“We’re officially saying that the cathedral is now saved, that it’s solid on its pillars, that its walls are solid, everything is holding together. We are determined to win this battle of 2024, to reopen our cathedral in 2024." - Artnet
That might sound like a word salad, but portrait artist Devon Rodriguez's 20 million followers on TikTok really did bring him fame, money, and a place downtown. - The New York Times
"Though Nepal banned the export of ancient statues of deities through the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act in 1956, these and other objects of cultural heritage have been looted frequently since the 1980s." - Hyperallergic
Re that Samson and Delilah purchase, National Gallery, er. "I was so shocked. ... We repeated the experiments to be really sure that we were not making a mistake and the result was always the same. Every patch, every single square, came out as fake, with more than 90% probability." - The Observer (UK)
Colorizing film might have gone out the window, but with two new books using the process to add color into black-and-white photographs of the 19th and 20th centuries, ethical questions arise. One writer describes the process as "part of the democratisation of history, a tool to develop empathy and a connection with the past." - Irish Times
"Public art is widely viewed as a tool to tell a more complete and honest narrative of Richmond’s struggles with equality. And how the city decides to uplift people and places with public art has the potential to be a nationwide model, or a litany of pitfalls to avoid." - The Guardian (UK)
The Oklahoma-based company Hobby Lobby—whose billionaire owner Steve Green founded the Museum of the Bible in 2018—purchased the tablet from Christie’s for nearly $2m in 2014, with the intent to display it at the museum. - The Art Newspaper
As museums struggle to regain financial stability after pandemic lockdowns, answer calls to diversify their collections, and watch art prices soar ever higher, the option of splitting costs and sharing possession of new artworks is catching on. - ARTnews
A user of the 3D-printing platform Sketchfab has assembled digital renderings, ready to download and print fabricate, of artworks ranging from an ancient Egyptian funerary mask to Bernini's fountain in Rome's Piazza Navona to Hussar armor. - Hyperallergic
The Ahiamwen Guild of artists and bronze casters says it wants to change the terms of the debate by giving the British Museum contemporary artworks, untainted by any history of looting, that showcase Benin City’s modern-day culture. - Reuters
At least five companies — including, controversially, one major museum — have stepped up with immersive exhibits based on the life and work of the famous Dutch painter. Nearly 40 different Van Gogh rooms have opened (or will soon) across the U.S. so far. - Bloomberg
"Looking at Johns's work, I sometimes almost no longer feel like a person. I wonder if I have died in the instants between synapses of looking, knowing, then not knowing again. I step outside myself and become more than one person seeing in different ways." - New York Magazine
As sloppy as AAMD’s new rule is, being born of a rattled, anxious moment, it’s clear who it’s intended to help, and it’s not the museums that house big modern and contemporary collections with hot brand names. - National Review
