“Museum workers, the police and government officials are rattled. They worry about how to protect France’s cultural patrimony in an era of increasingly violent criminal gangs, some of whom have broken into museums in broad daylight.” - The New York Times
Of course, the “request” came on conservative social media site Truth Social. It “underscores a perception that he sees himself as curator-in-chief of the nation’s national museum.” - The Guardian (UK)
What could justify moving the fragile tapestry to Britain this year? Probably politics: “Foot by foot, fiber by fiber, this is the material proof of England’s entwinement with the continent 21 miles from its coast.” - The New York Times
Shouting and a shoving match erupted as Italian-American artist Sergio Furnari unveiled his unpermitted life-size bronze memorial to slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Times Square on Thursday. - ARTnews
As French Culture Minister Catherine Pegard put it, “A break of two threads over a length of 70 meters was reported. … So today, if we say it is in the same state after having arrived in London as it was when it left Bayeux, I think we’re not very wrong.” - Le Monde
Ten feet tall, on a 13-foot-high platform, made of bronze, painted, and striding with purpose. Tschabalala Self’s Lady in Blue is this year’s sculpture for the empty fourth column in Trafalgar Square. - CNN
The Speed Art Museum, which is Kentucky’s oldest and largest museum with around 15,000 objects in its collection, will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. - ARTnews
“After a crisis-ridden decade of planning and renovations and more than €250 million ($290 million), the 430,000-square-foot Kanal-Centre Pompidou complex is set to open on November 28, when it will become the Belgian capital city’s only major modern and contemporary art museum.” - ARTnews
When it arrived at the British Museum in mid-July from its home in Bayeux, northern France, news channels covered the tapestry’s return as though it were a returning war hero rather than an embroidery inside a crate in the back of a truck. The interest has barely let up since. - The New York Times
The fire, which was reported around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, apparently broke out near the Getty Center parking lot and progressed along the 405 Freeway. The blaze was contained later that evening and evacuation orders have been lifted, but the museum will remain closed on Thursday. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
The museum calls it “narrative art,” defined as art “created to tell stories through images.” George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, have also described their collection as “the people’s art.” - Los Angeles Times
The suit, one of four recently brought by contractors alleging nonpayment, claims the museum “actively promoted, contracted, and labeled the construction as a ‘private, non-profit development’ to bypass the rigorous administrative, registration, and bonding mandates of the California Public Contract Code, Civil Code, and Labor Code.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Hungary’s new government has scrapped plans for a New National Gallery that was to form part of a development in Budapest’s City Park (Városliget) aimed at elevating the capital’s cultural standing. - The Art Newspaper
That language has been removed from the website, and the marker in the cemetery has been replaced by a new sign that omits wording critical of slavery and the Confederacy. - Washington Post
