Archives for April 2007

In the April issue of the Art Newspaper, Brook Mason reports on Guggenheim director Lisa Dennison's recent public plaint about the proliferation of "friends" groups, consisting of American benefactors providing financial support for foreign museums. What neither has mentioned is the aspect of these groups that most troubles me: their use of the U.S. tax code to encourage … [Read more...] about Donating to Foreign Museums for U.S. Tax Deductions

In an article published today (online last night), Elisabetta Povoledo of the NY Times compensates for Carol Vogel's recent failure to mention the ownership dispute with the Italian town of Monteleone over the Metropolitan Museum's Etruscan chariot. Vogel had published a detailed article last Thursday about restoration of the ancient bronze vehicle, without touching on the … [Read more...] about “Umbrian Umbrage”: Chariot Contest Makes a Belated NY Times Debut

Will someone please tell the Senate Rules and Administration Committee to update its Witness List for the Apr. 11 Smithsonian Oversight Hearing? A certain Lawrence Small is listed as lead-off speaker. And while we're making corrections, please tell the NY Times that when they report in an article datelined March 29 that the Smithsonian hearing will occur "next Wednesday," that … [Read more...] about Smithsonian Follies: Gaffes by a Senate Committee and the NY Times

UPDATE: Turns out it's the Boston Globe that's going to run a clarification tomorrow. Confusion continues to cloud the controversy over the Matter "Pollocks"---not only regarding their attribution, but also concerning the accuracy of the NY Times' story yesterday on the controversy. Randy Kennedy indicated in yesterday's Times that dealer Ronald Feldman had bought some of the … [Read more...] about Tangled Web of the Matter “Pollocks” Gets More Convoluted

Why are there no great woman theater critics? Maybe it's the sudden spring budding of feminist art shows (here, here and here) that has gotten my dried-up women's lib juices flowing again: I can't help thinking that the dearth of female Broadway theater critics has something to do with the dismissive reception from several major reviewers for Joan Didion's maiden voyage (why … [Read more...] about The Year of Male-Chauvinist Thinking

Sometimes deaccessioners get lucky: A work that belongs in the public domain stays in the public domain. Such was the case with the life-size granite figure of Shiva as Brahma, Chola Period, ca. 10th-11th century, sold March 23 at Sotheby's for $4,072,000 with buyers commission ($3.6 million hammer), an auction record for an Indian stone sculpture. It had been in the … [Read more...] about Albright-Knox Shiva Finds a Good Home

While I abandon you for the rest of the day, here are a couple of links to keep you busy, both from the just arrived Apr. 9 issue of The New Yorker: ---Slide show illustrating Rebecca Mead's "Den of Antiquity: The Met Defends Its Treasures," which (despite its title) is very Metropolitan Museum-friendly and Shelby White-friendly. Regarding the ownership controversy over the … [Read more...] about The New Yorker’s Big Art Week: Greeks, Romans and Feminists

The story of Alex Matter's purported Pollocks gets curiouser and curiouser...again: Now dealer Ronald Feldman has entered this strange saga. Randy Kennedy has the story in today's NY Times. I'm still in Passover recovery mode, so if you need a blogging fix on this subject, I'm hoping Geoff Edgers, who has been closely following the Pollock attribution controversy for the Boston … [Read more...] about More Matter “Pollock” Complications

The subject of Mark Stevens' next biography, for which he is leaving his art critic's post at New York magazine (presumably to sojourn a while in England) has now been announced: Francis Bacon. The news came in the New York Public Library's announcement of its 2007-8 winners of its Cullman Fellowship for scholars and writers. Although the writers and projects are not yet posted … [Read more...] about Mark Stevens Tackles Francis Bacon

I've got the space, if not the cooking talent, for the big family Passover seder, and today's the fateful day. I am currently up to my elbows in matzoh farfel stuffing and charoses, and will emerge from the kitchen only for brief bathroom breaks, the reading of the Haggadah, and the Big Meal itself. My cleanup (nothing's worse a blizzard of matzoh and macaroon crumbs) and my … [Read more...] about The Art of the Matzoh Ball

No more Pulitzer Prize nominations for Village Voice art critic Jerry Saltz: Twice a finalist but never a winner, he's moving his reviews to New York magazine, where his first column is tentatively scheduled for the Apr. 16 issue. Since the Pulitzer is for newspapers, he may have to settle instead for a National Magazine Award. (New York is an NMA finalist in seven categories … [Read more...] about Bye-Bye Pulitzer: Jerry Saltz Reflects on His Move to New York Magazine

[Note to the skeptical: The following is real, NOT an April Fool's joke!] Want to phone up hedge fund mogul Steve Cohen's art adviser? Fortune magazine makes it easy, in an article titled Wall Street Meets the Art World. I'm not sure that Sandy Heller, Abigail Asher, Barbara Guggenheim and Allan Schwartzman wanted this kind of publicity. Maybe they can create a Dial-a-Hirst … [Read more...] about Fortune Posts Art Advisors’ Phone Numbers: Time to Change the Listing?