British Museum chairman George Osborne reportedly clashed with officials from the Prime Minister’s office over the selection of the institution’s next museum director prior to the appointment of National Portrait Gallery director Nicholas Cullinan. - ARTnews
The leader in charge of the reconstruction efforts says the giant project is within budget and on schedule, with official reopening planned for this December 8. Here's a run-down of what's been achieved, including some important historical and architectural discoveries. - Deutsche Welle
The 13 "Mays," large-scale 17th-century paintings which had hung in the cathedral's side chapels, were evacuated from the burning edifice with only a bit of water damage. After conservation, they're being shown alongside 17th-century tapestries and the rarely-seen chancel rug, which has been used only a few times. - The Observer (UK)
"Artist Ruth Patir said the exhibit ... 'will only open when the release of hostages and ceasefire agreement happens' in a statement shared on Instagram Tuesday. Patir said she would raise her voice 'with those I stand with in their scream, ceasefire now, bring the people back from captivity.'" - CNN
Armed with snobbish hipster fury and signage that read “God Hates Renoir,” “ReNOir,” and “We’re Not Iconoclasts, Renoir Just Sucks At Painting,” the group briefly received considerable media attention—though none from the institutions it was heckling. - Artnet
"For almost five years, Parisians looked into a sad emptiness when they walked past Notre-Dame and looked up. The void reminded them of a national trauma” of April 15, 2019. - Der Spiegel (Germany)
But then, the work is also affecting. “The line between a certain irony, and the suspension of disbelief, turns out to be extremely fine." - The Guardian (UK)
"Peter DeSalvo Jr., the father of the first person to die by suicide , faulted the developer for not heeding warnings from experts or implementing safety measures after his death." - The New York Times
"Last week, the city of Detroit installed a budget-looking sign on I-94 that spells out its name in mint-green lettering reminiscent of chewing-gum packaging. The local reaction to it has been, to put it gently, unimpressed." - Vulture
“It’s usually art-world people and critics, who tend to say it every two years, as if the museum has ever intentionally sought controversy or embraced radical politics. That’s never been the case." - Hyperallergic
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the museum applauded the mischievous initiative. “We think this is funny and would like to know the artist,” a spokesperson wrote. “So get in touch! There will be no trouble. Word of honor.” - Artnet
"Mythical Greek figures ... are depicted on the high black walls of a large banqueting hall. … It was likely the walls' stark colour was chosen to hide the smoke deposits from lamps used during entertaining after sunset. In the shimmering light, the paintings would have almost come to life." - BBC
The museum fired a member of its technical services team after he was found to have hung one of his own paintings in a part of the gallery dedicated to modern and contemporary art, allowing him to share a space with works by pop art pioneer Warhol for an entire day. - The Guardian
"Critics need to be more flexible than artists. You have to be open to being changed and pushed into new directions. ... My main goal has always been to point out art that people would enjoy seeing, and to show them how I saw it and enjoyed it." - The New York Times
