“We have proved beyond reasonable doubt that Leonardo painted two Mona Lisas and this is the only candidate to be the second,” said Joël Feldman, general secretary of the Mona Lisa Foundation. - Artnet
"The then-culture minister, Dario Franceschini, sought applications from foreigners to shake up the museum sector, … appoint(ing) seven foreigners and several Italians with experience abroad." The new government, made up of right-leaning nationalist parties, is not following suit, and directors from abroad have good reasons not to apply. - The New York Times
The Donahues have since retaken possession of their painting from the auction house, Bonhams. All they have to show for their efforts is a new cardboard box, courtesy of the Bonhams shipping department. - The New York Times
The foundation said the half-a-billon-dollar commitment is the largest multiyear funding initiative in its history. “I feel proud that we’ve been catalysts and contributors to a larger conversation in the nation about monuments,” said Elizabeth Alexander, the foundation’s president. - The New York Times
"The collection, mostly from Crimean museums, was on loan to Amsterdam's Allard Pierson Museum when Russia annexed Ukraine's peninsula in 2014. Both Ukraine and Russia claimed the items but" — after a decade of legal proceedings — "Dutch courts backed Kyiv." - BBC
“When a society cannot withstand diverse voices, it teeters on the brink of collapse. I am committed to voicing my perspective. The irony lies in staging such an exhibition precisely when art is most crucial for expressing alternative perspectives. Yet, self-censorship robs artists of this vital opportunity, a poignant contradiction in a time demanding diverse voices.” - Hyperallergic
Artist Agnieska Pilat isn't worried that Basia the robot dog might take her job. She "is a self-described techno-optimist who loves the robots: she even lives with Basia, and takes her for walks around her neighbourhood in New York City." - The Guardian (UK)
A scholar says a youthful Hopper self-portrait at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts came from "a vast swindle by the late Rev. Arthayer R. Sanborn, whom she says stole hundreds of early Hopper works." - Boston Globe
"The space on the side of the plastic helmet has become, over the last 80 years, a canvas upon which the defining symbols of countless American communities have been established." - Slate
Over the last 30 years, roughly 600 signed and numbered copies have been sold, at prices that typically range between $15,000 and $30,000. The image is offered at galleries around the world. - The New York Times
"The latest update from the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan, founded by Lari, is that the rebuild programme has so far provided 333,000 homes for those displaced by the 2022 floods, among the worst in Pakistan's history, causing 33 million people to lose their homes and $30 billion worth of damage." - Dezeen
The museum’s role and fate risks replicating that of the church it seemed set to replace. The museum faces fundamental challenges. It is haunted by a crisis of purpose that is manifest in the heated debates over restitution of artefacts. A crisis of confidence has seen many institutions turn against art itself. - The Critic
"The villa (that contained the floor mosaic) has roots in the Roman and Byzantine eras and was used long after the Turks arrived in Anatolia. It encompassed a vast area and about 33 rooms, with 'highly valuable' floor mosaics indicating the structure was a 'high-level residence.'" - Artnet
