Wrong Building, Wrong Place, Wrong Time How is it that a new £34 million community sports center was so badly planned that it had to be closed down? "if you seek political hubris, overarching architectural ambition, millennial folly and evidence of the decline of local authority expertise in one building, this is where you should come. This is the sad yet instructive story of the municipal swimming pool that sank." The Guardian (UK) 03/01/04

The Getty's $70 Million Titian? The Getty doesn't report how much it paid for art. But the London Telegraph last week reported that the Getty paid $70 million for a Titian in November. "If the report was accurate, the Titian is also the second most expensive Old Master painting ever sold, topped only by Rubens' 'The Massacre of the Innocents,' sold to Lord Thomson of Fleet for $76.7 million at a 2002 auction." Los Angeles Times 02/29/04

A Stolen Cezanne No One Knew About? John Opit says art worth $67 million was stolen from his home in New South Wales. And he says one of the paintings stolen was a Cezanne worth $50 million. "None were insured. The claim has sent the art world into an understandably cynical spin. Some of the nation's leading art experts say there is no record of the Cezanne painting and question its authenticity. They claim there are only five known Cezannes in the country and it is not one of them." The Courier-Mail (Australia) 02/29/04

• On The Search For A... Cezanne? "Art experts have been unable to find a record of the missing Cezanne, but Mr Opit defended the painting's authenticity to the Murwillumbah-based Daily News, saying it had been examined under ultraviolet light and had the artist's signature all over it. He said the painting had been in a private London collection before coming to Australia." Sydney Morning Herald 02/29/04

Calatrava - Will Athens Make Him Tops? "Whatever else happens at the Athens Olympics this summer, one way or another the games are going to make Santiago Calatrava the most famous architect in the world, pushing aside Frank Gehry and Daniel Libeskind. If the Greeks get his extraordinary design for the main stadium finished on time, his blue glass dome will be the most spectacular setting for the games in three decades..." The Observer (UK) 02/29/04

Walker Center Attendance Down 30 Percent Attendance at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in the past two years was down more than 30 percent from a record 636,000 visitors in 2001. It's a dismaying trend, but then, the Walker still outdraws other museums of similar size in other cities... The Star-Tribune (Mpls) 02/29/04

Frozen Art At The North Pole An unusual village of ice and snow scultures has risen in northern Finland. Teams of architects and artists have created it, and the project's curator "believes the show has spawned technical and artistic breakthroughs in what can be done with snow and ice. But more daringly, he hopes to demonstrate that artists and architects can work together in an environment, on a scale and with a material alien to most of them." The New York Times 02/29/04

Iraqi Art To Go On Tour Plans are being made for a world tour of Iraqi art treasures. "The travelling show, provisionally entitled 'The gold of Nimrud' is being planned as a blockbuster exhibition that will include hundreds of Assyrian objects from Iraqi museums. It will embark on a three- to five-year international tour beginning in early 2005. If all goes according to plan, the show will visit eight to 12 cities in Europe, the US, and Asia." The Art Newspaper 02/27/04

The Barnes In Limbo The judge considering whether or not the Barnes Collection should be allowed to move to Philadelphia has put the brakes on the proceedings. On January 29, "The judge said he was 'hamstrung by the total lack of hard numbers in evaluating these proposals,' calling the construction price only a 'guesstimate.' There had, he said, been no architectural plans, feasibility studies or proformas projecting the Philadelphia project’s success or the costs of maintaining three separate locations." The Art Newspaper 02/28/04

Cezanne Theft In Australia - Really? An art collector in New South Wales claims that "$67 million worth of art, including a previously unheralded painting by the French impressionist Paul Cezanne, worth $50 million, were stolen from his studio in the tiny town of Limpinwood. "Reports of the theft and in particular the Cezanne, supposedly painted in 1873 and titled Cezanne's Son in a High Chair, were greeted with scepticism in the higher echelons of the Australian art world. The art historian and publisher Lou Klepac described it as like 'finding a crocodile in the Antarctic'." Sydney Morning Herald 02/28/04

Guggenheim Commissions Serra For $20 Million The Guggenheim has commissioned Richard Serra to "create a room-size installation of monumental steel sculptures, including seven new ones" for the museum's Bibao Museum. "The region's Basque government, which covers the museum's operating costs and pays for its acquisitions, has spent about $20 million on the commission. The installation, expected to take 17 months to produce and install, is scheduled for completion in June 2005." The New York Times 02/27/04

Science - Unraveling Giorgione's Mind A group of nine Giorgione paintings have been examined with new scientific techniques reveal much about how the artist worked. “What has become clear with the infra-red discoveries is that Giorgione was a radical modernist when he drew. Giorgione doodled as he worked out compositions, just like 20th-century artists. But why did Giorgione, 'the modernist', paint such free and fanciful images only to delete them or adapt them into more restrained ones? The Economist 02/26/04

Supreme Court To Take Up Nazi Art Theft Case The US Supreme court is taking up the case of an American woman trying to sue Austria for paintings stolen from her family by the Nazis. "The court will decide by summer if she can sue the Austrian government to recover six paintings, worth an estimated $150 million, in federal court in California." San Francisco Chronicle (AP) 02/25/04

Plan To Double Size Of Uffizi Florence plans to double the size of the Uffizi Gallery, and Italy's culture minister boasts the new gallery will rival the size of the Louvre. "By the time work is completed, visitors to the extensively remodelled Uffizi will be able to see 800 new works, including many now confined to the gallery's storerooms for lack of space." The Guardian (UK) 02/26/04

Acropolis Museum Stalled It looks like the Acropolis Museum in Greece is much behind schedule. "Athens had initially planned to have the 94-million-euro museum in place for the Olympics, hoping to shame the British Museum into complying with Greece’s demand for the return of the Parthenon, or Elgin, Marbles. However, some 20 months after the foundations were supposed to have been laid under the Acropolis, nothing has materialized." Kathimerini (Greece) 02/25/04

A Different Barnes Solution Many critics don't want to see the Barnes Collection close its current location and move to Philadelphia. But what if the Barnes could do both? "What if the promised money from the foundations indeed went toward a new Barnes facility in Philadelphia but the original estate remained open and intact? Imagine, instead of a replica installation of the whole collection in an incongruously modern edifice downtown, a new urban Barnes Center that would connect visitors first to the idea of the Barnes and then to the strange jewel of a museum itself." OpinionJournal 02/24/04

Virtual Egypt Online A new $2.5 million website puts a "virtual Egypt" online. "By going to the website - http://www.eternalegypt.org - a person sitting at a computer will be able to do such things as visit the Temple of Luxor or watch how the seated statue of Ramses II has changed over historical periods (once it was sheltered at the front of a temple, now it sits naked to the elements)." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 02/24/04

Disney Hall Heats Up The Neighbors Los Angeles' Disney Hall is a big success, but some of its neighbors aren't so happy. It seems that at certain times of the day sun reflects off the metal-clad building and into nearby apartments, thereby blinding occupants and heating up their homes by as much as 15 degrees. "You would have to literally close the drapes and you'd still feel warmth in the house. You would have the air conditioning on all the time." BBC 02/24/04

US Mint Declares Snow Isn't Serious The US Mint has rejected depicting snow on the quarter to represent Minnesota. "According to the Mint, federal law bars 'any frivolous or inappropriate design.' It said that lawyers for the Treasury Department, where the Mint resides, decided in 2000 that a single snowflake didn't pass the frivolity test. But not until after the Mint had come up with its own large lacy snowflake" and proposed the idea to Vermont. The Star-Tribune (Mpls) 02/24/04

British Art In Iran The first exhition of British art to show in Iran in 25 years is opening. The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art exhibition includes works by many big names of UK art including Damien Hirst, Henry Moore and Gilbert and George. "They're very familiar to all this work - but in a second-hand way all from photographs and even from the internet." BBC 02/24/04

The Metropolitan's Big New Expansion The Metropolitan Museum is embarking on a $155 million project that will expand the museum's exhibition space. "The project, along the south end of the building, will expose the windows facing Central Park for the first time in 50 years. The remodeling is part of a 10-year-old plan aimed at using every inch of the museum's existing space in Central Park." The New York Times 02/24/04

The Getty's Coveted Titain The Getty has "pulled off one of the most spectacular Old Master painting purchases in history. Titian's magnificent Portrait of Alfonso d'Avalos is now hanging in the Californian museum. Yet until recently the portrait was on show at the Louvre in Paris, which had hoped to add it to its permanent collection. The French museum, not renowned for letting important pictures slip through its fingers, had the opportunity to buy the Titian at a preferential rate but decided not to do so." The Getty paid $70 million, making the Titian the second-most expensive Old Master in history. The Telegraph (UK) 02/24/04

A Photo Of Van Gogh? Is a photograph from 1886 really a portait of Vincent van Gogh, or is it "a simple case of mistaken identity?" Van Gogh painted more than 40 self-portraits but there are only two photographs in existence that are widely believed to be the artist - at the ages of 13 and 19. The latest discovery, bought for just $1 in the early 1990s in an antique dealer's shop, is the subject of a new exhibition that attempts to make the case for its authenticity." The Guardian (UK) 02/24/04

College Art Association In Seattle Some 3000 art historians, students, artists and critics converge on Seattle for the annual meeting of the College Art Association. The Guerrilla Girls get an award, and people stand in line for hours in hopes of getting interviewed for jobs. Seattle Post-Intelligencer 02/24/04

Scottish National Gallery Begins Search For New Director There are still two years to go before Sir Timothy Clifford leaves his post as director-general of the National Galleries of Scotland. But already a search is on for his successor... The Scotsman 02/23/04

The Cachet Of Being A Costco Artist Costco has begun selling fine art in its stores and on its website. And the paintings are selling. "Previously, the company tried offering lower-priced art reproductions generated by computer, but it took them off the Web site because they did not sell. The art being sold is priced from $450 to $15,000, and averages $1,500."
The New York Times 02/22/04

A Whitney Biennale Gallery Curious about who's been chosen for this year's Whitney Biennial? New York Magazine's got a gallery of work online by artists chosen for the biennale... New York Magazine 02/23/04

Iraqi Museum Workers Come To US A group of Iraqi museum prefessionals will be coming to the US to study conservation and restoration techniques. "Scholars at the Smithsonian have been discussing for months how to assist their colleagues, especially those at the Iraq National Museum of Antiquities in Baghdad, which was ransacked after the fall of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship last April. 'The best way is through a practicum, where we can help establish practical methods of conservation, registration and preservation'." Washington Post 02/23/04

On The Trail Of Stolen Artifacts An ancient Egyptian stone stele unearthed a decade ago should have, under Egyptian law, "been turned over to the government, a recovered shard of the national patrimony. Instead, something considerably more commonplace happened. It became an outlaw. Quietly, it passed into the global antiquities market. Five years later, cleansed of its illicit origins, it emerged in New York as a rich man's prize, in the foyer of a Fifth Avenue apartment." The New York Times 02/23/04

A Raphael Forgery, A Caravaggio Copy "On Friday the National Gallery in London learnt that Raphael's gooey Madonna of the Pinks was probably a forgery; meanwhile the National Gallery of Ireland spent the week rebutting accusations that its precious Caravaggio, a moody nocturne representing Christ's arrest, was a second-hand Flemish copy, inferior to an original unearthed by a dealer in Rome. The reattribution wounded Irish national pride and the religious conviction that underpins it." The Guardian (UK) 02/22/04

A Transit Station That Soars Architect Santiago Calatrava has a winner in the transit station he has designed for the World Trade Center site, writes Blair Kamin. "That design, unveiled last month and expected to be finished in 2009, seems destined to become the finest piece of architecture at ground zero, head and shoulders above the awkward "Freedom Tower" that resulted from the stormy collaboration between architects David Childs and Daniel Libeskind. The transit station will simultaneously provide a grandly scaled civic gateway to lower Manhattan and the kind of light-washed, cathedral-like public space that Chicagoans and other visitors rave about in Milwaukee." Chicago Tribune 02/22/04

Cleveland Schools - An Architectural Opportunity Cleveland has $1.5 billion to spend on building schools. "If ever there were an opportunity for excellence in architecture and planning - and a chance for Cleveland to distinguish itself nationally - this is it. But with the district ready to break ground soon for the first four new schools in the city in more than 20 years, the forecast for design is discouraging." The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 02/22/04

Welcome To The New Houston "For most of the past half-century, Houston was the proud avatar of freebooting suburban sprawl. You could do anything you wanted in Houston, as long as you did it as God intended, behind the wheel of your car. Downtown sprouted a forest of new office towers in the 1970s, but the old business district along and near Main Street fell into disuse." In the past seven years, however, Houston has transformed itself... San Antonio Express-News 02/22/04

Contemporay Art Sales Records In London Recent sales of contemporary art at London's Sotheby's set new records... The Art Newspaper 02/20/04

The Artist As Multi-National Supplier "Once upon a time, young artists started their careers with a single gallery in their home country. Scoring international representation was a consecration that occurred only once the artist had an established reputation and a proven market. But that old model has been pulverised. Today, both in Europe and America, artists only a few years out of school commonly have some combination of several European galleries, dealers on both US coasts, and perhaps something more exotic, like representation in Japan or Latin America. Yet in the same way that a college degree has devolved from being a symbol of high achievement to a minimum requirement for decent employment, having multiple international galleries is now just an early step toward art world success." The Art Newspaper 02/20/04

Surveying the WTC Memorial Proposals Maybe you didn't like the proposal chosen for the World Trade Center monument. Well, take a look at the proposals that didn't make it: "All 5,201 of the entries that the jury sifted through went on display at www.wtcsitememorial.org yesterday. Visitors to the site who signed on to second-guess the jury — "How could they have overlooked that?" — probably left with a new respect for the jurors' devotion and patience in going through the entire lot without pay. Visitors may also have left with a sense that the world cared, no matter how clumsy or inartful the expression." The New York Times 02/20/04

Flavor Of The Year - Concert Halls Civic buildings get built in waves, writes James Russell. "Cities often want to build the architectural bauble du jour in their unending search for the grail of world classness. There was a wave of convention centers, followed by sports stadiums, (add a zoo or aquarium here or there) then museums. Now, especially after the tumultuous reception that Disney Hall in Los Angeles received, everyone wants a concert hall." Sticks & Stones (AJBlogs) 02/18/04

UN To Expand Its HQ The United Nations headquarters in New York was an architectural trendsetter when it opened in the 1950s. Now it's time for expansion and "plans for extensive renovations and the addition of a new administrative building, to be designed by Fumihiko Maki, have once again put the UN at the forefront of design - this time the struggle to reconcile security features with aesthetics and openness." Financial Times 02/20/04

Meeting The Modern In Stockholm The Moderna Museet in Stockholm is "the largest and most important museum of contemporary art north of Dusseldorf." But two years ago it closed, a "sick" building that need to be closed and extensively repaired. "So, 27 months after its closure, the building has re-opened. The museum has come home. But home has changed quite a lot. The place looks different. The place feels different. The art is organised in quite different ways too." Financial Times 02/20/04

Keep Focused - Tracking Down Looted Iraq Art Last year Col. Matthew Bogdanos led the US team trying to recover art looted from the Iraq National Museum. "Now, after recovering more than 4,000 stolen artifacts, Bogdanos's team is in shambles, its members recalled to other projects or done with their tours of duty. The Marine colonel himself will be returning to civilian life at the end of March. So this winter he's touring the world, pleading with government officials, military experts, and antiquities specialists to continue his effort to recover more than 9,000 missing treasures dating back to the birth of city life, the invention of written language, the world's first laws." Christian Science Monitor 02/20/04

Is Irish Caravaggio Real? Is a painting thought to be a Caravaggio in Dublin's National Gallery a copy or a fake? "The recent discovery of an identical work in Italy has sparked heated debate, with Italian art dealers convinced theirs is authentic and the other a copy. But art collector and historian Sir Denis Mahon said the Italian artist had painted at least two versions of The Taking of Christ and both were originals." Ireland Online 02/19/04

London Toy Museum In Trouble London's Toy Museum, which has been operating since 1876, is likely to close soon, if money is not found to rescue it. "Spread over two floors, six small rooms and several winding staircases, the walls of Pollock's Toy Museum are covered with an estimated 20,000 exhibits dating back more than a century." BBC 02/19/04

Protests Over Museum of Scotland Design Changes Plans for the Museum of Scotland won praise and awards in 1998 when they were unveiled. "But recent changes to the £50m Museum of Scotland have been labelled as crude, perverse, wretched, and tacky by leading figures in the architectural community." Glasgow Herald 02/19/04

Debating The Tunnel Through Stonehenge The approach to Stonehenge is a miserable affair. So there's a proposal to dig a tunnel to remove cars from the immedtiate area. But there's controversy about the tunnel, so an inquiry's being held. "Although the proposed tunnel will take the road out of sight of the stones, its entrance portals will still be within the Stonehenge world heritage site, which many archaeologists regard as one vast, man-made, sacred landscape. The inquiry will pitch the partners in the Stonehenge Project against one another." The Guardian (UK) 02/19/04

Canadian Art-For-Taxes Scheme Disallowed A Canadian court has disallowed a scheme whereby investors could buy art at a low price, then claim an inflated value by donating it to museums and universities. "It's been estimated that the scheme, called Art for Education, resulted in tax-credit claims of more than $65-million. In December last year, Canada Customs and Revenue announced it was eliminating the tax shelter, saying that henceforth, purchase price would be considered for donations being made for tax purposes." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 02/18/04

Met Closes Tombs Again After Crowds Get Too Big The Metropolitan Museum in New York opened the insides of some ancient Egyptian tombs last month but has suddenly had to close them. The "museum had removed protective glass screens from the tombs of Raemkai and Perneb Jan. 29, allowing visitors full views of interior limestone carvings for the first time in 90 years. But a crush of some 24,000 visitors since the unveiling has put the humidity at unacceptable limits." Newsday (AP) 02/18/04

Why Did Chicago Museum Suddenly Close? An architecture and design museum in suburban Chicago suddenly closed its doors in December, and no one seems to know why. "Village officials have been trying to reach Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, director of the Chicago Athenaeum Museum, since the museum closed its doors without notice. Artworks were left outside the museum, exposed to the elements and potential theft, and dozens of lights were left on in offices." Chicago Tribune 02/18/04

The Ongoing Pillaging Of Iraq Turns out the looting of Iraq's National Museum was a small thing compared to the pi;;aging of Iraqi Archaeological sites in the past year. "The market in illicit antiquities is global. Along with trafficking in drugs and arms, it is one of the most widespread crimes. Iraq has lately become the crux of the problem of the global black market in antiquities because of the increased amount of theft." OpinionJournal.com 02/18/04

UK Places Export Ban On Work By Unknown 15th Century Artist "Arts Minister Estelle Morris has placed a temporary export ban on The Virgin in Mourning to allow £600,000 to be raised to keep the painting in the country. Owned by an anonymous collector, it is one of just two works by the 15th Century artist - whose identity is unknown - in the UK." BBC 02/17/04

Libeskind To Design Prague Dali Museum Architect Daniel Libeskind has accepted a commission to design a new museum in Prague dedicated to the work of Salvador Dali. "The museum, estimated to cost $15.7 million, is to display between 1,000 and 1,500 of Dali's works on loan from collections in Spain, France and Germany. The museum also will include a contemporary art exhibition hall, a restaurant, apartments for visiting artists and a theater." Denver Post (AP) 02/16/04

Blockbustering Back To Our Roots Three new blockbuster shows open in London. They'll draw mobs. "But is that the true purpose of a museum or art gallery? For there exists a growing disquiet in the curatorial world that in the process of launching an ever more high-profile temporary exhibitions, part of the deeper function of the museum - as a place of reflection free from the everyday maelstrom; as a public sphere with a different ethos to the marketplace - is being lost." The Observer (UK) 02/15/04

Italians Struggle To Return Ancient Obelisk After years of pressure from the Ethiopians, Italy agreed in 2002 to return a 1,700-year-old obelisk that was stolen by Mussolini and placed near the Coliseum. "So late last year a team of experts carefully dismantled the obelisk, dividing it into three pieces each weighing between 40 and 70 tonnes. The pieces were wrapped up and stored in a hangar near Rome. But now the Italian authorities have run into a hitch. They say they cannot find a plane big enough to transport the pieces safely." The Observer (UK) 02/15/04

Did Boston MFA Sell Out In Vegas? The venerable Boston Museum of Fine Arts, has lent 21 Monets to a gallery at Vegas' Bellagio Hotel. Now the museum is "accused of having sold out to commercialism and flouted national curatorial guidelines in the name of profit. In the words of one critic, the Monets have not been loaned, they have been rented out. Under the terms of the arrangement, the museum should make at least $1 million from the expected 1,000 visitors a day during the run of seven and a half months. Admission is $15." The Guardian (UK) 02/16/04

Criminals Bargain With Police Over Stolen Art In the UK "stolen art masterpieces are being used by crime gangs as 'get out of jail free cards' to trade for more lenient sentences. The criminals stash paintings and other works of art and use them in plea bargaining for other offences, the head of the Metropolitan Police's arts and antiques unit has revealed." The Independent (UK) 02/16/04

Stockholm Museum Reopens After Building Ailments Force Closure It was devastating when, just three years after its new building had opened in 1998, Stockholm's National Museum of Modern Art had to close because of water and ventilation prolems. "Now, after two years of refurbishment and improvements, the Swedish National Museum of Modern Art is reopening on 14 February, with its building, designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, hopefully cured of all its ailments." The Art Newspaper 02/13/04

Architects And The Public Imagination "Denver, like much of the rest of the country and even the world, obviously has become swept up in the swelling enthusiasm for good design, a trend reflected in everything from Target's sale of objects by name designers to blow-by-blow coverage of the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site. Clearly, fueling part of this interest has been the rush in the past couple of decades by art museums to construct signature buildings by established and up-and-coming architects." Denver Post 02/15/04

Bostons' MFA Goes To Vegas Why is Bostons' Museum of Fine Arts doing, traveling a show to the casinos of Las Vegas? "What even the critics can't deny is the appeal of the paintings. So far, the Bellagio's Monet show has been a smash, drawing 18,000 people in the 10 days after its Jan. 30 opening. At that pace, and with its $15 ticket price, the MFA could earn even more than $1 million - the total figure hinges on attendance - by the time the show closes in September." Boston Globe 02/15/04

National Gallery Wins Raphael London's National Gallery has managed to buy Raphael's Madonna of the Pinks and prevent it from being shipped to America. "A price of £22m has been agreed between the gallery and the Duke of Northumberland. The Duke agreed to sell the painting to the J. Paul Getty Museum in California for £35m in September 2002." Financial Times 02/13/04

Franklin Mint Closes Stores, Museum "The Franklin Mint, the company known for its eclectic range of pricey collectibles, from Scarlett O'Hara dolls to miniature John Deere tractors, has closed its 30 retail stores and its museum." NJOnlines (AP) 02/13/04

Prado Attacked For Plans To Show Contemporary Art Spain's Prado Museum is being attacked over plans to show contemporary art alongside Spanish masters Velázquez, Goya and El Greco. "The Prado's director, Miguel Zugaza, ignited the controversy by inviting Miquel Barceló, who has used insects, meat and rotten plants in his works, to exhibit alongside some of the Madrid museum's greatest paintings." The Guardian (UK) 02/13/04

Austin Museum Cancels Building Plans Citing the difficulty of raising $43 million, the Austin (Texas) Art Museum has canceled plans to build a new home. "The museum was designed in the late 1990s during a much stronger economic climate in Austin. Museum officials say they are beginning to look at other options for the museum." Austin Business Journal 02/11/04

Monuments In Virtual 3D "A team at the University of Geneva have been using sophisticated 3D computer modelling technology to bring historical monuments to life. They have developed virtual reality models of two Turkish mosques dating from the Ottoman era of the 16th century which let you move around and explore the buildings in real-time." BBC 02/12/04

Boston MFA Adds To Expansion Boston's Museum of Fine Arts is working on a $180 million expansion. Yesterday it announced the addition of a new 10,000 square-foot underground gallery to the project. "The new Graham Gund Gallery, which will sit under a new East Wing, will house major temporary exhibitions. The space, part of an expansion to be completed in 2009, isn't expected to add to the $180 million price tag." Boston Globe 02/12/04

Surge In UK Preservationists Britain's National Trust heritage preservation organization is seeing a surge in membership. "New members joined the trust at a rate of one every 46 seconds last summer, faster than the British birth rate of one every 55 seconds. It now has 3.3 million members, making it the largest organisation in Europe." The Guardian (UK) 02/12/04

British, Swiss Call For Tighter Enforcement On Stolen Art Britain and Switzerland get together to talk about the traffic of stolen cultural goods. “Governments need to raise the profile of cultural goods to the same level of priority as tobacco, arms and alcohol,” and greater enforcement of borders is key. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Switzerland) 02/11/04

Bragging Rights For Hockey The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia will unveil Thursday a 137-year-old painting it claims is visual proof that Canada's national past-time was first played in Nova Scotia. 'There is quite a debate. There are tonnes of written records of hockey and hurley and all these others claims, but ... to our knowledge there's no one else who has an earlier visual record of hockey being played'." Canada.com 02/11/04

LAX Public Art Roils Protests A large tapestry with a theme of the 9/11 attack hung at Los Angeles International Airport in late January has sparked waves of protest. "The exhibit, titled 'Eye-Speak,' includes images inspired by the attacks, such as a bare-breasted woman holding a bleeding heart with the World Trade Center's twin towers on fire behind her." Los Angeles Times 02/11/04

A First Look At (What Would Be) London's Tallest Building... Plans have been unveiled for a new 700-foot high skyscraper in London. "The skyscraper, the creation of the architects responsible for the Lloyds building and the Millennium Dome, would be at least 100ft (30 metres) taller than any other structure in the City." The Guardian (UK) 02/10/04

Shutting Off Art From Cuba Until recently, licensed collectors were able to travel to Cuba and bring some art back to the United States. But "the Bush administration has canceled most licenses for culture-related Cuban travel, and the Treasury Department recently stepped up prosecution. Americans who are caught taking unlicensed trips to Cuba from, say, Canada or the Caribbean now face hefty fines, reportedly up to $10,000. The Cuban government allows some artists to leave the country to sell their work, and Cuban artists may mail works to the United States. But some Cuban artists at the Havana Biennial were worried they might have trouble obtaining U.S. visas to attend gallery shows here." Art & Antiques 02/04

National Gallery of Australia - Life After Kennedy? Was Brian Kennedy forced out as director of the National Gallery of Australia? At the least, he was politically isolated. So now who will succeed Kennedy? "John McDonald, the gallery's former head of Australian art, will not apply. He resigned after a falling out with Kennedy, and says the new director needs to reverse the steady decline in visitor numbers and morale that happened under Kennedy. 'Kennedy should have gone in disgrace several years ago. It will take a while to repair the damage'." Sydney Morning Herald 01/11/04

Walker Center Attendance Declines 30 Percent Attendance at Minneapolis' Walker Art Center was down 30 percent lasty year. Officials attribute the decline "primarily to a tourism fall-off after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a natural decline after a 2001 blockbuster season that included popular shows of home design and art by Yoko Ono. Attendance at the Walker fell from an all-time high of 636,000 in 2001 to 439,000 in the 2003 fiscal year, which ended last June 30."

Kennedy Quits National Gallery Of Australia Controversial National Gallery of Australia director Brian Kennedy has decided to leave the museum after seven years. "While acknowledging that criticisms of him as stubborn, combative, ambitious and a workaholic may be true, Dr Kennedy said he was also passionate, concerned and dedicated." The Age (Melbourne) 02/10/04

Schjeldahl: Altering Barnes Would Be "Aesthetic Crime" Peter Schjeldahl pays his first-ever visit to the Barnes Collection and weighs in on discussions now determining its fate. "Altering so much as a molecule of one of the greatest art installations I have ever seen would be an aesthetic crime. It would also give hosts of my fellow art lovers access to treasures that they might otherwise never see. And it’s not as if aesthetic crimes don’t happen all the time. Life goes on. But something extraordinary would be lost in the event." The New Yorker 02/09/04

Sydney Opera House Opening Up To The World The Sydney Opera House is getting its first structural facelift. "The western foyers will be opened to the harbour by a new glassed facade, and a $6 million loggia, or colonnade," opening up a long windowless tube that connects the center's various theatres. An ambitious plan to lower the Opera House floor would cost $300 million, and hasn't yet been approved. Sydney Morning Herald 02/10/04

Controversial Swedish Exhibit Shut Down A controversial exhibit at Stockholm's Museum of National Antiquities that sparked a row last month when the Israeli ambassador to Sweden briefly shut it down, has been taken down from the show. The installation, entitled 'Snow White and the Madness of Truth', "featured a small ship carrying a picture of Islamic Jihad bomber Hanadi Jaradat sailing in a rectangular pool filled with blood-colored water." Jerusalem Post 02/09/04

The Greatest Collection That Never Was In 1973, British Prime Minister Edward Heath made a list of the 35 most important artworks in private hands. A "declassified 1973 document lists 35 paintings by foreign artists, each then worth at least £500,000. The entire list of 35 works could now be worth as much as £1 billion. The idea was that if the pictures ever came up for sale, they should be bought by public collections." The Art Newspaper 02/05/04

UK Museums About To Lose Tax Loophole "In the last two years museums, encouraged by the Association of Independent Museums, and some independent consultants, realised they could take advantage of a 'gift aid' tax concession. This allows charities to reclaim tax on donations from UK taxpayers. The loophole for museums worked by visitors agreeing to make a 'donation' equal to the admission fee, and in return they were nominally admitted free." But That's soon to go away... The Guardian (UK) 02/09/04

Holmes Puts Atheneum Back On Track Last year, Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum was having a dreadful year. But then, Willard Holmes arrived as the museum's new director. "A sharp, thoughtful, well-spoken guy, Holmes appears to have steadied everyone's nerves in the months that he has been around, and he's done this while quietly embarking on an audacious series of new exhibits." Hartford Courant 02/08/04

Baltic Sea - An Archaeological Paradise Searchers are finding hundreds of beautifully preserved ships in the Baltic Sea, making it an "archeological paradise." "Politics and nature have conspired to preserve the secrets of the Baltic. The Cold War seriously hindered exploration, and the low salt content of the Baltic waters kept away the shipworms that feast on wooden wrecks." Los Angeles Times (AP) 02/08/04

When Science Explains Art (Is That Good?) Some art lovers get angry when scientists try to attach literal explanations to art. But "such literalism can actually add to an artwork's mystique. By helping us identify the part of art that's not a mystery, these efforts help us focus more narrowly on the part that is." The New York Times 02/08/04

All The 411 On You (And They Have It) Wonder what information is contained in that barcode on the back of your driver's license? "Visitors to an art exhibit at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts got more than their martinis when they ordered drinks at a bar inside the gallery's entrance. Instead of pretzels and peanuts, they were handed a receipt containing the personal data found on their license, plus all the information that could be gleaned from commercial data-mining services and voter registration databases like Aristotle. Some patrons also got receipts listing their phone number, income range, marital status, housing value and profession. For added effect, the receipt included a little map showing the location of their residence." Wired 02/07/04

Guggenheim Announces Boss Prize Finalists The Guggenheim announces the five finalists for its Hugo Boss Prize. "Since we don't do a biennial, this is our barometer of what's happening in the art world globally." The New York Times 02/06/04

Painting Depicting Bush and Howard Draws Flack A painting in the National Gallery of Victoria that lampoons Australian Prime Minister John Howard's friendship with George W. Bush is drawing outraged critics. "The three-piece work fills almost half of one wall at the National Gallery of Victoria's indigenous section. The vibrant colours belie a dark commentary on global politics, with satires of popular culture and Australia depicted as the 51st state of the US." News.com.au 02/06/04

WTC - Compromised To Death The design process for the World Trade Center is a big mess of compromises and hodgepodge ideas that really won't satisfy anyone. "The design as it now stands bears scant resemblance either to Daniel Libeskind’s compelling sketches or to David Childs’s original concept. It is an unnatural hybrid made up of the work of two architects, each of whom believed he had the right to design the building himself." The New Yorker 02/03/04

Museums - What To Do With The Excess? Museums generally have many more objects than they can exhibit. So there have been proposals to "use it or lose it" whereby museums could divest themselves of objects they may no longer want, or might profitably sell. But "the fate of artefacts should be kept away from the demands of the purse or politics. That way they are free from being manipulated by politicians or by threats to a collection in a funding crisis. Museums are not shops or businesses. They were founded in order to ensure the survival of and research into artefacts, manuscripts and works of art. Short-term financial gain would be achieved at the expense of the fundamental purpose of the institution. It is not always predictable in the present what will be regarded as interesting in the future." The Spectator 02/04

Russian Buys Faberge Collection Before the Forbes collection of Faberge eggs was able to go on auction, they were bought by a Russian industrialist. "None of the parties would disclose the price of the private sale, which includes nine imperial Fabergé eggs — the second largest collection after the 10 in the Kremlin — along with some 180 other Fabergé objects. But experts familiar with the Fabergé market estimate that Mr. Vekselberg paid about $100 million for the collection, which Sotheby's had predicted would bring at least $90 million at auction." The New York Times 02/04/04

Are Private Museum Collections Dead? "The dominance of today's attendance-driven encyclopedic museums has endangered the single-collector jewel box. The founders often unwittingly thwart their own desires, failing to create enduring plans for professional management and outside financial support. Too often, the administrators and board members entrusted with the collection's postmortem stewardship are impelled less by the founder's vision than by fiscal and administrative expedience." OpinionJournal.com 02/05/04

Top 25 Photography Collectors Photography is becoming more and more prized as a collectible. “You know you are truly obsessed when you buy something that is destined for your print cabinet—not your wall.” Here is ARTnews' list of the world's top 25 collectors. ARTnews 02/04

The Case Of The Missing Ivories (Questions Remain) So the small ivories stolen from the Art Gallery of Ontario have been returned. But surely that's not the end of the story. There are too many unanswered questions about this odd art theft caper... Toronto Star 02/04/04

The Art Of Looking Good (Conceptually) At Toronto's flagship Holt Renfrew store, high-style fashionistas can now pick up a bit of high-concept art with their upper-end shoes and dresses. "We want to intrigue and challenge people, and add a conceptual texture to their lives. I'm offering luxe for the mind, an intellectual indulgence." All this may sound a little rich, but the list of artists involved is startlingly good. Plans are afoot to sell Louise Bourgeois jewellery, lamps by Parisian installation artist Pierre Huyghe, and pottery by Turner Prize-winner Grayson Parry." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 02/04/04

Israel Demands Removal Of Art Exhibit "Israel has demanded the removal of a 'horrifying' exhibit at the Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam that includes caricatures comparing Ariel Sharon to Adolf Hitler." The Guardian (UK) 02/01/04

Barnes Could Raise Money By Sale Of Art ... The Barnes Foundation could raise $50 million by selling off some of its art. Though some of the artworld establishment would frown on the idea, selling some assets might allow the Barnes to stay where it is without moving to Philadelphia. The judge hearing a motion to relocate said last week: "If it appears that adequate capital can be produced [through a sale], the ethical problems presented thereby may have to yield to the donor's expressed wishes." Philadelphia Inquirer 02/01/04

What Is It About Architects? "In general, architects are not appealing characters in movies or other fiction. That's because in reality they seem to be darn difficult people. I searched recently for architect jokes and found, well, none. Apparently the phrase "architect humour" is an oxymoron. Yet they dominate the news sometimes and dominate our city landscapes." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 02/03/04

Bush Proposes Smithsonian Budget Increase Along with proposing to increase the budget for the National Endowment for the Arts, George Bush proposes increasing the Smithsonian's budget by five percent. "The administration proposed giving the museum complex $628 million for fiscal year 2005, an increase of $32 million from the current year." Washington Post 02/03/04

Malevich Heirs Sue Amsterdam "Heirs of Kasimir Malevich, the Russian avant-garde artist, are suing the city of Amsterdam in an attempt to recover 14 artworks that they say are rightfully theirs." The New York Times 02/03/04

Saving Angkor Wat A huge campaign to save Cambodia's Angkor Wat is being hailed as a model for other preservation. "Involving some 40 major monuments and hundreds of smaller sites spread over 160 square miles, the restoration work in the region may take another 25 years or more. Yet an initiative — led by France and Japan and coordinated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — has demonstrated a rare commitment to preserving a miracle of human ingenuity in a country too poor to do so itself." The New York Times 02/03/04

Chinese Buy Back Treasures Looted In 1800s In 1860, Western powers pillaged the Summer Palace outside Beijing and carted off some of its treasures. A hundred-and-forty-something years later, wealthy Chinese are buying back the bronzes looted from the palace. "Among the Chinese people, it's a crowd-pleasing campaign. They still feel bitter resentment at the thuggery of the invading Western powers that exploited China's weakness in the 19th century." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 02/02/04

Iran Offers To Help Restore Iraq Culture Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization has told the United Nations it is ready to help restore Iraq's cultural heritage. "Iraqi historical heritage is considered part of the cultural and civilization sphere of Iran. That's why their restoration and preservation is important for Iranian culture and religion." Teheran Times 02/01/04

Greek Museum Denies Loan Of El Greco A Greek museum has refused a request from London's National Gallery for the loan of an el Greco painting, because Greek officials are worried the work might be confiscated. A Swiss man has claimed ownership of he painting, which he says was stolen by the Nazis. BBC 02/02/04

Stolen Ivories Returned Five ivory sculptures stolen from the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto a few weeks ago, have been recovered. "The palm-sized sculptures - valued at $1.5 million - were dropped off at the office of Toronto lawyer Dennis Morris, who turned them over to police on the weekend." Canada.com (CP) 02/01/04

The Modern Artist's Challenge In Depicting Religion An artist trying to depict Christ faces a series of challenges, writes Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The challenges have evolved over time, but "all in all, it is no surprise the contemporary depiction of Christ is so complex a task." The Guardian (UK) 01/31/04

Of Photos, Pictures, And Art Where is the line between photo-journalism and art? "On the aesthetic side, many photographers are going through a soul-searching similar to that of painters in the late 1800s when, for some at least, photography made figurative, naturalistic work redundant. Now photographers are questioning their own realistic conventions and, above all, reacting against the new digital technology." The Guardian (UK) 01/31/04

Getting It Right At Ground Zero (One That Works) There's at least one Ground Zero project that appears as though it will be done right - the new PATH train terminal. "Here is how it happened: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, acting on its own, invited qualified professionals to apply for the job and selected Mr. Calatrava, the presiding master builder of bridges, airports and rail stations. No jury. No pandering to populism. No public performances. Alternate proposals were not displayed and debated. The result was presented, and the reaction has been appropriately ecstatic." The New York Times 02/01/04

Smithsonian Reorganizes Its Art Museums For the first time, the Smithsonian has put control of its five art museums under the control of one person. The new director is Ned Rifkin, director of the Hirshhorn Museum. "The Smithsonian’s art museums have previously been overseen by two under-secretaries, and the science museums by a third. Now, for the first time in its 168-year history, the Smithsonian’s vast art collections, research, public and outreach programmes have been brought together under one manager, and art has gained a measure of parity with science and history, the Smithsonian’s traditional areas of focus." The Art Newspaper 01/30/04

The Top Museum Shows Of 2003 The Art Newspaper is out with its annual survey of museum attendance. "Our survey of exhibition attendance in 2003 reveals a decline in the number of visitors to museum shows on both sides of the Atlantic. Only 190 exhibitions in this survey pulled in more than 1,000 visitors a day in 2003, compared with 215 in 2002. In 2002, over 320 shows attracted more than 760 visitors a day while in 2003, only 259 exhibitions hit the same target. The reasons for this fall can be found in the global economic slump and the decline in international tourism which followed the war in Iraq." The Art Newspaper 01/30/04