Whitney Biennial Goes Dark "The 2006 Biennial will have a title for the first time, 'Day for night', which the curators believe sums up a dark mood in contemporary culture. They say that many of the works that will be included in the show reflect a sense of foreboding, dread or anxiety which emerged as a recognisable theme from the hundreds of artist studios they visited." The Art Newspaper 11/30/05

Troubled Times For Tate? "These are troubled times for the Tate. Behind the scenes, the critically-acclaimed series of 13 paintings, said to be Ofili's take on the Last Supper, is at the centre of a row that has engulfed some of the biggest names in Britain's artistic establishment. At the heart of the affair is the fact that, when The Upper Room was purchased from him for £705,000 earlier this year, Ofili was himself a Tate trustee. This, critics say, represents a major conflict of interest. The matter is so serious that, last week, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it will investigate." The Independent (UK) 11/30/05

Whitney Biennial Goes Global "For 70 years, the sprawling Whitney Biennial exhibition of contemporary art has prided itself on its insistence on an American point of view. But as times and tastes change and art world boundaries dissolve, the 2006 biennial's two foreign-born curators have ventured across the Atlantic. Not content with just recording what's happening in contemporary art around the United States, the curators have scoured artists' studios in art capitals like Milan, London, Paris and Berlin, a first for Whitney Biennial curators... Given the proliferation of large art fairs all over the world and the speed by which images travel across the Internet, the curators said they wanted to make this biennial something more than a rambling show of new art." The New York Times 11/30/05

Big Basel Miami By The Numbers How big has the Basel Miami art fair become? "Miami's fair may do around $110 million this year. New York's Armory Show said it took in about $45 million in March. London's Frieze Art Fair reported October sales of $57 million, up 27 percent. Art Cologne closed Nov. 1 after taking in about $85 million. Including New York's November auctions, collectors of contemporary art this fall may have spent more than $600 million by the time Miami's fair ends on Dec. 4, based on published figures and fair directors' estimates." Bloomberg.com 11/28/05

Sir Timothy's National Sir Timothy Clifford is leaving the National Gallery of Scotland a changed place. "Though his flaws are as flamboyant as his talents, he is the most naturally gifted museum man of his generation. He has stamped his own taste and personality on the National Gallery of Scotland so strongly that it is easy to forget what it was like before his arrival." The Telegraph (UK) 11/29/05

Will The Hermitage Refuse To Loan Art? The director of the Hermitage warns "there is a real possibility that no Russian museum will lend works to UK or other European venues unless it receives 'concrete guarantees' from host governments that its collections will not be impounded, as a result of a long-running dispute between a Swiss businessman and the Russian government." The Guardian (UK) 11/28/05

Dubai - The World's Great Architectural Experiment Dubai, the second largest of the United Arab Emirates, is "the most spectacular and outlandish architectural experiment on the planet. The country is relentlessly, almost obsessively, building itself into significance. Under the auspices of the crown prince Sheikh Mohammed and the rest of the ruling Maktoum family, Dubai is being transformed from a blank canvas into an Islamic fusion of Singapore and Vegas." The Guardian (UK) 11/28/05

Tracey Emin On Art In London, Art In New York “In London the artists rule, but in New York the galleries do. Gallerists here seem to be almost patriarchal figures, and the art scene is really male-dominated here. In London it’s a lot more open to women. People here don’t seem to expect me to have a sense of humor." New York Magazine 11/28/05

The Phenomenon That Is Art Basel Miami "This year, the fair will present 266 art galleries -- representing works by more than 2,000 artists. It is the largest field of galleries presented by the fair since its inception in December 2002. 'We're probably close to 100 percent of the wish list of galleries we would like to have'." Miami Herald 11/27/05

LA County Museum To Destroy Garage Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is "about to destroy art. On Dec. 1, the museum will tear down its parking garage. The plan is to erect in its place a $60-million building for the display of contemporary art. The problem isn't that LACMA is demolishing a garage so that it can add gallery space, the problem is that LACMA isn't saving the art it commissioned for the garage." Los Angeles Times 11/28/05

Museums - Looking For Permanent Solutions "Museums have taken great efforts to tend and build their permanent collections. Most own far more art than they could ever show at any given time. And yet these treasures hardly matter to a generation of art lovers reared on temporary exhibitions. Museums are looking for remedies. Not many have done what the Hirshhorn has done -- put the entire exhibition schedule on pause, focusing solely on the permanent collection. A good number, however, are returning our attention to the great art they own." Washington Post 11/27/05

The Louvre Goes To Atlanta The Louvre is sending some of its art to Atlanta. "It will mark the first time in the Louvre's 212-year history that the museum has agreed to share entire collections with another museum for an extended period. The arrangement breaks new ground in the international arts world and scores a diplomatic success among tense Franco-American relations." Miami Herald (AP) 11/27/05

Switzerland - Art Of The ordinary "In the rest of the world, cities clamour for iconic buildings, blockbuster museums and galleries, which they desperately hope will put them on the map. Our everyday surroundings, however, new houses and out-of-town shopping malls, streetscapes and utilities, are virtually untouched by architects, a saddening, immature blend of Noddy-houses and big sheds, anonymous boxes and ominous CCTV poles. In Switzerland there are few icons. Instead, the average is executed with thought and skill, and the whole is consequently raised to a sublime where even the signal boxes are designed by world-class architects." Financial Times 11/25/05

Financier Accuses Gallery Of Auction Price Fixing Christie's is holding back the sale of some paintings sold at auction because it suspects a gallery of orchestrating a price fixing scheme. “We permitted certain bidding...because we were led to believe that the owners...were a divorcing couple. We now have reason to believe that this was not the case.” The Art Newspaper 11/25/05

Warhol Foundation Revamps Authentication Committee The Warhol Foundation has appointed two former curators to join its authentication committee to judge the authenticity of works said to be by the late artist. "Since 2003, the board has been under fire from owners of rejected works and members of the artist’s circle who claim their knowledge of Warhol’s practice is ignored. The board has routinely denied the authenticity of silkscreens made without Warhol’s direct supervision, but his former associates argue that to reject such works contradicts Warhol’s practice of having works of art printed without his direct oversight."
The Art Newspaper 11/25/05

Collector Sues Van Gogh Museum Over Painting A collector is suing the Van Gogh Museum because the museum has declared a painting the man owns as a fake. "The owner intended to sell the painting two years ago as the star of an auction in the Gironde. But a news agency report quoting the museum's belief that it was a fake forced its withdrawal. His belief in the painting's authenticity has been supported by other analysts, including an Italian art laboratory and a Dutch-based French expert, Bernard Landais, who declared himself in no doubt that the painting was in Van Gogh's hand."
The Telegraph (UK) 11/25/05

The Art Of Illness A California pathologist believes that artists' physical ailments are often represented in the art they made. "Environmental poisons and drug use may have colored the creations of Michelangelo, Raphael and Vincent Van Gogh and left their impression on the work of Renaissance sculptor Benvenuto Cellini."
Forbes 11/23/05

Secret Santa's Art The Royal Academy's annual Secrets sale offers cards by famous artists at a low price. The identity of the artist remains unknown until each card is bought and the signature is revealed on the back. One fan camped for two weeks to lead the queue for the sale, which helps students with grants and bursaries. Illustrator Quentin Blake and Tracey Emin were among the artists to donate a record 2,700 cards, each sold for £35."
BBC 11/27/05

Harvard To Sell Cassatt Harvard has decided to sell a Mary Cassatt painting worth as much as $5 million. "Painted in 1906, the work was given to Harvard in 1922 by Ernest G. Stillman, a member of the class of 1907. The painting has rarely been on display. Money from the sale will go into the museums' acquisitions fund and is most likely to be used to buy a work by the same artist." Boston Globe 11/23/05

Met Agrees To Return Antiquities To Italy New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art is prepared to return disputed antiquities to Italy in a compromise discussed at a meeting in Rome Tuesday between the Met's director and Italian officials, Culture Minister Rocco Buttiglione said. The items include a 2,500-year-old wine pot, or krater, by the Greek artist Euphronios that Italian prosecutors say was robbed from a tomb outside Rome, and a 15-piece set of Hellenistic silver they say was looted at Morgantina in Sicily." Bloomberg.com 11/22/05

Baltimore's Walters Museum To Expand Again The museum is buying a nearby building. "The Walters, which opened in 1934, now fills three buildings and in recent years has been active on the renovation and refurbishing front. In 2001 it completed a $24 million renovation of its main building; last fall it finished remodeling its smaller signature palazzo -like building. "We had just reopened the original Walters building and in the last four years had installed 4,000 works. And then before we had a chance to put our feet up, this opportunity happened." Washington Post 11/22/05

Greece Says It Will Sue Getty Over Art Greece says it will start legal proceedings to get back art from the Getty Museum. "The Greek ministry of culture said Monday it is seeking the return of four antiquities, allegedly stolen before passing into the Getty's collection. 'Instructions have been given for the immediate launch of the legal process to reclaim the four ancient artifacts'." CBC 11/22/05

Met, Italy To Discuss Art Compromise Italian officials are meeting with the director of the Metropolitan Museum today to discuss possible compromises over the issue of stolen art that may be in the Met's collection. "At today's meeting with the Met's director, Philippe de Montebello, Italy is willing to negotiate on the fate of the more than 30 objects in question, said Maurizio Fiorilli, the ministry lawyer who is leading the Italian delegation. 'It depends on the willingness of the Metropolitan'." Bloomberg.com 11/22/05

Tut Plays Boffo Box Office In LA "King Tut's tally at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art reached 937,613 visitors, museum officials said Monday — the second-largest audience for any museum exhibition after the 1.25 million who saw the touring display from the Boy King's tomb that came to the museum in 1978." Los Angeles Times 11/22/05

New York's Architectural Renaissance "New architecture—variously bright, shiny, brittle, show-offy, and slightly crazed but a lot of it significant and some of it even thrilling — is now happening in New York as it hasn’t since the Lever House–Seagram Building–Guggenheim Museum fifties." New York Magazine 11/21/05

Can Going To Art Galleries Cure Binge Drinking? That's what a London report suggests. "Offering the public more varied night-time entertainment, not geared solely towards young drinkers, is the key to avoiding a surge of antisocial behaviour in the wake of this week's extension of pub opening hours, according to the London Assembly." The Guardian (UK) 11/21/05

Piano: Suburbs Have Been Misunderstood Architect Renzo Piano says cities have ignored suburbs at their peril. "The big topic of today, and of the next 20 years, will be peripheries. How you can transform peripheries into a town. What is happening today in Paris is happening everywhere. It is mad, mad, and the insensitivity of people and politicians . . . They create ghettos. In Paris it is particularly bad. Now people are starting to understand that the real challenge of the next 30 years is to turn peripheries into cities. The peripheries are the cities that will be. Or not. Or will never be." The Guardian (UK) 11/21/05

Can "David" Cause "Mental Imbalance"? So says one of Florence's top researchers, who has studied more than 100 people who have been rushed to hosptital after collapsing. "The artistic intoxication is caused by a combination of several things, including the stress of the trip, an 'overdose' of beautiful art and the degree of sensitivity of the person. We should not forget that a work of art is a very powerful stimulus and can stimulate memories in our unconscious, sometimes triggering a crisis." Discovery 11/21/05

UK Building - All About The PR Why do British architects have a difficult time building in the UK? "The big difference between working in Britain and Europe is that here, you are not really expected to debate ideas. Money and marketing are what matter most. We live in an events culture in the UK. Architecture, arts and media are all increasingly driven by events agendas. Ideas are only valid if they fit in with media schedules. Original thinking and debate have been overwhelmed. So we get a lot of slick and often thoughtless architecture put up at speed. It doesn't matter much how it works, but how it looks, and whether or not it fits the latest fashion profile." The Guardian (UK) 11/21/05

The Man Hunting Iraq's Art Where are the rest of the some 13,000 artifacts stolen from the Iraq Museum at the start of the war? US Colonel Matthew Bogdanos - a Greek-American classics scholar and a New York prosecutor, whose toughness and tenacity had earned him the nickname "pit bull" has been on the trail for two years... The Guardian (UK) 11/21/05

Met In The Stolen-Art Crosshairs Italy says the collection of New York's Metroplitan Museum (and that of one of its trustees)has more than 30 objects stolen from Italy. Phillipe de Montebello "faces a careful balancing act as he fields questions from Mr. Fiorilli on those Greek and other ancient artifacts. While Italy's culture minister, Rocco Buttiglione, has emphasized that his government is not out to 'destroy the cultural potential of American museums,' the ministry has threatened to deny loans to museums that refuse to cooperate. And in a powerful reminder of the Italians' determination, a former curator from the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles went on trial in Rome last week on criminal charges of conspiring to import looted antiquities for that museum's collection." The New York Times 11/21/05

Warhol, Pollock Stolen From Scranton Museum "Two pieces – Andy Warhol’s silk-screen print 'Le Grande Passion' and a painting by abstract expressionist artist Jackson Pollock titled 'Springs Winter' – were taken from the Everhart Museum’s main gallery at about 2:30 a.m., a museum spokesman said. Scranton police were notified minutes after the thieves tripped the museum’s motion sensors. The thieves appeared to have been aided by a large tent covering the museum’s back entrance for an event." The Times-Leader (Wilkes-Barre) 11/20/05

The New Old Getty The Getty Villa's makeover is complete. "The addition operates like an anti-icon. As a means of disguising its bulk, it burrows into the canyon walls that rise on the edge of the site. The carefully choreographed and richly textured pathways that lead, rather indirectly, from a new parking garage to the galleries are lined by high walls faced in horizontal layers of concrete, red porphyry stone, travertine and bronze. They are meant to suggest the striated walls of a huge archeological dig that has unearthed, of all things, the 1974 villa. The overall effect is one of tasteful refinement and restraint — so much so that the architecture, at times, brings to mind a Calvin Klein boutique al fresco." Los Angeles Times 11/20/05

• The Newly Restored Getty Villa The Getty Villa is reopening after a $250 million refit. "The complex, designed by Machado & Silvetti Associates of Boston, is genuinely an exquisite work of architecture. Reconfigured as an elaborate architectural narrative, it approaches the historical past with the scholarly attention normally reserved for real ancient ruins. But to what end? The gaudy beauty of the old Getty was its underlying message: the vision of a dying oilman thumbing his nose at the pretensions of the East Coast art establishment. By comparison, the newly expanded villa strives for Old World respectability. And in wrapping the old villa in the aura of good taste, it comes close to embalming it." The New York Times 11/20/05

Cooperative Architecture Benjamin Forgey says that Renzo Piano's expansion of Atlanta's High Museum of Art is a resounding architectural success largely because Piano resisted the urge to make the project all about him. Instead, Piano's expansion built methodically on what the High's original architect, Richard Meier, had done, and the result was "the complex equivalent of a friendly handshake -- not awfully exciting, but satisfying in myriad ways. A sensible, sensitive, low-key sort of triumph, then." Washington Post 11/20/05

de Young Taps Portland's Buchanan San Francisco's M.H. de Young Fine Arts Museum has plucked the director of the Portland Art Museum to be its next director. John E. Buchanan, Jr. is credited with increasing attendance in Portland, and with expanding the museum's collection of modern art. He also led a $125 million campaign in Portland. He will replace de Young's longtime director, Harry Parker, who retires in December. San Francisco Chronicle 11/19/05

Barnes Gets $3m For Transition The Barnes Foundation has raised $3 million in operating funds to carry it through the next two transitional years, as the foundation prepares to make its controversial move from Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, to Center City Philadelphia. "Plans for the highly anticipated relocation of The Barnes Foundation’s gallery have been proceeding smoothly, including fundraising efforts, which have been accelerating even during the current “quiet phase” of a campaign. The Foundation is continuing to expand its Board of Trustees as part of its overall plan to secure the future of its educational activities and art collection." ArtDaily 11/18/05

• Could The Barnes Still Change Its Mind? The township commission of Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, still isn't prepared to just watch the Barnes Foundation walk away, and officials are proposing a series of zoning changes intended to convince the Barnes to scrap its planned move to Philadelphia. "Among the proposed changes are allowing the Barnes to be open to the public seven days in the summer (up from three), to take 50 walk-up visitors per day without reservations (up from zero), and to host school groups without reducing the number of allowable paying public visitors." The Barnes isn't saying whether it might be tempted by the proposal, but a spokesman has confirmed that the foundation has no immediate plans to break ground on its new home, so the door may be open. Philadelphia Inquirer 11/19/05

Ex-Getty Curator Got Loan From Collectors Ex-Getty curator Marion True got a loan from two collectors only days after the Getty bought their collection. "True was a driving force behind the Getty's 1996 acquisition of Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman's 300-piece collection of Greek, Roman and Etruscan artifacts, considered one of the finest private antiquities holdings in the world. The Getty paid $20 million for 32 pieces in the collection, and received the rest as a donation. Three days after the deal was closed, records show, Lawrence Fleischman agreed to lend True $400,000 with an interest rate of 8.25 %, market rate at the time." Los Angeles Times 11/17/05

Art And The Hollywood Collector Hollywood superagent Michael Ovitz has amassed a major art collection. "To date, no one has gone behind his collection to describe what he did to amass it early on. It’s a tale of ambition, greed and ego not only on his part but also on the part of those who did business with him. In the process, Ovitz helped change the art world for the worse by bringing the same ruthless tactics to SoHo and 57th Street that he’d used to rule Hollywood." LAWeekly 11/17/05

ICA Looking Forward To New Home Boston's Institute of Contemporary Arts is on track and on time for next September's opening of its much-anticipated new home on the city's waterfront. "The new ICA, designed by the New York firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, will be marked by a distinctive glass cantilever that stretches out toward Boston's harbor. Inside, it will feature a 325-seat theater and two-story educational center. The 65,000-square-foot museum will triple the ICA's current exhibition space... ICA leaders hope the museum will transform an institution that's been considered no match for its counterparts in other major cities." Boston Globe 11/17/05

Swiss Art Seizure Denounced As 'Financial Terrorism' The businessman behind Swiss authorities' seizure of 54 paintings from Moscow's Pushkin State Museum this week has been trying to collect a debt from the Russian government for 14 years, and his "relentless legal assault on Russian assets abroad has previously been denounced... as "financial terrorism'... This is a man, after all, who once filed suit to seize President Vladimir V. Putin's personal jet. In 2000, he impounded a Russian sailing ship in the French port of Brest, along with its crew, for 11 days. He nearly seized two Russian fighter jets at an air show in Paris a year later." The New York Times 11/17/05

• Previously: Swiss Seize Pushkin Paintings Swiss police have seized paintings belonging to the Pushkin Museum. "The 25 paintings - part of a collection on loan to an exhibit in Martigny - were seized on behalf of a local firm which claims Russia owes it money. The Pierre Gianadda Foundation display, which included works by Manet, Renoir, Picasso and Matisse, was said to have been insured for $1bn (£597m). The company, Noga, said it was owed money for food deliveries in the 1990s." BBC 11/16/05
  Posted: 11/16/2005 8:31 am

MIA Only $25m Away From Campaign Goal The Minneapolis Institute of Arts has officially taken its $100 million capital campaign out of the so-called "quiet phase," having already raised $75 million from its wealthiest donors. "Part of the money will pay for a $50 million renovation and addition to the museum's building, a nearly complete project designed by Michael Graves that is scheduled to open June 11, 2006. The additional $50 million will be invested as an endowment for the purchase of art, especially 20th-century objects." Minneapolis Star Tribune 11/17/05

Italian Trial Signals Shift In Artifact Policies "Behind this shift, museum directors, curators and lawyers say, are broad changes in the way source countries are pursuing and enforcing cultural property claims - and the public's perception of those claims. Caught in the cross hairs, museums face pressure to clean up their act and embrace rigorous standards for future acquisitions - and to return prized works acquired in past decades. 'In the eyes of the public, there is a sense that the museum is a greedy hoarder of ill-gotten goods, in opposition to the legitimate claims of the powerless'."
The New York Times 11/16/05

True Appears At Italian Art Trial Ex-Getty curator Marion True appears in Rome for the start of her trial for trafficking in stolen antiquities. "True, together with art dealer Robert Hecht, denies two separate charges involving 35 artefacts bought between 1986 and the late 1990s. They include bronze Etruscan pieces, frescoes, and painted Greek Vessels. The Getty museum has stood by Ms True's work. She left the court after the hearing without comment." BBC 11/16/05

Ambitious Conservation Project Aims To Restore Enormous Painting A 365-foot-long painting depicting the battle at Gettysburg is being restored in a mammoth conservation effort. "One part art and one part commercial venture when it opened in Boston in 1884, this colossal canvas, now in Gettysburg, has become as ragged as an old Army tent - worn, torn, sagging and covered in grime. Art conservators here are embarking on a $9 million federally financed project to restore vigor to a painting that has lost its visceral power. On Sunday the cyclorama and the sound-and-light show that brings it to life will close to visitors at the Gettysburg National Military Park for two years of renewal." The New York Times 11/16/05

Italy's Big Art Show Trial Begins The trial of former Getty curator Marion True opens in Italy Wednesday. American museums are anxiously watching the proceedings. "Making an example of the Getty trial will signal that 'the age of trafficking in art pieces is over,' the Italian culture minister, Rocco Buttiglione, said in an interview. 'This isn't about seeking revenge for the past. It's about reclaiming property rights for Italy'." The New York Times 11/16/05

Swiss Seize Pushkin Paintings Swiss police have seized paintings belonging to the Pushkin Museum. "The 25 paintings - part of a collection on loan to an exhibit in Martigny - were seized on behalf of a local firm which claims Russia owes it money. The Pierre Gianadda Foundation display, which included works by Manet, Renoir, Picasso and Matisse, was said to have been insured for $1bn (£597m). The company, Noga, said it was owed money for food deliveries in the 1990s." BBC 11/16/05

The FBI's Top Ten Stolen Art The FBI has released a list of its most wanted stolen art. "Heading the list were 7,000 to 10,000 Iraqi antiquities stolen from the Iraq National Museum and archaeological sites after the US invasion in 2003. A handful of cylindrical seals believed to be more than 4,500 years old have been recovered, but 5,000 remained missing. It also included the biggest art heist in history - the 1990 theft of an estimated $US300 million ($A409.72 million) in paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston." The Age (Melbourne) 11/15/05

Has The Aboriginal Art Market Peaked? The Australian aboriginal art market has been rocketing up in recent years. But lately some of the higher-profile offerings haven't been making their pre-auction estimates... The Art Newspaper 11/15/05

Study: UK's Old Rural Buildings Falling Down A new survey of rural buildings in England says that "at least a tenth of all old buildings urgently need repairs, and thousands of listed buildings and structures are classified as in severe disrepair, many on the point of collapse. One survey suggests that within 20 years all the timber-framed farm buildings in Hertfordshire will either have collapsed, or been converted - a pattern which the authors suspect is mirrored across the country." The Guardian (UK) 11/16/05

Boston MFA Begins $500 Million Expansion Project Boston's Museum of Fine Arts breaks ground on a $500 million expansion. "The building project, designed by British architecture firm Foster and Partners of London, will expand the size of the museum by 149,000 square feet, or roughly two-and-a-half football fields. New galleries, a central covered glass-and-steel courtyard with a cafe and a new wing dedicated to art of the Americas highlight the expansion project." Boston Globe 11/14/05

Iran Accuses Farmers Of Cultural plunder "Iranian cultural heritage officials are on a collision course with rural communities after embarking on a legal crusade to reclaim the hills and nearby land on which, they believe, once stood the city of Jondishapour, where the Persian King Shapour I vanquished the Roman emperor Valerian more than 1,700 years ago. They have issued cultivation bans and pressed criminal charges against dozens of farmers accused of destroying parts of the archaeologically sensitive 300-hectare (741-acre) site." The Guardian (UK) 11/14/05

Tate Admits Error In Ofili Purchase The Tate now says it made a "technical error" in seeking money from the National Art Collection Fund to buy a work by Chris Ofili, one of the Tate's trustees. "The Tate did not tell the fund it had already committed itself to purchasing The Upper Room when it made its application in November 2004. Last month Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota wrote a letter to the body offering to repay its £75,000 grant." BBC 11/14/05

Questions Mount About NY's Landmarks Commission New York's Landmarks Preservation Commission has not acted on helping to decide the fate of 2 Columbus Circle. "Once considered the most powerful agency of its kind, the commission has lost the confidence of many mainstream preservationists by repeatedly refusing to hold a public hearing on the building's fate. At the urging of those preservation advocates, a city councilman, Bill Perkins, has introduced a bill that could force the commission to hold public hearings on potential landmarks. The implication is that the commission cannot always be trusted to protect the public interest." The New York Times 11/14/05

TV Show Snubs Scottish Sculpture A British TV show holding a contest to find the 100 best public sculptures has decided nothing in Scotland is good enough to be considered. "The programme makers told Scotland on Sunday that when they looked for the nation's 100 best public sculptures they decided that, compared with England, Scotland had failed to invest in public sculpture, especially in the 20th century. The humiliating snub has sparked outrage in Scotland, with experts north of the Border accusing Artsworld of 'geographical snobbery' and 'cultural ignorance'." Scotland on Sunday 11/13/05

The New MoMA - Modernism As Elevator Music? It's been a year since the new Museum of Modern Art opened. Jerry Saltz has come to an unhappy conclusion about the place. "The more I go to the new MOMA—and I've been there over 50 times since it reopened a year ago this week—the more I think this crown jewel is becoming a beautiful tomb. At MOMA the unruly juice of art history, the chaos, contradiction, radicality, and rebellion, are being bleached out. Instead, we're getting the taming of modernism—modernism as elevator music." Village Voice 11/11/05

Italian Claim On Minneapolis Vase The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is on the list of museums Italian authorities say have stolen art in their collections. "The Italians support their claim on the Minneapolis piece with a photo of a pottery fragment that appears to match the vase. 'We've not received any notification from the Italians and have no proof that the object was looted,' said William Griswold, the museum's director. 'If we have reason to believe an object has been stolen, we would absolutely want to respond in an ethical and legally responsible fashion'." The Star-Tribune (Mpls) 11/13/05

A New Chicago Skyline? Chicago is famous for its skyscrapers. But a whole new generation of soaring edifaces is being proposed that would transform the skyline. "Every week, it seems, a rendering of a new tower is splashed across the front page or the business page in the hopes of generating positive "buzz" and attracting potential buyers and investors. Some of this may be pure hucksterism. Nothing like a sexy architect's rendering to drum up a prospective tenant or two. Still, every proposal bears watching. It's the ugly one we ignore that -- surprise! -- will get built." Chicago Tribune 11/13/05

Italy Contacts Princeton Museum Italian authorities have contacted Princeton University about two vases they say were stolen from Italy. "This week, Princeton said it had been contacted in December 2004 by Italian law enforcement officials about the vases, which university officials said the museum legally acquired in 1989." Newsday 11/12/05

Most of Stolen Iraqi Art Still Not Recovered Of the some 14,000 artifacts stolen in Iraq, only about 5,500 have been recovered. "US military sources say forces in Iraq have no systematic way of investigating the missing objects, and in the ongoing insurgency neither US or Iraqi forces can justify using scarce manpower to guard sites in the countryside, where widespread looting has continued since the March 2003 US invasion. Law enforcement organizations worldwide are chasing the lost items, but their representatives said there is no systematic coordination, and they are relying on a shifting set of ad hoc partnerships to bring the thieves to account." Boston Globe 11/13/05

Richly Promoted - Today's Galleries One sign of how wealthy New York's contemporary art galleries have become? The luxurious ways in which they're promoting themselves. "Each day's mail seems to deliver a series of challenges and counter-challenges from the galleries that consider themselves in the upper echelon of the upper echelon. Instead of chest-puffing, ruffed fur or antlers, it's paper worthy of an invitation from the White House. Conveyance by liveried coachmen would not surprise." The New York Times 11/12/05

Piano's Extension Boosts High Museum Collection Renzo Piano's expansion of Atlanta's High Museum doubles the previous museum space. What effect has the extension had on the museum? "More than one-third of the High's collection, including works by Gerhard Richter and the team of Coosje van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg, was acquired after the museum announced its plans for expansion in 1999. Michael Shapiro, director of the High, attributes the stepped-up interest on the part of donors and patrons to Mr. Piano's reputation for showcasing art. This is not the first time the High has used architecture to draw attention: in 1983, it unveiled a building designed by Richard Meier that is still considered one of his most important works." The New York Times 11/12/05

Italians Meet With Met Museum Over Stolen Objects Italian investigators were in New York last week to meet with officials at the Metropolitan Museum to talk about 22 items in the Met collection the Italians say were stolen. "In Rome, the Italian culture minister said yesterday that the Italian government had made overtures to the Met's director, Philippe de Montebello, about a joint meeting to discuss ancient artworks that Italy claims were illegally excavated and exported before entering the museum's collection of Greek and Roman art." The New York Times 11/12/05

Antiquities Trove Discovered In Egyptian Museum Basement "For the past century, artefacts have been stored away in crates there and forgotten, often allowed to disintegrate in the dank, dusty cavern. Forgotten until now. The recent theft and recovery of three statues from the basement have prompted antiquity officials in Egypt to increase an effort already under way to complete the first comprehensive inventory of artefacts in the basement." Sydney Morning Herald 11/11/05

Met Museum In Talks With Italy Over Stolen Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Italian culture ministry officials have agreed to meet to discuss objects in the New York museum's collection that Italy says were looted. Bloomberg.com 11/11/05

The Zaha Hadid Phenomenon "For years, Zaha Hadid's architecture was problematic. Her ideas were stunning, particularly when ex-pressed as large paintings full of what seemed like exploding buildings, sharp angles and jagged planes, but many found it hard to believe that they could ever be built. Today, however, she seems omnipresent." New Statesman 11/14/05

Restoring Forbidden City The Chinese government is spending 1.5 billion Yuan ($185 million) to restore the Forbidden City over the next 15 years." Work has already started, and scaffolding now covers dozens of buildings in the complex. Projects along the central axis are scheduled for completion by 2008, in time for the Olympic Games in Beijing." The restoration often takes the form of replacement of worn materials. The Art Newspaper 11/10/05

Getty Returns Art To Italy The Getty Museum has returned three artworks to Italy. "Among the pieces returned is a 2,300-year-old Greek vase, known as a krater, painted by Asteas. A bronze Etruscan candelabrum and stone inscription were also returned. The Italian government had filed a claim with Los Angeles legal authorities. The museum is hoping to build goodwill with the Italians ahead of further lawsuits involving 42 pieces of art in the collection of the Getty museum." CBC 11/10/05

A Starchitect Plan For The United Nations Neighborhood Architects Richard Meier and David M. Childs have unveiled a master plan for four buildings, a park and an ice rink on part of an enormous nine-acre site near the United Nations. "They say the designs, filed with the city last week as part of an environmental assessment statement, will restore a sense of the Manhattan grid to the edge of the East River. The project is part of a four-parcel property between 35th and 41st Streets that Sheldon H. Solow, the developer, bought from Con Edison for $630 million in a deal approved last year." The New York Times 11/10/05

David Smith Sculpture Sells For Record Price Larry Gagosian, the Manhattan dealer, fought off five aggressive bidders and paid $23.8 million at Sotheby's for David Smith's "CUBI XXVIII" (1965), the last of the artist's renowned Cubi series. "The reason for the high price was plain to lovers of contemporary art: this elegantly composed melding of boxes and columns may be the last example of the series to come on the market for some time. Most of the others are in museums or collections where they will stay for generations. So this last-chance opportunity was irresistible, which is why the sculpture's final price was nearly double its high estimate, $12 million." The New York Times 11/10/05

Why Does Looking At Art Have To Be So Loud? If you've noticed that museums and galleries seem to be getting louder in recent years, you're not alone. Sound bleeding from those headphone-equipped self-guided tours mingles with the shrieks of schoolchildren and leaves some art lovers decidedly irritated. "It's certainly become increasingly difficult to tour a gallery or museum without being assailed by extraneous sound, and virtually impossible to look at a painting or sculpture in any sort of contemplative tranquillity. Galleries and museums used to be regarded as temples of art, to be approached with a certain reverence - glass cases, do not touch. Now it's all lights up, hands-on and enjoy." The Telegraph (UK) 11/10/05

Is The Aboriginal Art Market Overvalued? Aboriginal art has become a booming industry in Australia, despite the inherent complications of marketing and trading in a product manufactured by artists whose culture does not accept Western ideas of ownership. But the craze seems to be beginning to die down, and "amid the frenzied buying and selling, with important Aboriginal art objects changing hands as often as several times a year, there is still a pervasive anxiety that Aboriginal art might be a con." The Guardian (UK) 11/10/05

As Art Goes For The Everyday, Architects Shoot The Moon "The ordinary has become the universal currency of contemporary art... Contemporary British culture fetishises the ordinary, whether it's Tracey Emin or Coronation Street, Reality TV and its stream of pleb-celebs, or the slightly condescending, awkward glory of Mike Leigh, Alan Bennett and Martin Parr... The odd thing is that while other arts increasingly revel in everydayness, architecture, the art that touches our lives in the most practical and everyday ways, remains in thrall to the gravitational pull of the 'icon'." Financial Times (UK) 11/09/05

Rothko Sale Sets Record at Christie's "An oil painting by Mark Rothko has set a new world record of $22.4m for any post-war work sold at auction. The work, entitled Homage to Matisse, was sold at Christie's post-war and contemporary art sale in New York on Tuesday evening. New records were also set for Roy Lichtenstein, Francis Bacon and several other artists. Lichtenstein's In the Car sold for $16.2m, while a Willem de Kooning untitled work from 1977, sold for $10.66m, far above the high estimate of $6m. The sale took a total of $157.4m, exceeding the pre-sale high-end estimate of $145m, with only four of the 70 lots on offer failing to sell." BBC 11/09/05

Rodin Coming To Raleigh A collection of 22 Rodin sculptures valued at $25 million is to be given to the Raleigh-based North Carolina Museum of Art as part of a major donation from the Cantor Foundation. The museum will house the collection in a new $75-million wing it plans to build, and will establish a companion study center. Charlotte Observer (AP) 11/10/05

Turners By Rail The four artworks shortlisted for the Turner Prize are being sent on a tour of rail stations. "A mini-tour of UK train stations will give travellers the chance to comment on the works vying for the big prize. Commuters will be able to write their thoughts on the work - good or bad - on a giant wall." BBC 11/09/05

Did Italian Police Offer Deal To Art Smuggler To Give Up Museums? A Rome prosecutor is said to have offered reduced jail time to an antiquities smuggler if he would testify against big museums like the Metropolitan and MFA. "If you accuse the Metropolitan and Getty and the Berlin Museum, Boston, Cleveland, Copenhagen and Munich -- one piece each - - I can make this go away,'' prosecutor Paolo Ferri said two weeks ago, according to the smuggler, Giacomo Medici. Bloomberg.com 11/08/05

Rehabilitating The Hated Car Park "Car parks are architectural scum, lower down architecture’s evolutionary scale than Travelodges. If your nearest [parking garage] was demolished you’d no more bat an eyelid than if you’d stood on a cockroach... Sounds like just the job for Rem Koolhaas, who likes nothing better than a bit of Modernist dystopia to turn on its head. In theory, with all those spirals, all that concrete, a car park should be a gift for an architect. Koolhaas has been busy regenerating Almere, a faded Dutch Alphaville from the 1950s, though not for the trim, cappuccino-sipping bike riders that give most modern urban planners wet dreams. Koolhaas is rebuilding his new new town around that great modern evil: the car." The Times (UK) 11/09/05

Art Market Back On The Upswing "Over the past two decades, the Impressionist and modern art market has seen demand reach dizzying heights and then collapse, and supply fluctuate from feast to famine. But last week it had a solid, confident air as buyers spent almost £165 million at Christie's and Sotheby's main New York sales. Helped by a bumper crop of estate sales and the controversial decision of several American museums to sell works to fund new purchases, there was plenty to tempt buyers, who reacted enthusiastically." The Telegraph (UK) 11/08/05

Politician vs. History vs. Profundity When the UK's new culture minister approached the "comments board" for this year's Turner Prize finalists, he was surely remembering the uproar that ensued three years ago, when then-minister Kim Howells scrawled a profane condemnation of the prize and its organizers, sparking a general uproar (and quite a bit of muttered support from a public that had grown to loathe the conceptual art-heavy Turner.) There can be no question that current minister David Lammy did not repeat Howells' mistake. But in his caution, he may have forgotten to say anything at all. The Guardian (UK) 11/09/05

Punk Princess Clears Space In Her Collection "Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis likes motorcycles and rock stars, lavish parties and jewels. She is known among the international jet set as the 'punk princess' who collects contemporary art. But sometimes, she cleans house. Last night she put 50 works by some of today's trendiest artists - including Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman and Paul McCarthy - up for sale at Phillips, dePury & Company... The sale totaled $6.3 million, [but] art dealers familiar with her collection say she has held on to the best work." The New York Times 11/08/05

That's Gratitude For You "Art Exhibitions Australia began 25 years ago with $1 million from government and orders not to come back for more. Charged with bringing international art to Australia, it has staged 57 exhibitions - the latest being Dutch Masters - and attracted more than 10 million visitors. With a total turnover of $130 million, it has raised $42 million in sponsorships, started a million-dollar foundation, and has an enviable $9.5 million in reserves... Naturally, then, it has a cache of variously motivated critics," and many in the Australian art world say that the AEA has outlived its usefulness. Sydney Morning Herald 11/08/05

Looking Back At The Art Movement That Made You Want To Look Away Dada stands as one of the strangest art movements of the 20th century, rising from humble beginnings to embrace grotesquery as a reflection of the violence and desperation of the era. "When we look at the remains of Dada, we see the 20th century with its skin peeled off. Surrealism was to reject Dada in favour of something supposedly less gestural. Yet Dada spoke the truth." The Guardian (UK) 11/08/05

Collecting Hitler It's a fairly well-known fact that Adolf Hitler started out as an artist. It's also fairly well known that he wasn't a very good one. But that hasn't stopped the market for authentic Hitler artworks from booming. "Isn't the business of collecting the personal effects of Nazis - even their artwork - rather questionable?" Of course it is, and most art dealers won't go near the stuff. But for the "narrow band" of collectors who are interested, price (and geo-political baggage) seem to be no object. The Guardian (UK) 11/07/05

Bigger Budget For Australia's New Gallery Australia's federal cabinet has approved a AUS$20 million increase in the budget for the soon-to-be-built National Portrait Gallery, bringing the total budget for the project to AUS$74 million (US$54 million) just as the shortlist of architects vying to design the gallery is announced. Sydney Morning Herald 11/08/05

Another Candidate Pulls Out Of The Race In Cleveland One of the leading candidates to replace Katherine Reid as director of the Cleveland Museum of Art has withdrawn his candidacy. Charles Venable, deputy director for collections and programs at the museum, apparently withdrew from consideration last week, though he hasn't said why. Venable is the second potential director to duck out of the search - in September, the director of Atlanta's High Museum also said he would no longer be a candidate. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 11/07/05

Indiana Jones Is Out Italy's aggressive push to make claims on art it says was looted has American museums anxious. "The bad old days of Indiana Jones-style museum acquisition no longer fly. Countries have laws regarding the exportation of artwork, and what's legal in one country may not be in another. And even if it's legal, it may not be ethical. Many in the art world say the media blitz surrounding the Italian charges makes this a defining moment." Christian Science Monitor 11/07/05

Redoing The Getty Villa "The $275-million Getty Villa project stands as Machado and Silvetti's most significant design, centering on the 64-acre property just above Pacific Coast Highway where oil billionaire J. Paul Getty built a loose replica of a Roman country house. The mock villa by the architecture firm Langdon & Wilson was dismissed by some critics as a gaudy concoction when it opened to the public in 1974. 'This folly of Getty, how do you take that building? We could have taken it with irony; we could have taken it with aggression. A lot of architect friends of ours recommended both. We took it very seriously, and I think we made it a better building'." Los Angeles Times 11/06/05

Should Art "Belong" To Its Home City? There has been much discussion lately about the trend of museums selling off their art to balance the budget. But museums aren't the only ones divesting themselves of great works: Alan Artner points out that private collectors do it all the time, and the effect on a city's artistic reputation can be drastically changed by such actions. "In the past it was thought that artworks collected in a city should stay in the city, for in a sense, they belonged to it. People rich enough to have significant collections made their money in particular cities and leaving art to them was a way of giving something back." But beginning in the 1980s, when art really became a financial investment as well as an aesthetic one, this view began to change. Chicago Tribune 11/06/05

Vanity Amid The Calligraphy Illuminated manuscripts - those ornately decorated pages of calligraphic words that are meant more to be admired than read - were more than just a way to honor profound texts with high art. In fact, "[they] functioned a little the way today's society pages do: they advertised the status of movers and shakers while at the same time they made them seem noble and generous. The manuscripts followed a basic formula: the more dazzling the word and image, the more prominent the church patron. Not content to be anonymous donors, people who commissioned such manuscripts even had their own likenesses incorporated into scenes along with their coats of arms." The New York Times 11/06/05

MFA Reverses Course On Art Theft Inquiry Days after Italian prosecutors announced to the world that they have clear and unimpeachable evidence that Boston's Museum of Fine Arts is in possession of stolen art, the museum is reaching out to Italian authorities in an effort to head off serious legal trouble. Originally, the MFA had planned to wait for officials to come to them in the controversy surrounding dealer Robert Hecht and Getty Museum curator Marian True, but when press coverage intensified at week's end, the museum decided that it could not afford to wait. MFA officials also issued a statement promising to return any objects which could be proven to have been stolen. Boston Globe 11/05/05

The Getty In Crisis "Today the Getty Museum is under siege. Its former antiquities curator faces an indictment in Italy, and allegations of lavish travel by [museum president Barry] Munitz have led to a wide-ranging investigation by the California attorney general into the trust's finances. Overlooked in these controversies, some of Mr. Munitz's critics say, is the harm suffered by the museum itself, including acquisitions, curatorial choices and departures by talented staff members who bridled at Mr. Munitz's decisions and style." In fact, some observers believe that the Getty's problems can be traced all the way back to 1982, when it received the bulk of oilman J. Paul Getty's fortune and became a major player on the international art scene. The New York Times 11/05/05

Artist Ordered To Remove Art From Park City officials in Edmonton, Canada, have ordered a prominent aboriginal artist to take down art in a park. "The sculpture by Jane Ash Poitras included artificial severed moose legs and four bison skulls, along with boulders, stones, flowers and an eagle feather. A City spokesman said there were several calls of complaint and about two-thirds of residents in the area who responded to a letter asking their opinion on the sculpture opposed it." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 11/04/05

Italians Bring Antiquities Theft Charges Italian prosecutors detail significant thefts of antiquities. "The global scale of the alleged ring's trade -- worth tens of millions of dollars and involving museums from Tokyo to Toledo, Ohio -- is outlined in a series of cases that Italian prosecutors are bringing, in part to keep looted archaeological artifacts from auction houses and museums, the papers obtained by Bloomberg News show. 'A critical point has been reached, where the laxness, and sometimes the complicity of some museums in the U.S., and elsewhere, has been exposed'." Bloomberg.com 11/04/05

Las Vegas Mayor: Graffiti? Off With Their Thumbs! "You know, we have a beautiful highway landscaping redevelopment in our downtown. We have desert tortoises and beautiful paintings of flora and fauna. These punks come along and deface it. 'I'm saying maybe you put them on TV and cut off a thumb. That may be the right thing to do'." San Francisco Chronicle 11/04/05

Italians: We have Proof MFA Has Stolen Art Italian officials are said to have pictures of antiquities being pulled from the ground that they say is documentary proof that Boston's Museum of Fine Art has stolen art. "It is the smoking gun. It means they came out of the ground; they were looted and cleaned up and sold. That's about as strong a case as you're going to find." MFA officials said yesterday they have yet to hear from Italian authorities. The museum has long disputed that works in its collection were stolen, an assertion underscored yesterday." Boston Globe 11/04/05

US To Investigate Plundering Of Tibetan Artifacts "Dana Rohrabacher, a conservative Republican representative in the United States Congress and a long-standing critic of China’s human rights record, has announced he will lead an investigation into what he suspects was the systematic looting of Tibetan art and objects by Chinese authorities since the 1949 Communist revolution. The inquiry has coincided with a high profile auction in Beijing of artefacts that previously belonged to Tibetan monasteries, and which seeped out into international markets sometime last century before being bought by the leading Taiwan-based collector Wang Du." The Art Newspaper 11/02/05

Christie's Has A Solid First Week, Breaks Toulouse-Lautrec Record "A painting by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec has been sold for $22.4m in New York, breaking the world sales record for the artist's work. His 1886 work La Blanchisseuse shows a female laundry worker gazing out of a window. It beat the 1997 record of $14.5m for one of his works. Christie's annual autumn art auction also sold Picasso's Sylvette on a Green Armchair for $8m. But Henri Matisse's Marguerites failed to reach its $10m asking price. A pair of Monet paintings also remained unsold, drawing no bids beyond $3.2m after pre-sale estimates of up to $6m. Christie's two-week Impressionist and modern art sale took a total of $160.9m in its first week." BBC 11/03/05

The Mozart Of Art Theft His name is, in fact, Mozart. "He is 82, lives in Linz and trades in stolen archaeological items from Italy. The carabinieri have found 3000 items to have passed through his hands and around 600 have already been returned to Italy." Agenzia Giornalistica Italia 11/02/05

Homes Of The Henge Builders Unearthed For the first time, archaeologists have excavated homes of prehistoric Neolithic henge builders, in a set of dwellings, some older than Stonehenge, excavated from a Northumberland quarry. "The Neolithic Britons left some of the most spectacular prehistoric monuments in the world, but there have been only scraps of evidence showing where and how they lived. House sites are so rare that some archaeologists believe most people lived a semi-nomadic existence." The Guardian (UK) 11/03/05

Interest-Free Loans For Art Britons are being offered a deal on art. Own Art is "a new government-funded initiative that offers interest-free loans of up to £2,000 ($3,545) to anyone wanting to buy contemporary artwork. 'We want to open people's eyes to owning something unique rather than just going to a superstore and buying something mass produced'." ABCNews.com 11/02/05

Dorment: Tate Was Lucky To Get Ofili Richard Dorment is shocked that the Tate is being attacked for its recent purchase of Chris Ofili's "The Open Door." "With MoMA breathing down their necks, the Tate trustees either had to act at once or lose one of the most important works of British art painted in the last 25 years. Had the gallery let the work go, I'd now be writing an article castigating the director and trustees for their obtuseness. And what if Ofili had stepped down from the board? It would still have been possible to point to his recent association with the gallery and accuse Tate of cronyism. By asking the artist to step aside during the negotiations, the trustees secured a masterpiece while adhering to the highest ethical standards." The Telegraph (UK) 11/02/05

• Previously: More Questions About Tate's Ofili Purchase Questions are mounting about the Tate's purchase for £600,000 of Chris Ofili's The Upper Room. The artist's dealer had urged the purchase because Ofili was getting married and needed cash. Some critics are also charging conflict-of-interest on the part of some of the board members who approved the purchase. The Independent 10/30/05

London's National To Take On The 20th Century? London's National Gallery is considering expanding its collecting activities into the 20th Century. "At present its remit runs until 1900, following a 1996 agreement with Tate. Under the terms of the deal, the NG transferred 14 post-1900 pictures to Tate on long-term loan, with Tate lending 51 pre-1900 European works to Trafalgar Square." The Art Newspaper 11/01/05

Art Cologne Racks Up Sales "Art Cologne closes tomorrow after a six-day run on the tail of London's Frieze, which sold 26,000 tickets. The German fair's sales may reach 70 million euros ($84 million) this year, up from 60 million euros in 2004, preserving its status as Europe's No.2 modern and contemporary fair after Art Basel." Bloomberg.com 11/01/05

LA County Museum Unloads Some Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is selling off $10 million worth of art. "Exactly why the museum has decided to sell them now is not known, although income from the auction will be restricted to future acquisitions. (Rumors have circulated that a war chest is being assembled for a major purchase, but they remain unsubstantiated.) LACMA's plan to construct a new building — the Broad Contemporary Art Museum — is no doubt one force driving the idea, as construction of the Anderson Building for Modern and Contemporary Art was at the time of the museum's last big de-accession, in 1982. Bizarrely, one LACMA official said the museum was merely pruning redundancies, as if unique works of art were not — well, unique." Los Angeles Times 11/01/05

Italians Get Serious ABout Recovering Their Antiquities From American Museums Italian police are heating up their cases against museums that may have stolen art. "The Getty case is just a slice of an illicit global trade in antiquities that stretches from the Egyptian desert to Chinese tombs to Peruvian monuments, and pulls in some of the most- respected names in art and academia. At least 52 items the Getty has acquired or handled were looted or came from smugglers, according to charges against Hecht, Medici and True that were contained in Italian court documents obtained by Bloomberg News. Eight such pieces are in the Metropolitan, 22 are in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and one each are in the Princeton University Art Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art, the documents say." Bloomberg.com 10/31/05

• Boston's MFA Has Stolen Italian Artifacts? That's the charge of Italian authorities, who are said to have proof. "The claim, contained in court documents connected with the cases against a pair of art dealers and a former Getty curator with links to Boston, could put pressure on the MFA and a host of other museums to consider returning objects to Italy, according to antiquities experts who have been critical of the way museums acquire artifacts. Prosecutors list 22 MFA objects, including a 2,500-year-old Greek vase currently on display in a museum gallery." Boston Globe 11/01/05