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A Klimt Painting Was On Sale For $16.4 Million. It May Have Been Exported Illegally.

“The 1897 canvas, Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona,” which was on sale at this year’s TEFAF in Maastricht, “had reportedly resided in Hungary for decades, but conflicting accounts from Hungarian and Austrian authorities have raised questions over whether the work was legally cleared to leave the country.” - Artnet

Texas House Passes Another Bill To Remove “Indecent” Books From School Libraries

“Librarians, who normally curate book collections, would need the school board’s approval before buying books under Senate Bill 13. ... District officials could appoint local advisory councils to review books and make recommendations (for buying or removing particular titles) to the school board.” - The Dallas Morning News (MSN)

Righting Old Wrongs: The Plan For Revamping Damrosch Park And The West Side Of Lincoln Center

Michael Kimmelman: “By far most promising aspect of the plan is to open the park up to a neighborhood it has long walled off. It aims to rectify an approach to city building from the bad old days of urban renewal.” - The New York Times

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, One Of Africa’s Leading Authors, Has Died At 89

“In dozens of fiction and nonfiction books,” the Kenyan writer “traced his country’s history from British imperialism to home-ruled tyranny and challenged not only the stories told but the language used to tell them.” - AP

Local History Museums Are Overlooked Casualties In GOP War On Cultural Funding

“While organizations of all kinds were impacted, it is the small and midsized institutions that lack endowments, prominent donors, and broad outreach whose futures are particularly in jeopardy.” - The Guardian

Diplomatic Row After Iranian Film Wins At Cannes

Iranian director Jafar Panahi won the prestigious Palme d'Or for his film It Was Just an Accident on Saturday, a political drama inspired by his time in prison. Following the win, French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Panahi's win was "a gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime's oppression". - BBC

How The Cartoon Channel Made A Case For Animation And Fell Prey To Corporate Media

 Cartoon Network is an excellent case study for how the conditions of media conglomeration shape how media is made and curated. And in making a wide variety of animation available, Cartoon Network also helped make audiences think differently about animation. - The Conversation

New Hampshire Senate Wants To Gut State’s Public Art Program

The State Senate’s Finance Committee decided against eliminating the NH State Council for the Arts. Instead, by a 5-3 vote, the committee gave the Council a budget of $1 and suggested raising funds in the private sector. - InDepthNH

The Point Of Mass Education? Obedience?

In the vast majority of education systems, you still see these disciplinary and coercive roots very embedded in the character of how schools today continue to operate. - Asterisk

Fukuyama: As Science Helps Us Live Longer, The Downsides Multiply

There is a lot of happy talk among gerontologists about how people can remain open to new ideas and able to reinvent their lives late in life, and that certainly happens with some individuals. But the truth of the matter is that fundamental change in mental outlooks becomes much less likely with age. - Persuasion

Archaeologists Uncover Large Ancient Marble Workshop In Greece

Paros wasn’t just rich in natural resources. It was also a hub for artistry and culture. At a dig on the site of Floga, Parikia, archaeologists found a large number of unfinished marble statues—evidence of the organized production of artwork in an ancient sculpture workshop. - Artnet

How The Rebuilt Doris Duke Theater At Jacob’s Pillow Differs From The Original

Says executive director Pamela Tatge of the original: “It didn’t have a lot of modern amenities. It was not handicapped accessible, and it did not have a lobby or an exhibition space. It didn’t have adequate dressing rooms for artists to work, or even storage.” All that has now been addressed. - The Berkshire Eagle

What’s The Rococo Remake Of The Oval Office All About?

A parade of golden objects march across the mantel, relegating the traditional Swedish ivy to a greenhouse. Gilded Rococo wall appliqués, nearly identical to the ones at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, are stuck to the fireplace and office walls with the same level of aesthetic consideration a child gives her doll’s face. - The New York Times

Why Are Silicon Valley Tech Leaders So Obsessed With Tolkien?

How did a trilogy of novels about wizards and elves and furry-footed hobbits become a touchstone for right-wing power brokers? How did books that evince nostalgia for a pastoral, preindustrial past win an ardent following among the people who are shaping our digital future? - The New York Times

The West Prizes Individualism. But It Breeds A Mindset That Isn’t Always Best For Us

Even when we criticise individualism, we remain entrenched in individualist modes of thinking. Liberal and conservative, religious or secular, hip-hop or punk or country – in countries like the US, these are merely different names for the competing brands by which individuals define themselves. - Aeon

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