Backlash Over Looted Art Claims "Seventy years after the Nazis stole their property, a new wave of Jewish families is winning back valuable artefacts in Germany and Austria. What was once a trickle of successful claims has become a flood. But now there is a backlash. German politicians and museum directors are expressing fears about the break-up of key collections and, after years of recognising the moral rights of claimants, are questioning the motives of those pursuing the claims." The Observer (UK) 12/10/06

How Basel Miami Got To Be America's Largest Art Fair "Unlike London, where the major museums are setting their exhibition clocks to Frieze Art Fair time, or New York, where the art machine is big enough to swallow almost any art fair whole, Miami offers what might be called a level playing field for different viewing circumstances: i.e., fairs, museums, the private collector/alternative spaces and a few other ventures. All contribute equally to the flow of information." The New York Times 12/10/06

A Return To Printing By Hand "Letterpress, which became obsolete in the 1980s with the rise of desktop publishing, is experiencing a resurgence as artists and consumers rediscover the allure of hand-set type." The New York Times 12/10/06

The Man Who Is Taking On Museum Donations Senator Chuck Grassley has been going after the way art is donated to museums in America. "The idea that a wealthy collector can win a big tax deduction for giving away something that remains on his walls offends Mr. Grassley. 'Call it what it is, a subsidy for millionaires to buy art. Where I come from the word giving doesn’t mean keeping'." The New York Times 12/10/06

Downtown L.A. Too Ritzy For Neon Museum L.A.'s Museum of Neon Art just over a month away from homelessness, with no prospects for a new home in sight. "At the end of January, a month after the downtown museum celebrates its 25th birthday, the lease runs out on MONA's home of 10 years... The museum is caught in a bind common among bohemians in booming urban settings: With rents rising, lofts proliferating and redevelopment efforts underway downtown, the 400-member museum, which lives on a $200,000 yearly budget, can't afford most buildings." Los Angeles Times 12/08/06

Will The ICA Change Boston's Stodgy Architectural History? Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art, with its striking cantilever overlooking Boston Harbor, may be the most architecturally significant building to be built in the Hub in a generation. "Four decades ago the completion of a City Hall in Brutalist concrete sent the city’s cultural guardians into a panic. Since then, with a few exceptions like the John Hancock Tower, the city’s architectural aspirations could generally be summed up in one word: brick." But the ICA, which stands in a largely undeveloped area at the moment, will eventually be more than a stand-alone monument to creativity: "Viewed through a maze of new buildings, the structure could wield the force of a wonderful surprise." The New York Times 12/08/06

Definitive Hicks Painting Up For Auction "Edward Hicks’s celebrated 'Peaceable Kingdom' paintings — parables of the animal kingdom inspired by the words of the prophet Isaiah — come up for sale every now and again. Each seems to have its own special story. On Jan. 19 Christie’s in New York is selling the last of 60 images in the series." The seller, who is descended from Hicks himself, expects to realize $3 to $4 million. The New York Times 12/08/06

Seeing Masterpieces Everywhere "Art is making more money than ever before. This year, a new world record was set for the most expensive painting of all time - and broken a few months later. There is a frenzy in the market that encompasses everything from contemporary art to looted Greek and Roman antiquities. Unexpected discoveries fuel the fantasy that you or I can participate in this greedy sport, that valuable masterpieces lie in attics or cupboards, waiting to be recognised... There are only two questions about art we all recognise. But is it art? And if it is, what's it worth?" The Guardian (UK) 12/07/06

Is Boston Ready To Embrace The New? Bostonians have never been known for their cutting-edge taste when it comes to art. "But the new Institute of Contemporary Art is growing up into a museum that has the potential to be a player on the world stage. Boston's aesthetic can grow up with it." Boston Globe 12/07/06

Tate Seeking £5m To Keep Turner In UK "The Tate launches a major campaign today to purchase one of Turner's late masterpieces, The Blue Rigi, a heartstopping view of Mount Rigi seen from Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, in which he captured the elusive moment when night fades into the pale light of dawn. The work is, according to the Tate, one of the finest watercolours painted. It needs to be, for Tate Britain must raise £4.95m to prevent it leaving the country. This would be the biggest sum it has ever paid for a single work of art." The Guardian (UK) 12/07/06

German Critic Slams Turner Honoree In the hours since German-born artist Tomma Abts was named the recipient of this year's Turner Prize, British art critics have been lining up to praise the selection. But Germany's leading critic begs to differ, saying in a blistering article that Abts's paintings look like East German wallpaper samples. The Guardian (UK) 12/07/06

You Might Even Argue That A Normal Building Is Out of Place There "A proposed residential tower designed by Foster and Partners for New York’s Upper East Side has sparked conflict between neighbors, pitting preservationists against the local artists, designers, and gallery owners who hope to see the building constructed... Foster argued that such ambitious architecture isn’t out of place in the neighborhood, and pointed to the Carlyle, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum as examples." Business Week 12/07/06

ICA Looking Good On Boston's Harborfront "Costing $41 million and three months late, the Institute of Contemporary Art is Boston's first new art museum in almost a century," and James Russell says that it looks like it will live up to the hype. "The 65,000-square-foot building's generous, light-filled lobby sweeps you around to a handsome glass elevator the size of a panel truck... The interior has architectural presence without getting in art's way. The outside pugnaciously asserts this old upstart's new place on the harbor -- and in the city." Bloomberg 12/05/06

Pork Barrel Portraits The expectation has been that Canada's new National Portrait Gallery would be built in Ottawa, the capital. But it appears from internal government documents that the project will be built in Calgary instead. Why Calgary, home of the Stampede ad mythologizer of the cowboy? Prime Minister Stephen Harper hails from the city. 'Nuff said. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 12/06/06

Boston's Hip New Contemporary Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art has a stunning new building on the city's waterfront. "With the possible exception of a lighthouse, there's probably never been a building more intensely involved with the sea. The ICA and the harbor enjoy the architectural equivalent of a dating relationship." The Boston Globe puts together an impressive multimedia package to explore what the new buildng means to the city. Boston Globe 12/06/06

Restoration Hard Ware - Restore Bamiyan Buddhas? "Five years after the Taliban were ousted from power, Bamiyan’s Buddhist relics are once again the focus of debate: Is it possible to restore the great Buddhas? And, if so, can the extraordinary investment that would be required be justified in a country crippled by poverty and a continued Taliban insurgency in the south and that is, after all, overwhelmingly Muslim?" The New York Times 12/06/06

In Search Of A Little Turner Razzle Dazzle The Turner Prize has lacked a certain oomph for the last few years, writes a former winner. "Many pundits bemoan the razzmatazz of the Turner and the proliferation of cultural prizes in general, feeling that they are undignified and inappropriately competitive in the arts. I think they are a good way to engage the public in the debate of what makes good art. In a world where a zillion cultural products beg for our attention, prizes strive to champion quality. If, in doing that, they occasionally include the media-friendly option, so be it." The Times (UK) 12/05/06

Art In The Schools? (Or Money In The Bank) "Three years ago, the Philadelphia School District went on a treasure hunt to gather up about 1,200 artworks. There were paintings, sculptures and tapestries from more than 260 schools. A Chicago art consultant brought in to catalogue the works said the entire collection could be worth $30 million. But now that the School Reform Commission is struggling to resolve a $73.3 million budget deficit, art experts, along with members of various school communities, are worried that district officials could be tempted to sell the artworks." Philadelphia Daily News 12/05/06

Kahn's Yale Art Gallery To Reopen, Restored "Yale University, famous for its Gothic buildings, is showing off a newly restored jewel that marked the beginning of its modern era. The university has completed a $44-million restoration of the main building of its art gallery that was designed by architect Louis Kahn.... The Chapel Street building, which opened in 1953, was Yale's first modernist structure and marked a radical break from the campus' largely neo-Gothic character. It was also Kahn's first masterpiece," and it reopens Sunday. Los Angeles Times (AP) 12/05/06

Design Tethered To, Or Divorced Of, History Nicolai Ouroussoff considers skyline-altering projects in two great cities and advises that "while the design for the Phare Tower in Paris is a work of sparkling originality that wrestles thoughtfully with the urban conflicts of the city’s postwar years, the other, the gargantuan Gazprom City in St. Petersburg, Russia, is a bone-chilling expression of corporate ego run amok. Together, they train a lens on the range of architectural approaches to a daunting problem: the clash between the classical city and the inflated scale of the new global economy. And they underscore the limits of the creative imagination when it is detached from historical memory." The New York Times 12/04/06

Buy Russian Russian art is selling briskly, even withstanding charges of fakes coming to market. "The Russian sales are about rediscovering more home-spun talents Often, prices and estimates were inexplicably erratic. But, like the problems with fakes, this is all part of a young and booming market." The Telegraph (UK) 12/05/06

Mysteries About Hermitage Art Thefts Still Swirl "The Hermitage has been criticised for not having noticed the theft earlier. With a collection of almost three million objects, the process of checking them against inventory is continuous and takes some 10 years." The Telegraph (UK) 12/05/06

Victoria And Albert Drops Reproduction Fees The Victoria & Albert Museum says it will drop fees for publishing images in scholarly books and magazines. "Reproduction costs now often make it difficult to publish specialist art historical material. The V&A is believed to be the first museum anywhere in the world which is to offer images free of copyright and administrative charges." The Art Newspaper 11/30/06

Ottawa Museums Get Fix-up Funding Five Ottawa national museums get $100 million from the Canadian government to fix up their buildings. "Many of Ottawa's national cultural institutions have complained about the decline of their facilities for years, saying they have had to defer necessary repairs and upgrades due to lack of funds." CBC 12/04/06

German Artist Wins Turner German-born artist Tomma Abts has become the first woman painter to win the controversial Turner Prize in its 22-year history. BBC 12/04/06

When Admission Is Free, People Flock To Museums (Who Knew?) Admission to England's museums and galleries has been free for five years. "To mark the occasion, the government released figures which showed an average 83% rise in visits to museums and galleries which formerly charged. That is 30m extra visits, says the government, and something to be celebrated, according to the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell." But some warn that if the state cuts its support, the price barrier may have to go back up. The Guardian (UK) 12/02/06

How To Fix A Crippled Art Fair "Chicago-based Merchandise Mart Properties Inc... last year bought Art Chicago, the longest-running and once-leading contemporary art fair in the country, from its longtime producer. Its team will be at Art Basel Miami Beach -- as it has been at other such fairs around the world -- to try to make the contacts and find the elements that could return Art Chicago to international prominence... Part of the Mart's plan is to host five concurrent commercial shows, of varying size and focus, in its complex along the Chicago River." Chicago Tribune 12/03/06

Baby, You're The Top "If things are looking up for architecture in the 21st century, it's partly because of the roof. After decades of neglect, it is once again becoming the most visible element of new buildings, let alone whole cities. All those flat-roofed towers constructed since the 1950s and '60s are being reimagined as occasions for greenery, gardens, pools, playgrounds and even parks. Then there's the advent of Google Earth, a free computer program that has people everywhere looking at buildings — and entire cities — from the top down. Suddenly, the whole planet has been turned into a roofscape." Toronto Star 12/02/06

Fractal Geometry & Jackson Pollock: Something's Not Right "In an article published this week in the prestigious science journal Nature, two physicists contend that a method intended to identify complex geometric patterns in the seemingly chaotic drip paintings of Jackson Pollock is flawed and may be useless in the increasingly convoluted world of authenticating Pollock’s work." The New York Times 12/02/06

Who Cares About History? It's Tall And Shiny! "Russia’s largest company, Gazprom, announced on Friday that it had chosen the architecture firm RMJM London to design [St. Peterburg’s] tallest building, brushing aside arguments from preservationists and residents that the project — whoever the architect — would destroy the city’s architectural harmony." The New York Times 12/02/06

Sorry, New York, But You're Just Not That Important A large percentage of the American art world seems to accept, without argument, the idea that New York is the art center of the world, and has no peer. But the dean of the Yale School of Art and curator of next year's Venice Biennale is on a mission to get artists and art lovers to look beyond New York, which he says is overvalued to a ridiculous degree. Robert Storr says that the most interesting modern art is coming from Asia and Africa, that the best-run museum in the country is in Minneapolis, and that the art world's obsession with money allows the New York-centric viewpoint to thrive. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 12/01/06

Knowing It When You See It Proving that a painting is what someone thinks it is can be a daunting task, especially when there is evidence that it may have been painted by an old master whose name would make the canvas worth millions. This week, a once-disputed Rembrandt will go under the hammer in New York, and whoever buys it will inherit quite a history along with the art. The painting, which was discovered in 1972, wasn't certified as a Rembrandt until nearly a quarter-century later, and its story underlines the important advances that have been made in art analysis over the past few decades. The New York Times 12/01/06

Scream Thief Believed Dead "A 27-year-old man who died this month is believed to be one of three masked gunmen who snatched the Edvard Munch paintings The Scream and Madonna from an Oslo museum in August 2004. The same man is reported to have led police to believe the daring daylight heist was linked to an earlier robbery in which a police officer was shot... The man is reported to have confessed his role in the Munch heist on tape while in conversation with an undercover officer." CBC 11/30/06