The lot was composed of 104 “CryptoPunks,” a historic and popular PFP NFT collection designed by Larva Labs in 2017. The estimate for the lot was $20 million–$30 million, but in the end, the lot didn’t sell at all. “ - ARTnews
"Even if cultural sites are unlikely to be direct targets of Russian aggression, administrators worry about the security of their collections if fighting escalates and enters urban areas. Some were concerned that Russian nationalists could attack institutions that put forward Ukrainian historical and cultural narratives." - The New York Times
Both were gifted painters who worked in the shadow of a famous male relative — now Artemisia and Frida are the famous ones, feminist icons. "That's the thing," writes Christopher Knight, "about an icon: Stature is established but meaning can get stuck like a fly in amber." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)
"The mosaic is thought to have adorned the floors of a Roman dining room, and the spot where it stands is near the Shard. … The find is the largest area of Roman mosaic to have been discovered in London in at least 50 years." - CNN
"The policy was conceived as a preemptive measure to prevent artifacts sourced illegally during last year's Taliban takeover from flooding the international market. However, experts fear the rushed regulations may have dangerous counter effects" — like returning objects seized in the U.S. to the Taliban. - Artnet
Former employees of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles have slammed its decision to hand its pension plan over to an insurance company, describing the move as “deeply disappointing” for the “richest art institution in the world”. - The Art Newspaper
"Last week, a three-person board reviewed a 2019 ruling against Steven Thaler, who tried to copyright a picture on behalf of an algorithm he dubbed Creativity Machine. The board found that Thaler's AI-created image didn't include an element of 'human authorship' — a necessary standard, it said, for protection." - The Verge
It hasn't been seen since; many people feared that city authorities decided to melt it down, as the Vichy regime did with its predecessor in 1941. Finally, a deputy mayor has said it will be back "sometime this year" and explained why it's been gone so long. - The Observer (UK)
"Aleksandr Vasiliev, a decorated veteran of the Afghan and Chechen wars, told journalist Elena Pankratieva that he believed the 20th-century work by Anna Leporskaya was a 'children's drawing' and claimed he was goaded by teenagers to deface it." - ARTnews
The Belgian government has turned over to the Democratic Republic of the Congo's prime minister an inventory list of 85,000 items in the country's Afrikamuseum, about 70% of the museum's entire collection. The two countries will work out which items should be repatriated. - The Brussels Times
Many of the workers who have recently joined unions have come from the curatorial, administrative and education staffs — white-collar office workers who often had not previously been represented by collective bargaining units. - The New York Times
Pompeii, the city buried by Vesuvius' eruption in the year 79 CE/AD, nearly lost its fame and fortune again in 2010 this time because of squabbling, corruption, and neglect that caused the excavated gladiator training hall to collapse. But Pompeii is now back - again. - Seattle Times (AP)
That's right, if you don't like the look of Disney princesses, not to mention the talking clocks and wardrobes, you can blame Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and the French Rococo style in general. - The Guardian (UK)
The artist Abdas do Nascimiento dreamed of a museum for Black art in his country, but "after years in exile during a military dictatorship in Brazil, he died in 2011." Now the Black Art Museum has a temporary, but powerful, home. - The New York Times
