"(The acquisition) raised one uncomfortable question that remains unanswered: how Frieze would juggle both the Armory Show and Frieze Seoul, which run concurrently, in an already over-saturated art world calendar. And that's, of course, leaving aside the fact that Frieze already hosts a fair in New York in the spring." - ARTnews
"We are working to see that the Art Institute is preserved for aspiring artists to advance their work," said SF Conservatory of Music president David Stoll. "It will also serve as a resource for established artists to come together." (Yes, the Diego Rivera mural will be preserved.) - MSN (San Francisco Chronicle)
Although the British Museum might have regarded itself as too big to fail, its false sense of exceptionalism has now jeopardized its future as an institution that claims to epitomize the protection of the world’s cultural heritage. - Hyperallergic
The new “Visitor Zones” program requires visitors to book a time slot through its online platform. On arrival, visitors will scan a QR code on their ticket and be allowed to enter during their scheduled window. - Washington Post
"In August, archaeologists working alongside local volunteers began their excavation at Drumadoon (on the Isle of Arran) of what is almost certainly the only complete Neolithic cursus monument found in Britain." - The Guardian
It quickly became clear that the simple frame was of much lesser value than the striking scene within, which was revealed to be by the renowned painter and illustrator N.C. Wyeth. - Artnet
"Michael Rohana, 29, apologized to his family and the Chinese government, saying he would make no excuses for his drunken prank at the (Franklin Institute's) 2017 ugly sweater Christmas party" in Philadelphia. His punishment will be light. - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
"A 22-year-old German man has been detained in Florence, accused of damaging a statue in the 16th-century Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della Signoria (while posing for a photo). The city estimates the damage to the statue is around €5,000 ($5,400)." - CNN
The Natural History Museum has at least 30,700 human bones and other body parts. Responding to The Post’s reporting, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III asserted that “all the remains, all the brains, need to be returned if possible.” - Washington Post
The Nevada businessman who sold the baskets in the early 1900s said they were made by a Washoe princess named Dat So La Lee. In fact, she preferred her English name, Louisa Keyser, and the backstories told by the salesman about her were mostly made up. - The New York Times
"Valuable items can be seized by Hamas … or sold by smugglers. There is little funding and equipment to adequately excavate or maintain historical sites. Sometimes they are damaged in Israeli offensives. Yet a clutch of dedicated archaeologists and activists … (is) working hard to preserve the area's ancient past." - The Observer (UK)
"The bust known as 'Portrait of a Lady' was acquired in 1966 by the Worcester Art Museum, … dates from A.D. 160 to 180 and is believed to be a life-sized portrayal of a daughter of Marcus Aurelius or another Roman emperor, Septimius Severus." - AP
At the British Museum, flat funding from the Conservatives has meant a real-terms cut in revenue grant-in-aid of 37% between 2009-10, under Labour, and now, under the Tories. - The Guardian
The museum is now deluged with renewed calls for the restitution of contested objects, and raising a huge sum for an impending refurbishment looks even more difficult. At a time when it needs leadership most, the museum is rudderless, after its director, Hartwig Fischer, resigned on Aug. 25. - The New York Times
Six weeks after the UK government gave final approval for the $2.3 billion project, a group arguing that the tunnel could irreparably harm the ancient monument has filed a new lawsuit to block it. - Smithsonian Magazine
