Only four of the French-American artist’s arachnid creations have ever appeared at auction. In May 2019, another sold for $32.1 million with fees at Christie’s in New York. - CNN
"It’s every thrifter's dream. Several years ago, a New York woman purchased several ceramic dishes at a Salvation Army store for $8, then found out they were actually rare plates made by Pablo Picasso. She sold them for over $40,000." - Artnet
"The Sydney Opera House has reviewed the rules for lighting its iconic sails, as figures reveal they were lit up a record one night in every five last year." Arguments arose after the premier of the new state government blocked a projection to celebrate King Charles's coronation. - The Sydney Morning Herald
"The work, titled Seated (2022), first appeared near King's Cross in London last year and is now being exhibited by the De la Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, a town in East Sussex. After its vandalism on May 15, the community in Bexhill-on-Sea banded together to clean the work." - ARTnews
No full-body imagery of Michelangelo's David here, the Scots say: "The designs commissioned by the Barolo restaurant were rejected from spaces in the subway over modesty concerns." - The Guardian (UK)
Njideka Akunyili Crosby will go to many lengths in order to do the research for her paintings. "She spent hours looking through pictures of flora and fauna from Nigeria and L.A., spending time in a plant store and visiting the Huntington art museum’s expansive botanical gardens." - The New York Times
Belgium once claimed it had finished its work on looted art in 2001. But no, says one museum director. "I can say without hesitation, the Belgian state has been very late in taking action." Then there's Tate Britain. - The Observer (UK)
Don't stress, artists: "What the majority actually had problems with — what the decision was mostly about — was the Warhol Foundation’s failure to pay Goldsmith a licensing fee in 2016." - The New York Times
Kate Levy says she loves "to tear into hypocritical institutions or political actors who rely on oppressive yet hokey, family-first, nice people, I’m-just-doing-my-job narratives. Calling out and satirizing corny, offensive propaganda is one of my greatest pleasures." - Hyperallergic
"The publicly- and privately-funded museum will open in Palermo's 18th-century neoclassical Palazzo Jung palace, sources report. Joining an existing No Mafia Memorial and museum, the new institution will offer archival documents, film, and photos on loan from major Italian museums, as well as immersive experiences featuring scent and sound." - Artnet
“I would just say that we are, without changing … our fundamental position about the ownership of the sculptures, we’re trying to explore a possible win-win proposition that would work for both sides.” - Artnet
It's still too early to assess damage to museums and heritage sites in Emilia-Romagna, where 13 people have died and 10,000 are displaced amid the region's worst floods in a century. In Ravenna, the Classis archaeological museum housed 800 human and 150 canine evacuees. - The Art Newspaper
How lopsided has the program been? Of the 11 shows on view at the museum last year, just two centered on historical art. The other nine — 82% of the program — presented art of the modern era. - Los Angeles Times
"Pandora VII, which resulted in crackdowns across 14 European countries and was led by Spanish authorities, involved checks across airports, ports, border crossings, auction houses, museums, and private residences. The operational phase took between September 13 and 24, 2022." - Artnet
