This month, Republicans in both the House and Senate introduced legislation to once again make classical architecture the preferred house style for federal buildings. The Beautifying Federal Civil Architecture Act would restore Trump’s lame-duck vision for a “Council on Improving Federal Civic Architecture.” - Bloomberg
He piled all $2 billion worth of artifacts he amassed over eight years into that same attic in his mother Mireille Stengel’s “nondescript” stucco house. - The New York Times
Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan) — said to have still been on the easel when Klimt died — was sold at Sotheby's in London for £85.3 million ($108 million). The previous European record, $104.3 million, was set by Alberto Giacometti's sculpture Walking Man I in 2010. - Artnet
In the wake of the recent resignation of Alicia Dubois, the chief executive of the Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM) in Victoria, British Columbia, 16 months after she was hired, concerns remain about the future of the beloved but troubled institution. - The Art Newspaper
"The video, which was posted to Reddit, shows a man using his keys to scratch the words 'Ivan + Hayley '23' on an exterior wall of the 1,900-year-old structure. Next to him is a woman — presumably Hayley — who also watches as the defacement take place." - Artnet
"On June 23, as heavy rains in Germany flooded streets and shut down rail transportation, staff at Berlin's Gemäldegalerie taped up some plastic sheeting to protect a painting by Rembrandt" — Portrait of the Mennonite Preacher Cornelius Claesz Anslo and His Wife Aaltje Gerritsdr Shouten (1641) — "from a leak." - ARTnews
How a public building constructed in the 21st century, having journeyed through New York City’s laborious approvals process, can emerge so ill-prepared to receive the actual public is mind-boggling. - Los Angeles Times
"Severe stress can literally change the brain, affecting memory, coping skills and abilities to regulate emotions. Aware of just how much the physical environment can shape people’s lives, more architects are starting to rethink how they design homeless shelters." - The Guardian (UK)
A year after many European countries declared the COVID-19 emergency "over," museum attendance is ticking back up, at least domestically. Compared to 2019, at the National Gallery of London, "the ratio of domestic to international visitors almost reversed, with 57% of all visitors coming from the UK." - Hyperallergic
Another statue goes down for its inspiration being an enslaver. For a century, few knew who he was, but "in recent years it sometimes drew Hamilton fans to snap selfies" at Albany's City Hall.- The New York Times
In the 1960s and 1970s, Denver's Chicana/o community painted murals partly because the city knew they were cheaper than removing graffiti. Now they're disappearing. "The National Trust named the Chicano/a/x Community Murals of Colorado to its 2022 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places." - Hyperallergic
In artist Mire Lee's work, "motors, tubes, and pumps paired with silicone, ceramics, fabrics and liquids become sculptures that are bizarre, messy and (in more ways than one) moving. Pushing lines of taste, her inventions can suggest organs ripped from bodies." - The New York Times
After I finished, I placed the banana skin under the tape on the wall. Then, a guard said, 'excuse me,' but didn’t try to restrain me in any way. I talked to the guards. They looked embarrassed." - The Guardian (UK)
"Francis told the group that 'neither art nor faith can leave things simply as they are: They change, transform, move and convert them. Art can never serve as an anesthetic; it brings peace, yet far from deadening consciences, it keeps them alert.'" - The New York Times
"The Brooklyn Museum wanted to do an exhibition with a Netflix celebrity, so the institution isn't going to say anything too plainly about the flaws in Gadsby's arguments. … Gadsby, meanwhile, admits that they participated, even though they hate the show's subject, because 'I thought it would raise my profile.'" - Artnet
