"Every single available ticket to see the Rijksmuseum's Johannes Vermeer retrospective is already gone, the Amsterdam institution said over the weekend, dashing the hopes of many far and wide who had hoped to see the unprecedented show." - ARTnews
"The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries (AAMG), and the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) collectively called on Valparaiso University’s Brauer Museum of Art to reverse course." - Hyperallergic
Wendy Halsted Beard, says the FBI, "allegedly went to great lengths to deceive her clients, ... making up a double lung transplant and other medical emergencies, and swapping one client’s signed photograph with a $405.26 purchase from the Ansel Adams Gallery’s gift shop." - The New York Times
Home ownership is just a dream for many, and so "the cliche of dog-eared magazine pages crammed with antique chandeliers and Louis XV chairs has been replaced by media empires chasing a young, video-oriented audience." - The Guardian (UK)
Lauder will continue to own The Black Feather Hat, "after agreeing to the restitution and repurchase of the work from the heirs of a Jewish woman who had owned it before World War II." - The New York Times
The program, which starts March 3, focuses on seven rising artists from around the country who were selected by Hirshhorn curators. Each week, the artists are commissioned to make a themed work — such as an exploration of gender — that is evaluated by Melissa Chiu, the Hirshhorn’s director. - The New York Times
Two weeks ago, following an alleged complaint from a visitor about art with a "destructive ideology." Russia's Ministry of Culture demanded that the Moscow museum bring its exhibitions "in line with spiritual and moral values." The ousted director, Zefira Tregulova, learned about her firing from the media. - MSN (The Washington Post)
"The Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is teaming up with MTV Studios to create the six episode docuseries The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist, which will follow seven American artists who will compete for a presentation at the museum and a cash prize." - ARTnews
The identity of Vermeer’s patron is of vital importance, since they purchased half of the artist’s entire oeuvre, at least 20 paintings. Equally significantly, De Knuijt began to buy his work in around 1657, the time when Vermeer was creating his intriguing scenes centred around young women in interiors. - The Art Newspaper
"I was attracted by this idea of doing something straightforward and honest and useful, like keeping people's hands off of some of the most beautiful things human hands have made. ... Say a person is a one-in-a-million personality. That means we're getting seven of those a year, at least." - The New Yorker
Antoni Gaudí's great church has been under construction for over a century. Huge progress has been made in recent decades, and it's time to start building what's called the Glory façade. Problem is, the design includes an enormous staircase and pedestrian avenue — and there are now apartment buildings in the way. - The World
A representative for SoFi Stadium told Hyperallergic via email that “over 15,000 guests have bought tickets to tour the Collection, but hundreds of thousands have viewed the collection via stadium tours, sporting events, concerts, and private events.” - Hyperallergic
The invisible solar panels ... were created by the Italian company Dyaqua. They can be designed to appear like stone, wood, concrete or brick, so can be hidden on walls and floors, as well as on roofs. (The ones installed at Pompeii match the terra cotta tiles.) - The Art Newspaper
"Without this competitiveness, the exhibition wouldn't have the same mass appeal. And that's the source of the Turner Prize's current identity crisis. On the one hand, it embraces artists who up until now have been ignored; on the other hand, it pits them against each other." - Hyperallergic
