The year 2005 in art involves various significant events.

• June – Zentrum Paul Klee, a museum dedicated to Paul Klee, designed by Renzo Piano, opens in Bern, Switzerland.
• September 30 – Controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
• Museum of Art Fakes opens in Vienna.
• Banksy's Peckham Rock is installed surreptitiously in the British Museum (London) where it goes undetected for at least 3 days.^[1]

• Archibald Prize – John Olsen, Self portrait Janus Faced
• Beck's Futures – Christina Mackie
• Caldecott Medal for children's book illustration – Kevin Henkes, Kitten's First Full Moon
• Rolf Schock Prize in Visual Arts – Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa
• Turner Prize – Simon Starling, Shedboatshed
• The Venice Biennial (June 12 – November 6):
  • Lion d'Or Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement: Barbara Kruger (USA)
  • Lion d'Or for Best Pavilion: Annette Messager (France)
• Wynne prize – Jenny Sages, The Road to Utopia

• February 12–27 – The Gates, installation art by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in Central Park, New York City.
• May 10 – Dedication of Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, designed by architect Peter Eisenman originally working with sculptor Richard Serra (both Americans), in Berlin.
• July 9 – Unveiling of Monument to the Women of World War II, sculpted by John W. Mills, in Whitehall, London.^[2]
• John Aiken – Monolith and Shadow (sculpture outside University College Hospital, London)
• Louise Bourgeois – Father and Son (sculpture in Seattle)
• Herbert Dreiseitl – Artwall (installation art in Portland, Oregon)
• Elmgreen & Dragset - Prada Marfa in Marfa, Texas
• Barry Flanagan – Pirate's Wheel^[3]
• Kennardphilips - Photo Op, photomontage of Tony Blair in front of burning oil
• Damian Loeb – "Straw Dogs"^[4]
• Roy McMakin
  • Love & Loss (installation art in Seattle)
  • Untitled (Wooden Toilet)
• Ron Mueck – In Bed (sculpture in Queensland Gallery of Modern Art)^[5]
• Odd Nerdrum – Cannibals
• Dennis Oppenheim – Engagement (sculptures)
• Bridget Riley – Red Movement

• Aleksander Balos – Travaux récents (organised by Arts nord sud, at Espace Griffon, Crédit Municipal, Paris, France)

• 1 January – Eugene J. Martin, American visual artist (b.1938).
• 2 January – Frank Kelly Freas, American illustrator and painter (born 1922)
• 4 January
  • Guy Davenport, American writer, translator, illustrator, painter, intellectual and teacher (b.1927).
  • Alton Tobey, American painter, historical artist, muralist, portraitist, illustrator and teacher (b.1914).
• 14 January
  • Conroy Maddox, English surrealist painter, collagist, writer and lecturer (b.1912).
  • Rudolph Moshammer, German fashion designer (b.1940).
• 25 January
  • Philip Johnson, American major art collector, MoMA curator, influential architect (born 1906)
  • Max Velthuijs, Dutch painter, illustrator and author (b.1923).
• 27 January
  • Gordon Lambert, Irish art collector (b.1919).
  • Aurélie Nemours, French painter (b.1910).
• 7 February – Paul Rebeyrolle, French painter (b.1926).
• 18 February – Harald Szeemann, Swiss curator and art historian (b.1933).
• 21 February – Zdzisław Beksiński, Polish painter, photographer, and fantasy artist (b.1929).
• 15 March – Judith Scott, American outsider fiber sculptor (b.1943).
• 20 March – Walter Hopps, American museum director and curator (b.1932).

• 5 April
  • Dale Messick, first American woman syndicated comic strip artist (b.1906)^[6]
  • Neil Welliver, American painter (b.1929)
• 10 April – Carl Abrahams, Jamaican painter (b.1911)
• 11 April – André François, French cartoonist (b.1915)
• 13 April
  • Philip Pavia, American sculptor (b.1912)^[7]
  • Juan Zanotto, Italian-born Argentine comic book artist (b.1935)
• 19 April – Clement Meadmore, Australian-born American sculptor (b.1929)
• 22 April – Eduardo Paolozzi, Scottish-born sculptor and artist (b.1924)
• 27 May
  • Astrid Zydower, German-born British sculptor (b.1930)
  • Fay Godwin, English landscape photographer (b.1931)
• 12 June – David Whitney, American independent curator and art dealer (b.1939)
• 21 June – Al Loving, African American abstract impressionist painter (b.1935)

• 22 July – Dragoš Kalajić, Serbian painter (born 1943)
• 26 July – Robert C. Turner, American potter (b.1913)
• 27 July – Al Held, American Abstract expressionist painter (b.1928)
• 1 August – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter, one of the innovators of Unitary Urbanism (b.1920)
• 16 August – Joe Ranft, American magician, animation storyboard artist and voice actor (b.1960)
• 22 August – Juliet Pannett, English portrait artist (born 1911)
• 26 August – Robert Denning, American interior designer (b.1927)
• 22 October – Arman, French-born American artist (b.1928)
• 28 October – Raymond Hains, French artist and photographer (b.1926)
• 11 November – Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield, English photographer (b.1939)
• 2 December – Lillian Browse, English art dealer and historian (born 1906)

• List of years in art