Archives for November 2006

I need to get far away from the world of allegedly stolen antiquities: to a museum that has barely begun to form its own permanent collection, most of which is art from the 21st-century; to a place whose scheduled opening was delayed (but not nearly as delayed as the Museum of Modern Art's new education and research wing). I'll bet you've all got it. What you may NOT have is … [Read more...] about Where in the World is Lee Going?

Tom Hoving, director of the Metropolitan Museum when it was considering a joint acquisition with oil mogul J. Paul Getty of the celebrated Greek bronze statue of an athlete, discusses the historical background of the current ownership controversy: The old man, J. Paul, insisted before he purchased the bronze (to share with the Met in exchange for the Met's lending the … [Read more...] about BlogBack: Tom Hoving on the Getty Bronze

Christian Kleinbub, assistant professor of art history at Ohio State University, published a pro-Getty letter to the editor in yesterday's LA Times. Here's a somewhat more pointed letter that he wrote on Tuesday to CultureGrrl: I write to share my own feelings on the recent negotiations between [Italian Culture Minister Francesco] Rutelli and American museums, for I believe it … [Read more...] about BlogBack: Christian Kleinbub Takes the Getty’s Side

Terracotta Kylix, Greek, Laconian, ca. 560-500 B.C., composite of a man, a sea creature and snakes, attributed to the Typhon Painter from Cerveteri, necropolis of Bufaloreccia, lent by the Republic of Italy Size and ceremony aren't everything, but the low-key loan by Italy to the Metropolitan Museum of an 8 1/2-inch wide drinking cup (above), displayed inconspicuously today in … [Read more...] about Boston Got a Big Statue; the Met Gets a Small Drinking Cup

Mixtec Bell, Mexico, c. 1200-1521 The show was so nice, I'll say it twice: I adored "Gold" at the American Museum of Natural History. It came across like your best 8th-grade science and social studies teachers combined---plying you with fun facts; dazzling you with fascinating illustrative materials (huge, fancifully shaped gold nuggets, gold ingots, gold jewelry, Beyoncé's … [Read more...] about Golden Opportunities Missed at AMNH’s Gold Show

I surmise that this statue from Italy... "Eirene" (Goddess of Peace), Roman, Imperial Period, late first century B.C. to early first century A.D., (Height: over 9 feet) Marble, body from Mt. Pentelikon, Greece, head from the Greek island of Paros, Lent by the Republic of Italy ...is intended to substitute for this statue, returned to Italy on Sept. 28 by the Boston Museum of … [Read more...] about Boston Gets “Peace” from Italy; Getty Gets Op-Ed Piece

Architecture critic James Russell, in today's Bloomberg, has the guts to publish what CultureGrrl thought but dared not say: Renzo Piano may not be the Whitney Museum's best choice as architect, as it relocates its proposed expansion from well-mannered Madison Avenue to the gritty High Line. Russell writes: The Whitney has pledged to continue with Piano, but his Madison Avenue … [Read more...] about Should Piano Design the New New Whitney?

Can Christie's claim a new auction record for a Qing Dynasty ceramic without appending a big asterisk, when the buyer turns out to be the consignor's own sister? Bloomberg reported that Alice Cheng was the Hong Kong auction's winning bidder today, at $19.5 million, for the Qing porcelain bowl sold by her own brother, 80-year-old Hong Kong art dealer Robert Chang. The final … [Read more...] about When Is an Auction Record Not an Auction Record?

It's a variation on the old philosophical question that begins, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it..." The question raised by the current Roundabout Theatre production of George Bernard Shaw's "Heartbreak House" is: If a character is excised from a play and no one notices, does it nevertheless violate the author's intentions? The answer: YES. Ever the college … [Read more...] about Play Doctors Perform Surgery on “Heartbreak House”

Fourth time (Graves, Koolhaas, Piano, Piano) is the charm? Carol Vogel of the NY Times gets the High Line scoop (to be published in tomorrow's paper, but online tonight). CultureGrrl gets to link. (What, me jealous?) The Coalition of Concerned Whitney Neighbors, as well as the Defenders of the Historic Upper Eastside and the Hotel Carlyle Owners Corp., get to pop the champagne … [Read more...] about The Whitney’s Next New Building

UPDATES: Here and Here. The disturbing breakdown in negotiations between the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Italian Culture Ministry revolves around competing claims for one object---the ancient Greek statue of an athlete---formerly dubbed "The Getty Bronze." Purchased by the museum in 1977 for $3.95 million, it is now called the "Athlete of Lysippos" by the Italians and … [Read more...] about The Battle of the Bronze: Italy’s Argument; Getty’s Rebuttal

Italian Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli is in Washington today to hold a press conference and to meet with government officials in the White House, Congress and the State Department, as part of a whirlwind three-city tour. Tomorrow he meets with officials of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Wednesday he is scheduled to meet in New York with the Metropolitan Museum's … [Read more...] about Cultural Diplomacy, Italian Style: Rutelli Now in the USA

While you impatiently await my first post of the new week, please note that I did hit the keyboard over the Thanksgiving weekend. (So catch up, if you've been away.) More importantly, please scroll down my righthand column, where you will see, for the first time, links to some of my articles published in the Mainstream Media---the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, LA Times and Art … [Read more...] about Lee’s Greatest Hits

Do not miss...I SAID, DO NOT MISS Tom Wolfe's electric kool-aid acid bath for real estate developers, on Page 10 of today's NY Times "Week in Review" section. Aby Rosen, who rallied artworld support from such luminaries as artist Jeff Koons and dealers Lawrence Salander and Larry Gagosian for the 30-story Norman Foster glass tower he wants to build over five-story 980 Madison … [Read more...] about Bonfire of the Real Estate Developers