We’re now back almost to where we were in terms of the split between foreign and U.K., too — basically 50-50. We lost a lot of European visitors after Brexit. I don’t blame them, they were pissed off at us. Now they’re coming back. - The New York Times
After more than two years of negotiations, 90% of union members voted to approve a potential walkout. Most employees of the museum earn an hourly rate between $16.20 (Chicago’s minimum wage) and $20, and they’ve had no raise since 2022. - WBEZ (Chicago)
Halilaj — at age 39, the youngest-ever winner of the award — is donating the prize money to a foundation he and his sister formed to support artists in his native Kosovo. - KERA (Dallas)
“The way Tina’s fans are reacting really tells you something,” the mayor said. “All this passion, whether they love the sculpture or have some critiques, isn’t just about the art. It shows how incredibly special she is to them and to music history.” - The New York Times
There are three surviving versions of The Lute Player: one in the Wildenstein collection, one at the Hermitage, both authentic, and one in Britain, known as the “Badminton Lute Player”, which was long considered a copy. An AI analysis now says that the Badminton is genuine and the Wildenstein is a copy. - The Guardian
Almost two years after it abruptly eliminated its degree-granting programs, PAFA is entering a ten-year partnership with Temple’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture which will enable PAFA to offer academic courses and give Temple MFA students and grads access to PAFA’s studio space and equipment. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
“Named ‘Picasso 2030,’ the project will create a space devoted to the artist’s sculptures by connecting a garden area behind the museum to an adjoining public park. Slated to open in 2030, the garden will span roughly 25,000-square-feet and be freely open to the public.” - Artnet
Today, The Night Watch is one of the most famous paintings of all time, its creator lionized as one of the greatest artists to ever live. Meanwhile, the Koerten “thread painting” that once commanded a higher price than Rembrandt’s group portrait is lost, and its creator is virtually unknown to the general public. - Smithsonian Magazine
Italian prosecutors are investigating claims that members of the Agnelli family arranged for works by Monet and de Chirico to be replaced with forgeries in their villas during an inheritance dispute. - The Times
“The works were part of an exhibition, ‘Salvador Dalí, tra arte e mito’ (Salvador Dalí, between art and myth”) that had been on show in Rome for the first half of the year and last week opened at Parma’s Palazzo Tarasconi.” - AP
“York Minster is one of a very few cathedrals in Britain to have a full-time team of stonemasons working alongside about 50 glaziers, carpenters, painters, gilders and specialist electricians, all focused on preserving a building whose construction began in the early 13th century.” - The New York Times
An anonymous street art collective using the moniker Vjaybombs is behind the satirical artworks (which they call “projection bombs” and “guerrilla projections”), broadcasting them to an Instagram following of almost 100,000. - Hyperallergic
“After previously picking Swiss firm Herzog and de Meuron to design the building, the project was scrapped last year when its budget reportedly ballooned from $400 million to $600 million. (Now the Gallery) has named Formline Architecture and Urbanism + KPMB Architects as the architectural team (to design its first) purpose-built home.” - Georgia Straight (Vancouver)
The University of California, Irvine will take over administration and operating costs for the troubled museum, which this year has weathered the announcement that CEO and director Heidi Zuckerman is leaving her post in December, and the resignation of several board members. - CultureOC
