Chicago has a forest of imposing skyscrapers, and nothing else like this squat concoction of glass and steel that looks from the outside like a spaceship docked in the heart of the Loop, and reveals, on the inside, the city’s most vertiginous and spectacular atrium. - Chicago Reader
RX France is challenging the validity of the process, claiming that it has received two written commitments to the fairs from RMN-Grand Palais, the public body that owns the beaux-arts building, in 2019 and in 2021. - Artnet
Two factories in France produce much of the world's synthetic ultramarine pigment; one stopped making it, and the other couldn't meet the extra demand and froze exports, causing difficulties for all sorts of businesses worldwide. And there are similar issues with other colors. - Yahoo! (The Washington Post)
Curators enjoyed a 4% increase in trustworthiness across gender and political affiliation in 2021. Notably, however, advanced degree holders were much more likely to trust museum curators to tell the truth, exposing educational gaps in the way the profession is perceived. - Hyperallergic
If you want to see an acrobatic display of ducking and weaving in a gallery by people trying desperately not to set off any alarms, just read the labels in the newly opened The African Origins of Civilization at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. - Hyperallergic
"Pilgrims traveling to Machu Picchu in the 15th century were greeted by Chachabamba, a ceremonial water complex that was designed to demonstrate the power of the Inca peoples. Now researchers have used 3D imaging technology to map this unique feature of the citadel." - Artnet
The Baltimore Museum of Art has roughly 1,200 works by the artist, and it's just opened the Ruth R. Marder Center for Matisse Studies, which will have a library, resident research fellows, and the museum's first exhibition room dedicated to Matisse's art. - Smithsonian Magazine
The Madrid regional government has given the painting of the scourged Christ official bien de interés cultural status, which legally requires the current owners to give the government the right of first refusal to purchase the work. - The Guardian
Nifty Gateway was quick to tout Pak as the most expensive living artist, surpassing Jeff Koons. Still, the Merge sale indicates that there is no shortage of demand for NFTs—and that, if anything, demand is only growing. - ARTnews
The Baltimore Museum of Art won't reopen until Wednesday, Dec. 29 (although its gift shop and restaurant will keep running), and the Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture is closed until Jan. 5. - The Baltimore Sun
Hamza Walker conceived a fiendish idea: Why not stage an exhibition in which, removed from their places of pride, these statues could be evaluated not only as propaganda for genocide but also as art objects? And why not invite contemporary artists to create works in response to them? - Artnet
The story of the Banksy neatly encompasses all three elements of the year: the impact of Asian buying power; the increasing influence of cryptos and those who have made fortunes in the alternative currencies; and a realignment of art scholarship. - The Art Newspaper
The Guggenheim’s 990 IRS Filings, a form the US Federal government uses to gather information about tax-exempt organisations, shows Armstrong’s total compensation increased from $1,073,991 in 2019 to $1,504,081 in 2020. - The Art Newspaper
Yes, Prime Minister Johnson argued back in 1986 that they should return to Greece, but as recently as last month, he reiterated to Greece's leader that the marbles are strictly a matter for the British Museum's trustees (who are appointed by the prime minister). - The New York Times
