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Paris Surgeon Tried To Sell X-Ray Of Bataclan Shooting Victim As NFT

Dr. Emmanuel Masmejean, an orthopedic surgeon who claims to have operated on five victims of the 2015 terrorist attack, listed on the NFT sales platform OpenSea an x-ray image of a forearm with a Kalashnikov bullet lodged in it. He now faces legal and professional disciplinary action. - France 24

Dallas Museum Of Art Begins Planning For Major Expansion

"'We are now at the very early stages of planning what this will look like,' says the museum's director, Agustín Arteaga." An architecture firm has been engaged to create a master plan and the city has been notified. - NBCDFW (The Dallas Morning News)

Why Is Canadian Architecture So Dreadful?

Today, barring the newish Halifax and Calgary central libraries (which opened in 2014 and 2018, respectively), one wonders whether the average Canadian could name a building constructed in the past thirty years the country could be proud of. - The Walrus

Despite Omicron, LA Art Fairs Push Ahead

Typically this weeklong coagulation of art fairs in mid-February — dubbed Frieze Week — draws art makers, sellers, collectors and spectators from around the globe, which in turn spawns parties, performances, art talks and other Prosecco-infused art happenings citywide. - Los Angeles Times

When The Art Connoisseur Is A Robot

Artificial intelligence (OK, not an actual "robot") is really, really good at identifying brushstrokes. "The researchers hypothesized that brushwork on a painting leaves behind a 'fingerprint' that largely lies beyond human powers of identification" - and they were correct. - Hyperallergic

A Holocaust Museum In Virtual Reality

To be clear, one has to be at the museum to experience survivors' personal stories in VR. But "pretty much across the board, viewing audiences have been moved by this in ways that they couldn’t have expected," says Illinois Holocaust Museum CEO Susan Abrams. - Fast Company

A Tricky Case For The Lawyer Who Wrote The Book On Restitution For Nazi-Looted Art

Stuart Eizenstat, who helped write the Washington Principles, is in an odd position. "The optics of his surfacing for the first time in a restitution case, not on the side of claimants, but of defendants, have surprised some experts in the field." - The New York Times

A South Korean Museum Is Auctioning Off The Country’s Heritage

The reason isn't clear, but "in 2014, the Kansong fell into debt and has remained closed ever since. The museum has pushed its reopening dates several times, most recently announcing that it will open later in 2022." - Hyperallergic

How The FBI’s Art Theft Team Works

Despite the United States’ status as an art market leader with a 42% share of the global pie today, the FBI Art Crime Team wasn’t founded until 2004. The small program crystallized in response to the looting of some 15,000 antiquities from the National Museum of Baghdad in April 2003. - Hyperallergic

Large Limestone Sphinxes Unearthed In Luxor

"A German-Egyptian team of researchers, led by archaeologist Hourig Sourouzian, discovered the artifacts half-submerged in water during their restoration of the funerary temple of the pharaoh and the Colossi of Memnon, two monumental statues in his likeness." - ARTnews

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Settles Wrongful Termination Suit With Former Director Nathalie Bondil

Bondil’s claim alleged the board “orchestrated, led, and continues to lead an intentional campaign of defamation and destruction of her reputation.” Now, the museum has walked back its criticisms of its former leader. - Artnet

Dutch Government Will Buy A Rembrandt For €175 Million From An Offshore Tax Haven, Angering Public And Lawmakers

The Standard-Bearer (1636) is being purchased from the Rothschild family via a trust in the Cook Islands which is owned by a holding company in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines — this while the government's official policy is (supposed to be) to crack down on tax avoidance. - The Guardian

Faith Ringgold’s First Public Art Commission Will Be Moved From Riker’s Island To The Brooklyn Museum

She painted the mural For The Women's House at the women's wing of the New York City prison complex back in 1971. She visited Riker's in 2019 and found the mural was in a spot where few people could see it, so she requested the transfer. - The New York Times

Why Is The LA County Museum Of Art Renting Out Its Reputation To Corporations?

Strip away the diverting celebrity names, and what’s left is just a museum show of a corporate collection. Corporate art collections are not a rare thing — although this format is certainly unusual — but exhibitions of them at major museums are. - Los Angeles Times

The Roman Villa With Caravaggio’s Only Ceiling Fresco Did Not Get A Single Bid At Auction

"The estate, known as Villa Aurora, had a price tag of €471 million ($546 million) and could have become the most expensive residential property sold at auction. But instead of a flurry of international bidders, the sale was met with crickets." - Artnet

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