"Experts at the National Galleries of Scotland made the find when the canvas was X-rayed before an exhibition. The hidden self-portrait was covered by layers of glue and cardboard on the back of an earlier work called Head of a Peasant Woman." - BBC
The new law comes within a suite of rules intended to give the police more power over protesters. "Anyone caught damaging a memorial in the U.K. could now face harsh penalties of up to 10 years in prison." A specialist in art law says it's a "political judgement." - Artnet
From 2008 to 2012, the Arizona Commission on the Arts had a regular line, about $550,000, in the state budget; since then, the agency had only one-time appropriations that vary widely year-to-year. In 2020 the legislature gave the Commission $2 million; for the upcoming year, $5 million. - The Arizona Republic
"Google nearly decided to call the internet TV service 'YouTube Air,' because an early version used an over-the-air TV antenna," and then internally it was YouTube "Unplugged." The service has a million more subscribers than its fellow "Live" at Hulu. - Variety
Starting in the 1990s, traditional documentaries started to be replaced by personality-driven nonfiction films whose directors (e.g., Michael Moore, Werner Herzog) were more than clear about points of view. Now more and more documentaries have given up narration entirely, using only the voices of subjects. - The Guardian
"What happens when legacy magazines can no longer rely on their reputation to get readers, let alone party invites? Condé Nast's magazines, especially Carter's Vanity Fair, used a strategy of exclusion to generate a sense of luxury. ... Can any publishing project today succeed on that basis alone?" - The Nation
"The assumption that 'a gay book' is necessarily a sexualized book, and therefore inappropriate for children, is baked into the language of 'Don’t Say Gay,'" the censorious, proudly homophobic Florida law that Republicans would like to pass and enforce everywhere. - The New Yorker
Jeffrey Arlo Brown writes about the tricky, nerve-wracking process that two young trumpeters went through. One passed his trial, the other failed hers — which turned out to be a very lucky thing. - Van
Why is Shah Rukh Khan so celebrated as he marks 30 years in the Hindi film industry? "He shows us a glimpse of a prosperous, plural and humane region - one that can laugh at itself without the inflamed nostrils of pious outrage." And he's the poster child for growth. - BBC
Mind you, these aren't the Benin Bronzes, which come from what's now southwestern Nigeria. These were taken by French colonial soldiers in the late 19th century from the Kingdom of Dahomey, now part of the Republic of Benin, to which France has given them back. - The Guardian
The town of Prescot, a few miles from Liverpool, was once home to the only freestanding Elizabethan theatre outside London. That's the case once again, with the opening of Shakespeare North, a near-copy of the Royal Cockpit theatre that once stood in 16th-century London. - BBC
Archaeologists report that the site, about 20 miles southeast of Pamplona, was "of urban character — the city's name is currently unknown — and it developed during the (Roman) imperial period. Later, the same site (became) a rural habitat during the Visigoth and early Andalusian periods." (in English) - El País (Spain)
In 2012, Serebrennikov took over the stultified Gogol Theater, rechristened it the Gogol Center, and made it Moscow's most daring stage, regularly irking the government. Now, after years fighting trumped-up embezzlement charges, he's in exile, and the city has ousted the leadership and restored the old name. - The Moscow Times
