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Russian-Owned Philips Auction House Faces Rocky Future

Despite it donating £5.8m to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society from a recent auction in London, and its CEO condemning the Russian invasion, those calling for the company to be shunned argue that only a boycott will force its Russian business figures to put pressure on the Kremlin. - The Guardian

After 11 Years, Rubens’ Massive (And Very Heavy) “Baptism Of Christ” Is Brought Out Of Storage

The 13½-by-22-foot, 1,225-pound painting is back in place at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, which is about to reopen after a decade-long renovation. Moving the 417-year-old masterpiece was quite an operation. - AP

Museums In Shanghai And Shenzen Close Again As China Faces Another Wave Of COVID

At least seven major institutions in Shanghai's West Bund and Pudong districts shut their doors on March 10, just before local schools were closed. Lockdowns have also closed museums in Shenzhen, across the river from Hong Kong; other southern Chinese cities remain open for now. - ARTnews

Museums Are Re-Examining Their Security Arrangement Following MoMA Stabbings

"Given the rarity of violence within museums, most are protected by security guards who are typically unarmed and capable of detecting and responding to events — but they are not equipped to do more than report an intruder with a weapon." - The New York Times

The Design For Melbourne’s Huge New Contemporary Art Museum Is Revealed

The nearly 200-foot-tall NGV Contemporary — which, at 323,000 square feet (140,000 of display space), will be Australia's largest art museum when it opens in 2028 — will feature a 130-foot spherical atrium surrounded by a Frank Lloyd Wright/Guggenheim-style spiral walkway. - The Age (Melbourne)

L.A.’s Underground Museum Closes Indefinitely As Co-Directors Step Down

The free-admission space, founded in a minority neighborhood in 2012 by a prominent Black artist family, had reopened only a month ago following its pandemic closure. One of the departing co-directors took the reins in 2020, the other only late last year; neither are founding-family members. - ARTnews

Restoration Workers At Notre-Dame In Paris Unearth Medieval Tombs

"Several tombs and a leaden sarcophagus likely dating from the 14th century have been uncovered by archaeologists at Paris's Notre-Dame cathedral following its devastating 2019 fire. … Elements of painted sculptures were (also) found just beneath the current floor level of the cathedral." - France 24

This Year’s Pritzker Prize Winner Breaks Ground

Francis Kéré has made a name for himself with a series of schools and medical facilities in Africa that appear grown out of their context, built by local communities with the bare minimum of resources.- The Guardian

Sophie Calle Squatted In The Musee d’Orsay Before It Became A Museum. She Scavenged…

Calle set up camp in room 501. “It was a place where I could go and be alone to do what I wanted.” When she wasn’t curled up with a book on a bug-infested couch, or photographing dead cats elsewhere in the building, she would go for a twirl under the gilded ceilings of the ballroom. - The Guardian

Suspect In Stabbings At MoMA Arrested In Philadelphia

Gary Cabana was apprehended while napping on a bench in the city's Greyhound bus station early Tuesday morning. Philadelphia police had been looking for him after he allegedly set fire to his room at a Best Western hotel. - WPVI 6ABC (Philadelphia)

Who’s Making Money On NFTs

A fortunate handful of people now have their very own rags-to-riches stories thanks to NFTs. By investing in the right project at the right time, some collectors and digital artists have made “life-changing money,” said Matt Medved, a founder of Nft Now, a digital media publication about NFTs. - The New York Times

How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves

Historical photos from San Francisco's Chinatown show the differences between the way Chinese Americans were portrayed in the media during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the dignity and humanity with which they decided to present themselves. - Hyperallergic

Film Canisters, 3000 Of Them, With Hidden Secrets And Portraits Of Musicians

The images "are the stuff of history: a rare window into the late 1960s, when one of the country’s first rock ballrooms, the legendary Boston Tea Party, helped launch" hundreds of bands, including the Velvet Underground and Jimi Hendrix. - Boston Globe

The Met Museum Chooses A Mexico City Architect To Design The New Modern And Contemporary Wing

Frida Escobedo "is a surprising choice for such a major assignment, given that she is relatively young, has mostly designed temporary structures and is not a household name. But she said she felt undaunted and excited by the task." - The New York Times

A Russian-Owned Art Auction House In London Faces A Boycott

Phillips donated £5.8m to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, and its CEO condemned the Russian invasion. But "those calling for the company to be shunned argue that only a boycott will force its Russian business figures ... to put pressure on the Kremlin." - The Guardian (UK)

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