Sanitized and caricatured by corporate marketing schemes, Basquiat’s work has been defanged. Today, Basquiat the artist has become Basquiat the brand. - Jacobin
Rima Abdul Malak, who as a child fled with her family to France from the Lebanese Civil War, succeeds Roselyne Bachelot, who was in the position for only 22 months. (France has had 15 culture ministers in the past 30 years.) - The National (Abu Dhabi)
“All these percussion solos from that period of time were written for young, acrobatic people. So the question is, what does an aging body, but a more experienced body, have to offer? And it turns out I’m a better player than I was. I don’t waste any time.” - The New York Times
"Prosecutors accused Philbrick of committing 'one of the most significant frauds in the art market's history,' describing his operation in a sentencing memorandum as 'Ponzi-like.' ... He is alleged to have sold shares totaling more than 100 percent in artworks he didn't own, falsified contracts, forged signatures, and invented fictitious clients." - Artnet
“An accomplished and widely respected actor, John left an indelible mark on the Seattle theater community and on everyone he collaborated with over his long career.” - Seattle Times
Claridge "revealed the details of what, to a casual observer, might seem a homogeneous slice of the long-ago," making the ruins speak to any general reader or visitor to the Eternal City. - The New York Times
Angell's baseball writing - his gorgeous sentences, his attention to detail, his belief that being a fan was a worthwhile endeavor - earned him award after award, but his essays about his New Yorker childhood and his annual holiday poem also had a devoted readership. - The New York Times
Published when she was 51, Barker's O Caledonia won several awards and was popular in Europe for several years, then faded away. She parlayed the book's success into a busy career as a journalist and essayist, known for being quirky and free-spirited, but never wrote another novel. - The New York Times
He won an Oscar for the stirring score to 1981's Chariots of Fire, which was followed by Blade Runner a year later. Paying tribute, US composer Austin Wintory wrote on Twitter that Vangelis "changed an entire era of music". - BBC
"Their domestic partnership was not a secret. Lewis often was and sometimes still is made over into Cather's secretary (she wasn't) rather than being recognized for what she was: a highly compensated professional woman with a demanding office job who was also Cather's romantic partner and her editor." - Literary Hub
Einstein had been a well-paid man. His Princeton salary of $10,000 – roughly $180,000 in today’s money – was set by the university to exceed that of any American scientist. But his earnings in life were insignificant compared to his earnings in death. - The Guardian
The mythology that has developed around the Tudor dynasty has made that seem an improbable question, but there are bits of evidence suggesting that, at least at the very end of his life, the King did indeed repent of the prosecution and execution of his second wife. - Mental Floss
With Christopher Hogwood's Academy of Ancient Music, Preston and his Choir of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford released landmark period-instrument recordings of Handel's Messiah, Bach's Magnificat, Vivaldi's Gloria, and several Haydn Masses. As soloist, among his 100+ recordings were the complete organ works of Bach and Handel for DG. - Gramophone
While not on any sanctions list, the Ukrainian-born billionaire’s links to sanctioned Russian oligarchs were the focus of discussion among officials involved in a multimillion pound donation by him that helped ensure a trove of literary treasures were saved for the nation. - The Guardian
Douglas Chrismas was considered to be at the forefront of the Los Angeles art scene in the 1980s and 90s at his now-defunct Ace Gallery. But financial troubles overtook his reputation and Chrismas was repeatedly sued by his artists for non-payment and theft of artwork. - The Art Newspaper
