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When its entrance, on the afternoon of its public opening, looks like this: Before I arrived at the Renoir Landscapes show at the Philadelphia Museum on Thursday afternoon, I had the same mob-scene expectations as were suggested by Roberta Smith's NY Times review, published the next day (but based on her visit before the public opening): The Philadelphia Museum of Art isn't … [Read more...] about When Is a Blockbuster Not a Blockbuster?

The Damaged "Le Pont d'Argenteuil," Musée d'Orsay Agence France Presse today reported that "drunken intruders" created a four-inch rip last night in Monet's "Le Pont d'Argenteuil" at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. They were captured on camera but not, at this writing, apprehended. According to AFP: The incident happened during Paris's so-called Nuit Blanche (White Night), when … [Read more...] about Monet Vandalized at Musée d’Orsay

The College Art Association, the country's largest organization of artists and art historians, has now joined the professional groundswell of condemnation against the planned art sales from the Maier Museum. CAA has issued a statement that not only deplores the sale of art for purposes other than funding acquisitions, but also alludes to the procedural irregularities in … [Read more...] about College Art Association Adds Its Voice Against Maier Art Sales

The Association of Art Museum Directors has sent a letter to Randolph College and issued a press release condemning the planned sale of four paintings from the Maier Museum to beef up the college's endowment. AAMD declared: In the Association's judgment, such a sale violates the fundamental integrity of the Maier Museum of Art, and by extension, Randolph College. The AAMD … [Read more...] about AAMD Condemns Sales from Maier Museum

Herbert Muschamp (Photo by Robert Maxwell for The New York Times) My tribute to Herbert Muschamp, published here almost a year ago, could stand as my obit for the former NY Times architecture critic, who died Tuesday night at age 59. I noted that in his landmark article of Sept. 24, 1995, Muschamp lamented that "some of the world's most celebrated architects live and work in … [Read more...] about Herbert Muschamp, Master Dreamer

Karol Lawson, who resigned her directorship of the Maier Museum on Tuesday, in protest against Monday afternoon's surprise removal of four paintings consigned to Christie's for auction, told me in a phone interview yesterday that she had no knowledge that any specific paintings from the museum's collection had been targeted for liquidation, let alone that anyone was coming to … [Read more...] about The Maier Monday Massacre: Ex-Director Describes What Happened

Colin Bailey, Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, The Frick Collection Gary Tinterow and Colin Bailey need training in how to be a museum director? I guess it's so, if the Center for Curatorial Leadership says it's so. These eminent curators, from the Metropolitan Museum and the Frick Collection, respectively, are among the first 10 applicants chosen for such training by CCL, … [Read more...] about Attention Museum Headhunters: Tinterow and Bailey Have Directorial Aspirations

Italy announced today that it will display in Rome's presidential palace, the Qurinale, all 40 antiquities to be relinquished by the Getty Museum . The Associated Press has the story. The Great Repatriator, of course, has his say: "'As the home of all Italians, the Qurinale is the most appropriate and prestigious place so that our citizens and visitors from around the world can … [Read more...] about What’s Missing from the Getty/Italy Accord

In Time magazine's Looking Around blog, Richard Lacayo posts a revealing interview with Italian Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli. We learn that even The Great Repatriator believes there's got to be some kind of claims cut-off date for when cultural objects left the country of origin. In discussing Monteleone's claim for the Metropolitan Museum's Etruscan Chariot, he … [Read more...] about Rutelli Ruminations: Pronouncements of The Great Repatriator

A just-issued press release, Preserve Educational Choice, an organization opposed to the recent conversion of Randolph College from an all-women's institution to a coeducational one, announced the resignation of Karol Lawson, the director of the college's Maier Museum, a move triggered by the removal of four works from the museum for an auction disposal intended to beef up the … [Read more...] about News Flash: Director of Maier Museum Resigns

The anti-censorship battlelines are drawn. A new message has appeared on the website (scroll to bottom) of the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art: BALTIC at the request of The Sir Elton John Photography Collection has closed the exhibition "Thanksgiving" by Nan Goldin. After the removal of one image from the series, it was no longer possible for BALTIC to exhibit the collection … [Read more...] about Elton Closes Goldin Show Over Tiny Dancers; Mommies, CultureGrrl Readers and Belly Dancers Weigh In

George Bellows, "Men of the Docks," 1912, Maier Museum Shame on Randolph College, Lynchburg, VA, for deciding to sell the signature work of its Maier Museum---the Bellows painting, pictured above, which was its first purchase when acquired in 1920 for $2,500. Shame on Christie's for abetting this flagrant violation of professional principles of collections stewardship, by … [Read more...] about Randolph College Sends its Signature Bellows to Auction

Temporary Fix for Leaking Skylight Over the Museum of African Art, from the GAO Report ---The latest Smithsonian revelations involve not news leaks, but water leaks: James Grimaldi of the Washington Post has the story about the just released Government Accountability Office report, which revealed that collections were put at risk by deferral of urgently needed repairs. Biggest … [Read more...] about Museum-orama: Smithsonian Leaks, British Deaccession Debate, Seattle Public Art Controversy, Joe Thompson and Richard Prince in Radio Interviews

The art-or-porn controversy over Nan Goldin's photo, "Edda and Klara Belly Dancing," seized last week by police from an exhibition in England, has legs. Here's what the Manchester Guardian had to say: Denied to visitors to Baltic [Centre of Contemporary Art], not readily available online [except, I guess, on CultureGrrl], the Nan Goldin picture remains available to anyone with … [Read more...] about The Nan Goldin Controversy, Continued

NOTE TO READERS: I have taken down the following two images from this site, because they are being accessed by the wrong people for the wrong reasons. It's giving my blog lots of traffic, but it's not the kind of traffic I want. This is a haven for art lovers, not pedophiles. Nan Goldin, "Edda and Klara Belly Dancing," 1998, c-print "Spiritual America," 1983, Ektacolor … [Read more...] about Nan Goldin and Richard Prince: The Decency Debate