don't want to lose again to DFW, where more than 4,300 species were documented last year — or to San Antonio (5,400 species!).

👀 The Austin Fire Department has fired a second high-ranking firefighter as part of a widening investigation into potential overtime abuses. Austin police are running a parallel probe. (Austin American-Statesman 🔒)

🔎 The Texas Education Agency is investigating the Austin Independent School District for its celebration of Pride Week. (KUT)

💸 The purchase price of the Big Ticket, which gives University of Texas students the chance to claim tickets for all home regular-season ticketed events, is increasing from $250 to $270. (The Daily Texan)

Answer these three questions correctly and you might win the recognition of a lifetime — a shoutout in our Monday newsletter.

📬 Just reply to this email.

1. Who announced this week they're donating $750 million to the University of Texas?
2. True or false: The Austin Parks and Recreation Department this week lifted a burn ban in city parks.
3. Economy parking at the airport will soon increase from $12 per day. Will the new rate be (a) $14 per day; (b) $16; or (c) $18?

👋 Asher here.

I'm no fancy-schmancy art collector, but I really liked this painting that I found a few months back at Uncommon Objects. It's joyous, whimsical, bright, full of character and beautifully painted.

• Since you asked, I paid a little over $100 for it. The painting (roughly 6 inches tall by 2 feet wide) now hangs across from my bed.

The intrigue: The painting is signed "Gómez" but I can't figure out who that is — and there are no markings on the back.

• On a whim, I wrote Cheech Marin asking if he might have some idea — but I haven't heard back. ChatGPT wasn't much help, either.

The bottom line: While I'm interested in learning the painting's backstory, at the end of the day it just makes me happy to catch sight of it every morning.