The link at which you can hear what I said on this morning's New York Public Radio news program about the Metropolitan Museum's new Greek and Roman galleries is here (or you can click below). It's not on the "Morning Edition" page of WNYC's website---the link that I gave you yesterday. They bumped me to the station's homepage! I must confess that I have not heard myself yet, so … [Read more...] about CultureGrrl on New York Public Radio (Yet Again)
Archives for April 2007
Restitution Follies: As the Turner Turns…and Returns
J.M.W. Turner, "Glaucus and Scylla," Kimbell Art Museum (again) O my prophetic soul! In my post last June, As the Turner Turns, I wrote this about the Kimbell Art Museum's restitution of its only work by that artist, which was found to have been seized from its World War II-era owners by the Nazis and sold at a 1943 auction of "Jewish property": Maybe, as often happens, the … [Read more...] about Restitution Follies: As the Turner Turns…and Returns
The Met’s New Greek and Roman Galleries–Part I
Leon Levy and Shelby White Court, Pre-Ribbon Cutting Shelby White (left) Chatting with Philippe de Montebello It was one of those quintessentially celebratory New York moments: Gov. Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg (not to mention the famously beleaguered benefactor, Shelby White) were on hand Monday morning to cut the ribbon for what is undeniably one of the Metropolitan … [Read more...] about The Met’s New Greek and Roman Galleries–Part I
Tennessee’s AG Gets Two-Fisted With Fisk
Robert Cooper Kudos for Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper, who is earning a place in the pantheon of CultureGrrl heroes for his handling of the proposed Fisk University deaccessions. Elizabeth Ulrich reports in the blog Nashville Scene [via]: In a motion filed Monday in the Davidson County Chancery Court, Cooper's asked for permission to intervene in the lawsuit [between … [Read more...] about Tennessee’s AG Gets Two-Fisted With Fisk
The Fernwood Collapse: Even the Savvy Get Soaked
You'd think these people might know better: Daniel Grant reports in the Maine Antique Digest that among the empty-handed investors who filed suit against Bruce Taub, CEO of the belly-up art hedge fund, Fernwood Art Investments (scroll to second item), were: Ashton Hawkins, former secretary, counsel, and executive vice president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and president of … [Read more...] about The Fernwood Collapse: Even the Savvy Get Soaked
Humanizing MoMA’s Atrium: The Next Attempt
The quest to tame the Museum of Modern Art's monstrous atrium continues. Its best use so far was the installation of Jennifer Bartlett's 1976 "Rhapsody," which fit so well that it looked as if the work had been created for the space. After seeing this last May, I commented that "this success suggests that MoMA's intimidatingly cavernous anteroom might best be conquered by … [Read more...] about Humanizing MoMA’s Atrium: The Next Attempt
CultureGrrl in Academia: You Get What You Need
I didn't get what I wanted: I had applied for an available faculty position in the arts journalism program at my alma mater, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and got rejected Monday. They have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy about the reasons behind their decisions, but I suspect my lack of university teaching experience didn't help me. I put that … [Read more...] about CultureGrrl in Academia: You Get What You Need
Art Law Blog: “Friends” Groups Do Push the Legal Envelope
Donn Zaretsky, in his indispensible Art Law Blog, almost (but not quite) grants my legal argument that American-based, foreign-museum "friends" groups are "mere conduits" of U.S. donations to foreign institutions and that contributions to them, and therefore are not properly eligible for U.S. tax deductions. Why didn't I follow my father's footsteps to Harvard Law School? Are … [Read more...] about Art Law Blog: “Friends” Groups Do Push the Legal Envelope
A Few Must-Reads
New assignments for CultureGrrl's silly syllabus: ---"Erudite" foodie Jonathan Gold in LA Weekly on Home of the Porno Burrito, fodder for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for criticism. (How can I possibly top his take on the potato taco?) ---Tyler Green's needed screed in Modern Art Notes on the aftermath of the Pulitzers ---Georgina Adam in The Art Newspaper on The Changing Landscape … [Read more...] about A Few Must-Reads
Who Should Succeed Lawrence Small at the Smithsonian?
The answer is [drumroll]...Ellen Futter. Hers is not one of the many names that have been bandied about in the press for the top spot at the embattled Smithsonian Institution, and perhaps she's too committed a New Yorker to make the move. But for 13 years Futter has been quietly and effectively running a large institution with strong similarities to the Smithsonian---the … [Read more...] about Who Should Succeed Lawrence Small at the Smithsonian?
Kitchen-Sink Updates: Smithsonian Hearings, Denver’s Roof, Antiquities, Saltz, Pulitzers
So many loose ends, so little time: ---The broken link for viewing last Wednesday's Smithsonian hearings by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration is finally working, writes Liz Horrell, on behalf of the Senate Webmaster. ---Denver Art Museum spokeperson Andrea Kalivas Fulton updates me on who will foot the bill for replacing and/or repairing the leaky roof on the … [Read more...] about Kitchen-Sink Updates: Smithsonian Hearings, Denver’s Roof, Antiquities, Saltz, Pulitzers
More on U.S. Tax Deductions for Donors to Foreign Museums
Two CultureGrrl readers, responding to recent posts (here and here), have sent me e-mails supporting the Tyler Green argument for the appropriateness of tax breaks for U.S. donors to American-based, foreign-museum "friends" groups. These are organized as 501(c) (3) organizations to provide U.S. tax deductions for financial support of foreign museums. The proponents' favorite … [Read more...] about More on U.S. Tax Deductions for Donors to Foreign Museums
NY Times Weighs in on Who Should Direct the NY Philharmonic
At the end of a flurry of CultureGrrl posts (here, here and here), in which Lee Rosenbaum, Alex Ross and Anne Midgette named our picks to succeed Lorin Maazel as the NY Philharmonic's next music director, I issued a plaintive query: Anthony Tommasini, where are you? At last, almost three months later, the NY Times' chief music critic has cautiously tipped his hand. He did it so … [Read more...] about NY Times Weighs in on Who Should Direct the NY Philharmonic
U.S. Tax Deductions for Donations to Foreign Museums—The Other Side
Today Tyler Green eloquently takes the other side of an argument I raised about whether the U.S. tax code should be used to help funnel American funds to foreign museums. This is accomplished through "friends" groups that are established in the U.S. as 501(c) (3) U.S. charities, giving them full tax-exempt status. That allows donors to get the same financial benefits that they … [Read more...] about U.S. Tax Deductions for Donations to Foreign Museums—The Other Side
Philip Roth: Another Missed Opportunity
Since I'm an Edith Wharton fan and I am planning to write a biography (but not of her!), I went to hear Hermoine Lee, an Oxford University English professor, speak at Columbia University this evening about her just published biography of the novelist. I wanted to learn some tricks of the trade. I arrived early at Low Library and took a seat in the third row of the nearly … [Read more...] about Philip Roth: Another Missed Opportunity