Archives for 2008

Anne d'Harnoncourt, the last time I saw her---at the Philadelphia Museum's celebration, January 2007, for "The Gross Clinic" donorsHere's my piece that appeared in the Sunday "Currents" section of the Philadelphia Inquirer---Her Art Came First: Anne d'Harnoncourt's Labor of Love. I felt ambivalent about doing it, only because there are many people who knew her much better than … [Read more...] about My Anne d’Harnoncourt Tribute in the Philadelphia Inquirer UPDATED

Drawing of the proposed Downtown WhitneyCourtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop in collaboration with Cooper, Robertson & PartnersIs Jonathan Borofsky's "Hammering Man" (in orange, above) the perfect accessory for any museum entrance?Entrance to Seattle Art MuseumBy Guest Blogger Martin FillerRenzo Piano breaks out of the box with his latest Whitney encore, but will it … [Read more...] about Martin Filler Strikes Again: Report from Whitney Downtown’s Press Luncheon

I guess Christie's lawyers were right in opining that the auction of the Maier Museum's Tamayo would not be impeded by the then pending lawsuit by plaintiffs who opposed Randolph College's decision to admit men and to sell four important artworks from its museum's collection.The Virginia Supreme Court today affirmed the previous decision by the Lynchburg, VA, Circuit Court, … [Read more...] about News Flash: Randolph College Wins in Court; Maier Museum’s Collection Loses

Linda Wolk-Simon, curator of drawings and prints at the Metropolitan MuseumAt Metropolitan Museum press lunches, I always manage to find someone at my table who's interesting to talk to. That's because everyone who works at the Met is, by definition, interesting. On Monday, I had the good fortune to enjoy an animated conversation with a feisty provocateur whom I'd never … [Read more...] about Sex and the Metropolitan: Linda Wolk-Simon Reveals All

"Restoration Rocks: Fragments of the Guggenheim"Have you always wanted to wear a piece of the Guggenheim? Now you can! Construction debris from the restoration of the New York flagship has been recycled into (among other things) a $395 necklace (above). The architectural artifacts are encased in "hand-crafted acrylic."Hey, it worked for Fallingwater: Go to the very end of my … [Read more...] about New Guggenheim Fundraiser: Construction Debris as Jewelry

It was working just fine before, but now the two-day-old addition to the CultureGrrl Songbook---my "Philippe Baby" singing podcast---is causing the whole blog to crash (maybe my career too).So I've had to take it down, until I figure out how to put it back up again (in the same place, June 2) without these dire repercussions. (If you're lucky, that will be never!) I guess the … [Read more...] about Technology Apology: “Philippe Baby” Crashes UPDATED

Dan Monroe, executive director of the Peabody Essex Museum and chairman of AAMD's subcommittee on antiquities acquisitionThe Association of Art Museum Directors has just taken a giant, astonishingly progressive step forward in the deescalation of the antiquities wars, with its just issued Report on the Acquisition of Archaeological Materials and Ancient Art. This is NOT the … [Read more...] about News Flash: AAMD Tightens Guidelines for Acquiring Antiquities

Philadelphia Art Critic Edward SozanskiThe Philadelphia Inquirer's estimable art critic, Edward Sozanski (above), today warmly appraises the late Anne d'Harnoncourt's significance to the artworld. I was particularly moved, though, by Museum's Heart and Soul, a personal remembrance of the Philadelphia Museum's director by Inquirer writer Melissa Dribben.If all goes according to … [Read more...] about More From Philly Inquirer on D’Harnoncourt: Edward Sozanski, Melissa Dribben and Me

Philippe de Montebello, speaking at yesterday's Metropolitan Museum press lunch, will soon follow the dictate on the sign behind him.A funny thing happened to me on the way to the Metropolitan Museum's press lunch yesterday. When I entered the elevator, there was just one person occupying it. Philippe de Montebello looked as surprised as I was, then promptly informed me:You got … [Read more...] about Succession Obsession: Scuttlebutt at the Met’s Press Lunch

Anne d'Harnoncourt Just as I was about to leave for the Metropolitan Museum came this shocking and unbearably sad news: "Anne d'Harnoncourt, chief executive of the Philadelphia Museum of Art since 1982, died unexpectedly this morning at age 64," Bob Warner of the Philadelphia Daily News reports. "The cause of D'Harnoncourt's death was not immediately available." [FIRST … [Read more...] about Anne d’Harnoncourt, 64, Dies UPDATED

Philippe de Montebello, celebrated in songPhoto: Fred R. Conrad, NY Times, from NYU's press officeWhen I warbled my new old standard, Auctions in New York, last November, I suggested that my first singing podcast would probably be my last. I have no doubt that my resolve to abort my career as a cabaret crooner met with general approval.But I now find myself about to head out on … [Read more...] about “Philippe Baby”: New to the CultureGrrl Songbook

Roger EbertCritics face this problem all the time: We all carry around with us certain likes, dislikes, prejudices and personal baggage. That means we may not always be well suited to review everything that comes our way. Yet we do it anyway, usually without revealing our conflicts-of-disinterest. One wonders, for example, how critic Roger Kimball, a champion of "classical … [Read more...] about Sex and the Critic: Can Venerable Male Reviewers Judge this Movie?

The conqueror of French archaeologistsPhoto: French Ministry of CultureHas Julius Caesar been dredged up from a French riverbed? CBC News reports:A bust found at the bottom of a river in Arles, France, may be the truest representation of Julius Caesar ever found. The marble sculpture of a man in his 50s, with facial wrinkles and a receding hairline, may have been carved from … [Read more...] about Friends, Romans and Classicists: Is This the Head of Julius Caesar?

Excerpt from Elliott Carter's first opera, "What Next?"I didn't make it to last Thursday's well received Metropolitan Opera Orchestra performance of Elliott Carter's 1955 "Variations for Orchestra." But I did see, the night before, both its conductor, James Levine, and the high-spirited, keen-minded 99-year-old Carter himself at the Museum of Modern Art, where they conversed … [Read more...] about Long Live Elliott Carter! An Operatic Double-Bill?

It was estimated at $2-3 million. The Latin American sale at Christie's is still in progress, but the "Trovador"'s long song at Randolph College's Maier Museum is, sadly, finished. … [Read more...] about News Flash: Maier Museum’s Deaccessioned Tamayo Fetches $7.21 Million