Archives for January 2007

On Dec. 22, I said that "the fundraising campaign to keep 'The Gross Clinic' in Philadelphia cannot be considered a roaring success, having fallen far short of its goal during the appointed time." On Jan. 31, I'm saying that the Eakins acquisition is not just a hollow victory; it's a debacle. There is nothing to celebrate in selling one masterpiece (or maybe more) to … [Read more...] about The “Gross Clinic” Deaccession Debacle

Alex Ross, music critic of The New Yorker (who has his own lively blog), responds to my pick of Riccardo Muti as next music director of the NY Philharmonic: I strongly disagree! Muti is yet another virtuoso conductor who would fly in for 12 weeks, conduct 12 reasonably brilliant concerts, and fly away, making no visible mark on the wider musical life of the city, advancing no … [Read more...] about BlogBack: Alex Ross on the NY Philharmonic’s Next Music Director

I don't usually publish press releases, but this one (linked below) is too meaty merely to summarize. It gives details on four ambitious cultural facilities commissioned by Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development & Investment Company from Frank Gehry (Guggenheim Abu Dhabi), Jean Nouvel (Classical Museum), Tadao Ando (Maritime Museum) and Zaha Hadid (Performing Arts Centre). If, with … [Read more...] about Models for Four Abu Dhabi Facilities Unveiled: Cultural Palaces Fit for a Sheikh?

Ben Sanderson, press officer at the British Library, responds to my previous post criticizing the Library for allowing itself and its Leonardo codex to be used for Bill Gates' promotion of Microsoft's new Vista operating system: As a publicly funded institution, the Library has to supplement the money it receives from the government with sponsorship and support in kind from a … [Read more...] about BlogBack: Ben Sanderson of the British Library on Microsoft’s Vista Launch

Does anyone besides me feel queasy about the willingness of the British Library---the U.K.'s national library---to serve as Bill Gates' promotional platform for yesterday's launch of Microsoft's new Vista operating system? No doubt the British Library has benefited mightily from its longterm "strategic partnership" with Microsoft to digitize material from its collections, and … [Read more...] about Da Vinci on Vista: Should Leonardo and the British Library Promote Microsoft?

Brandes Residence, Sammamish, Wa. Photo by Alan Weintraub/arcaid.co.uk I want this house! Where the heck is the Sammamish Plateau, anyway? I found out how easy it is to find Frank Lloyd Wright houses that are up for sale when I did my article about the restoration of Fallingwater for the Wall Street Journal. If you go to the site for the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy … [Read more...] about Frank Lloyd Wright on the Market

The matter of the Matter "Pollocks" gets curiouser and curiouser: The Harvard-based conservation experts who conducted an independent, pro-bono scientific examination of three paintings from the group of 32 works found among the possessions of Jackson Pollock's friend, the late Herbert Matter, yesterday issued a 13-page analysis (with images), which reported: Some pigments … [Read more...] about “Pollocks” Flunk Harvard, Attend Boston College

If Jed Perl isn't careful, he may inherit the Hilton Kramer honorary mantle for critical stodginess. His cover story for the Feb. 5 issue of The New Republic strains to coin a new catch-phrase, "laissez-faire aesthetics," while positioning Perl squarely in the dubious tradition of critics who are so stuck in the past that they can't see the art of the present. Today's big-money … [Read more...] about Jed’s Jeremiad: Perl Hurls Brickbats at the Art Scene

It's been a long time since I stood in front of a class of young students, so when I recently initiated a sixth-grade class into the sacred mysteries of the journalistic fraternity, I had forgotten about the final pedagogic handshake---the arrival in the mail of a packet of thank-you letters, penned by each member of the class. Here's the one that stood out: Thank you, Mrs. … [Read more...] about My Letter from a Future Journalist

Maybe the Metropolitan Museum was jealous of the Metropolitan Opera and wanted to go to the movies too! How else to explain the spring offerings of learned(?) discussions and full-length multiple moving screenings devoted to Greta Garbo, Cary Grant, and that newcomer, Woody Allen? Two lectures devoted to Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, with film clips and recordings, are … [Read more...] about Movie Nostalgia Comes to the Metropolitan Museum

I knew that major orchestras, including the NY Philharmonic, are offering downloads of live concerts on iTunes. But this morning was the first time I heard such a download played on a classical music radio station. Maybe this is old news, but it's the first time I've noticed it, and I listen a lot. This morning, New York's WQXR played the Beethoven Seventh, with Esa-Pekka … [Read more...] about Classical Radio Broadcasts iTunes for the Vinyl Generation

It's a tough job to cover two days of feminist art symposia, but somebody (not CultureGrrl) had to do it . Holland Cotter, early in his dutiful account for today's NY Times, makes this startling assertion: Curators and critics have increasingly come to see that feminism has generated the most influential art impulses of the late 20th and early 21st century. There is almost no … [Read more...] about Feminist Festivities: The Sisterhood’s Art Reunion

I've already picked Philippe de Montebello's successor at the Metropolitan Museum. So why not Lorin Maazel's successor as music director of the New York Philharmonic? I heard him conduct last night, and he is (drumroll)...Riccardo Muti. Of course, we all know that Maazel has already named the conductor he wants to succeed him---Daniel Barenboim who, at 64, is a year younger … [Read more...] about Who Should Succeed Maazel at the NY Philharmonic?

After searching in vain for an online version of the press release or a description of the Neue Galerie's upcoming van Gogh show, I perused the museum's website and discovered that at least one artworld luminary took my suggested New Year's resolution seriously: The Neue Galerie has finally gotten around to posting the provenance of works in its collection. But you decide … [Read more...] about Neue Galerie Finally Posts Nazi-Era Provenance (Sort Of)

It was the one story I felt sorry I wrote after I wrote it: In March 2000, I published an article in the Wall Street Journal (linked at the bottom of this article), in which I suggested that Austrian-born investment fund manager Wolfgang Flöttl might have become the owner of the elusive "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" by van Gogh, which had set an auction record in 1990 when it sold … [Read more...] about “Dr. Gachet” Sighting: It WAS Flöttl!