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Possible New Info In Gardner Museum Theft

At least, new info to the public. Investigators have been looking at links between the 1990 art heist and a 1991 execution-style murder for a decade or so. - Boston Globe

That Time Mies Van Der Rohe Designed A Frat House

The frat house didn't get built, but the design did - as a building for Indiana University's art, architecture, and design department. - Hyperallergic

Black Women Photographers Want To Be Seen In Full Color

Says one, "So much of the photography we have seen of the lives of Black and brown people is in black and white, which to me can sometimes give this sense of fungible devastation." She would rather show people "in all their vibrant, living colors." - Wired

Where Are Today’s Monuments Men And Women?

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has alarmed cultural experts still waiting "more than two years after the Army, with some fanfare, announced  new effort, styled after the old, of dedicated art experts working in a military capacity to preserve the treasures of the past." - The New York Times

Nelson Mandela’s Paintings Of Life In Prison Are About To Be Sold

They'll be sold as NFTs, of course. Mandela's daughter: "My dad was all about creating an accessible society. This is a way of democratising his art." - The Guardian (UK)

Sotheby’s Pulls Flashy NFT Sale

The lot was composed of 104 “CryptoPunks,” a historic and popular PFP NFT collection designed by Larva Labs in 2017. The estimate for the lot was $20 million–$30 million, but in the end, the lot didn’t sell at all. “ - ARTnews

As Russian Troops Invade, Ukrainian Museum Workers Rush To Protect Their Collections

"Even if cultural sites are unlikely to be direct targets of Russian aggression, administrators worry about the security of their collections if fighting escalates and enters urban areas. Some were concerned that Russian nationalists could attack institutions that put forward Ukrainian historical and cultural narratives." - The New York Times

“Artemisia Gentileschi Is The Frida Kahlo Of European Art”

Both were gifted painters who worked in the shadow of a famous male relative — now Artemisia and Frida are the famous ones, feminist icons. "That's the thing," writes Christopher Knight, "about an icon: Stature is established but meaning can get stuck like a fly in amber." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)

1,800-Year-Old Roman Mosaic Floor Unearthed In London

"The mosaic is thought to have adorned the floors of a Roman dining room, and the spot where it stands is near the Shard. … The find is the largest area of Roman mosaic to have been discovered in London in at least 50 years." - CNN

U.S. Bans Import Of Antiquities From Afghanistan

"The policy was conceived as a preemptive measure to prevent artifacts sourced illegally during last year's Taliban takeover from flooding the international market. However, experts fear the rushed regulations may have dangerous counter effects" — like returning objects seized in the U.S. to the Taliban. - Artnet

Retirees At The Getty Object To Offloading Their Pensions

Former employees of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles have slammed its decision to hand its pension plan over to an insurance company, describing the move as “deeply disappointing” for the “richest art institution in the world”. - The Art Newspaper

Art Generated By Artificial Intelligence Cannot Be Copyrighted, Rules U.S. Copyright Office

"Last week, a three-person board reviewed a 2019 ruling against Steven Thaler, who tried to copyright a picture on behalf of an algorithm he dubbed Creativity Machine. The board found that Thaler's AI-created image didn't include an element of 'human authorship' — a necessary standard, it said, for protection." - The Verge

BP To End Longterm Sponsorship Of London’s National Portrait Gallery

Pressure group Culture Unstained called the news "a major win for the campaign against fossil fuel sponsorship". - BBC

Whatever Happened To The Statue Of Voltaire In Paris That Got Pulled Down In The Summer Of 2020?

It hasn't been seen since; many people feared that city authorities decided to melt it down, as the Vichy regime did with its predecessor in 1941. Finally, a deputy mayor has said it will be back "sometime this year" and explained why it's been gone so long. - The Observer (UK)

“I’m A Fool, What Have I Done” — The Museum Guard Who Drew Eyes On That Russian Painting Speaks

"Aleksandr Vasiliev, a decorated veteran of the Afghan and Chechen wars, told journalist Elena Pankratieva that he believed the 20th-century work by Anna Leporskaya was a 'children's drawing' and claimed he was goaded by teenagers to deface it." - ARTnews

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