A house called RiverRock, based on the design plans that were on Wright’s drawing board when he died, was completed early this year in a Cleveland suburb, and the owner charges $800 a night for short-term rentals. Is this a legitimate Wright creation? The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation says no. - Artnet
“Archaeologists in Cambodia are celebrating an unexpected find at the country’s centuries-old Angkor temple complex: the torso of a statue of Buddha that matches a head found nearly a century ago at the same site. The torso, believed to be from the 12th or 13th century, was discovered ... last month.” - AP
The Italia Nostra heritage group warned that “downgrading interest in landscape” posed a “serious risk to the heritage of the widespread community”. - The Art Newspaper
The divergence of opinion between the museum's experts and those who doubt the work's authenticity opens a curious space in which to reflect on intriguing questions of artistic value and merit. Is there ever legitimacy in forgery? Can fakes be masterpieces? - BBC
The Grand Canal with San Simeone Piccolo (1737), housed at the Wallace Collection in London, has been reattributed to Bernardo Bellotto, who studied in his uncle’s workshop in the 1730s and early 1740s. - Artnet
“Madonna and Child by Antonio Solario was taken in 1973 from the civic museum in Belluno in northern Italy. Sometime later it was bought by Baron de Dozsa and taken to his Tudor manor house in eastern England. … It is now in the possession of Barbara de Dozsa, the late baron’s ex-wife.” - AP
Workers expressed fear that the cuts will threaten a collection of precious art housed in federal buildings across the country, including Alexander Calder’s 1974 “Flamingo” at the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building in Chicago and Michael Lantz’s 1942 “Man Controlling Trade” outside the Federal Trade Commission building in D.C. - Washington Post
Four works at The National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum in Athens were vandalised earlier this week, allegedly by a Greek member of parliament who described the contemporary pieces as “blasphemous” to Christianity. - The Art Newspaper
Armed with a warrant, Fort Worth police reportedly seized five photos from the exhibit and put them under lock and key—all because a few Republican officials and pearl-clutching Christian activists had taken offense. - The New Republic
Erik af Klint, the artist’s great-grandnephew and the current chairman of her foundation, wants to see her work removed from museum exhibitions and installed in a private temple open only to “spiritual seekers.” The rest of the foundation’s trustees are very much opposed. - Artnet
“Police detained Nikolaos Papadopoulos — of the small right-wing, ultra-religious Niki party — for several hours before releasing him. … Papadopoulos and one other person attacked (four) paintings …, throwing them to the floor and shattering glass in the frames.” - AP
Some of the nation’s art heroes have been moving pieces from the embattled east of Ukraine to the western half or even abroad; others have been attempting to salvage what’s been damaged or destroyed; still others work on locating and perhaps recovering the art that’s been looted and taken to Russia. - CNN
“Three artists have been commissioned to create the first wave of installations for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's new David Geffen Galleries, scheduled to open in April next year. The expansive site-specific works will help to define the look and feel of the Peter Zumthor-designed building.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
The justices ordered a Federal appeals court to reexamine its ruling in favor of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, currently in possession of Camille Pissarro’s “Rue St. Honoré, dans l’après-midi. Effet de pluie.” The family of Holocaust survivor Lilly Cassirer has fought to recover the painting for 20 years. - The Washington Post (MSN)
Once a key collecting category, with robust auction departments, hungry collectors, and record sales, historical American art was hit hard by the 2008 financial crisis. I’ve long wondered if the field will ever recover. - Artnet
