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Getting That Perfect Olympics Shot

“The Olympics is probably the most competitive sports photography environment on earth. It’s the best photographers who shoot sports all come together. You’ve got to bring your best ideas, your best form, and try and stand out.” - Artnet

Vienna Offered Free Museum Admission To Cancelled Taylor Swift Ticketholders — And They Came

Thousands of fans left at loose ends after Swift's Vienna show was called off (due to terrorist threats) flocked to the Austrian capital's museums. At the Albertina, the lines were 20 minutes long in 91°F heat, yet people waited patiently. And the visitors were a demographic rarely seen in such numbers there. - ARTnews

French Customs Officers Thwart $1.4 Million Sale Of Counterfeit Leonardo Da Vinci Portrait

"Spanish police have arrested a man whose alleged plan to sell a fake Leonardo da Vinci painting" — purportedly a portrait of Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, an aristocrat and military commander — "in Italy for €1.3m was thwarted when the work caught the eye of French customs officers." - The Guardian

Save The Brutalist Buildings, People, Because We’ll Need Them Someday

For one thing, they’re carbon sinks. “Preserving them would really be saving carbon … little nuggets of carbon that you would be saving and reusing. It’s the most environmentally friendly thing.” - NPR

Saving Soviet-Era Masterpieces In Ukraine

It’s not an easy task. First, of course, there are Russian bombs. And then? People are … let’s say pretty angry … at Moscow. - The Guardian (UK)

We Broke The Law By Losing 2,000 Items, Finds British Museum’s Internal Audit

"The British Museum has finished investigating its own conduct and concluded … that it was not compliant with UK legislation dictating how national treasures should be kept. … Peter Higgs, a senior curator at the museum, was fired in July 2023 after the museum accused him of stealing 1,800 items." - ARTnews

Another Jackass Gets Caught Leaving His Mark On The Walls At Pompeii

This particular jackass is a 37-year-old British man who carved his initials and those of his two daughters on a wall at the House of the Vestals. He told police that he just wanted to leave some trace of his visit. - Artnet

To Greet The Democratic Convention, The Chicago Transit Authority Puts New Public Art All Over The “L”

"The project, called 'Track(ed) Changes,' along with the related community events, jibes with the city’s promise to Chicagoans to broaden the limelight and to spread the economic impact of the convention through many of the city’s 77 neighborhoods." - The New York Times

Abu Dhabi Is Buying A Billion-Dollar Piece Of Sotheby’s

"ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund, investment, and holding company, has entered into 'a definitive agreement' to acquire a minority interest in Sotheby’s. The deal, valued at around $1 billion, will see ADQ purchasing newly issued shares of Sotheby’s. Patrick Drahi, the current majority owner, will invest additional capital." - ARTnews

Banksy Tracker: Number Eight Is A Black Rhino

“His latest graffiti design, located on Westmoor Street in Charlton, south-east London, is situated on the side of a building and has been designed to look as though the animal is climbing on to a car parked next to the property.” - The Guardian (UK)

What Design Is Right For A New Big-City Bridge?

This is a question Portland is asking as it prepares to scrap and remake the Burnside Bridge - "its most significant multi-modal downtown bridge in more than 65 years.” - Oregon ArtsWatch

The Cinema Posters That Tell Us Who We Were

Before streaming, but especially before the internet, posters drew us in, some with era-defining visuals. - The Guardian (UK)

Churchill Loved Monet’s Work, Which Kept His Spirits Up During A Post-War Political Slump

Churchill was not one to enjoy being out of power, and perhaps abandoned the Conservative Party leadership behind the scenes. But his “love of painting, both as a hobby and a fan, remained a sustaining pleasure.” - The Observer (UK)

Banksy Confirms A Seventh Piece After His Sixth Is Removed, Supposedly For Safety Reasons

London police and security firms have no idea what to do with Banksy artworks (read about what happened to the sixth piece) - which may be why the seventh piece is piranhas on a police call box. - The Guardian (UK)

A Remodel Gets The University Of Texas’ Art Museum Back In The Thick Of Campus – And The Art World

A new director came in 2011, and has “since helped shape a museum that stands out on campus, in the city, and in the art world.” - The New York Times

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