For me, 2017 was a year of transition: It marked the end of my decades-long run as a freelancer for the Wall Street Journal, precipitated by my having openly expressed unhappiness with the cutbacks in its superlative arts coverage, which I was proud to be part of. Disinclined to scramble for assignments in my grandparent stage of life (with three new family members so far), … [Read more...] about The Year in CultureGrrl: Kicking the “*!%&@” Out of Plan B (for “Blog”)
Archives for 2017
A Plenitude of Nudes: Drawn to Michelangelo’s Musclemen at the Met
"This drawing is the reason why I’m a curator at the Met," Carmen Bambach confided during a victory lap around her masterpiece marathon---Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer (to Feb. 12). She told me she had joined the Metropolitan Museum's staff because doing so gave her "extraordinary access" to its sheet of studies for a figure on the Vatican's Sistine Ceiling, … [Read more...] about A Plenitude of Nudes: Drawn to Michelangelo’s Musclemen at the Met
Wanna Pay $125 to See Two Shows at the Met? Now You Can!
"Have you dreamed of getting VIP treatment at The Met?...Now you can." That sounds like a quip I've used repeatedly on CultureGrrl. But the Metropolitan Museum is dead serious: If you wanna be a Met VIP, it'll cost you---$125 per "adult," defined (below) as ages 0-99. (I guess that discourages you from bringing the kids.) Here's the dubious deal: Exclusive access to … [Read more...] about Wanna Pay $125 to See Two Shows at the Met? Now You Can!
Time to Rethink: Court Extends Injunction Preventing Berkshire Museum Disposals
It's time for the Berkshire Museum to face reality: Its pursuit of easy money through art disposals has backfired, devolving into a litigation exhibition with no end date, costly to both its reputation and what's left of its financial wherewithal. In a two-sentence notice filed today, Massachusetts Appeals Court Judge Joseph Trainor disregarded the surprising request by … [Read more...] about Time to Rethink: Court Extends Injunction Preventing Berkshire Museum Disposals
More “Mundi” Conundrums: Exactly Who Paid the Leonardo’s Princely Price (and why)?
In my Friday post about those said to have "acquired" the $450.3-million Leonardo da Vinci, I suggested that the convoluted "Salvator Mundi" story was still developing and hard to predict. Sure enough, a mere two hours after my post appeared, Kelly Crow and Summer Said of the Wall Street Journal added a new twist: The Leonardo da Vinci painting acquired for $450.3 million … [Read more...] about More “Mundi” Conundrums: Exactly Who Paid the Leonardo’s Princely Price (and why)?
Deal Revealed: Berkshire Museum Makes Public Its Consignment Agreement with Sotheby’s UPDATED
In a court filing today that made public previously impounded documents, the Berkshire Museum provided an inside look at auction-house/consignor dealings that are usually confidential. The filing includes the text of the agreement wherein the museum consigned for auction 40 works from its collection that were to be sold in a series of (now postponed) sales. (The consignment … [Read more...] about Deal Revealed: Berkshire Museum Makes Public Its Consignment Agreement with Sotheby’s UPDATED
“Mundi” Conundrum: Latest Head-Spinning Chapter in Tangled Trajectory of Leonardo’s “Salvator Mundi”
Another bizarre twist has been added the convoluted tale of the modern odyssey of Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi," bought anonymously at Christie's on Nov. 15 for $450.3 million. The latest news, posted today on Christie's website, is this: And here's this morning's tweet from the Louvre Abu Dhabi: Louvre Abu Dhabi is looking forward to displaying the Salvator … [Read more...] about “Mundi” Conundrum: Latest Head-Spinning Chapter in Tangled Trajectory of Leonardo’s “Salvator Mundi”
Attorney General Asks to Extend Preliminary Injunction Preventing Berkshire Museum Sales
The legal jousting in the Berkshire Museum case continues: The State Attorney General's Office has filed a new motion in Massachusetts Appeals Court, seeking "to extend the current injunction and stay until Jan. 29, 2018." The AGO says it is still waiting for a complete response to its request for a wide variety of documents that are listed in two letters to the museum's … [Read more...] about Attorney General Asks to Extend Preliminary Injunction Preventing Berkshire Museum Sales
“Essential Personnel”: My Q&A with Getty’s Communications VP on the Approaching Wildfires UPDATED
With the area's surrounding streets and nearby freeway closed to traffic due to rapidly spreading wildfires that are approaching (but so far have not reached) the Getty Center, the Getty today is staffed by only "essential personnel"---mainly its security staff. But Ron Hartwig, the J. Paul Getty Trust's veteran vice president for communications, intrepidly reported for duty … [Read more...] about “Essential Personnel”: My Q&A with Getty’s Communications VP on the Approaching Wildfires UPDATED
Playing with Wildfire: Getty Museum Closed Due to Smoke in the Region
I sometimes worry about housing some of the world's greatest cultural treasures (including those from major loan shows) in a building that's located on a fault line (prompting special precautions in how objects are installed), and in an area that has been prone to wildfires. Speaking of which, this just in from the Getty Museum's Twitter feed: Due to continuing smoke from … [Read more...] about Playing with Wildfire: Getty Museum Closed Due to Smoke in the Region
Unsettled at the Met: Breuer Building, Southwest Wing, Director’s Search
With the benefit of hindsight, it seems obvious that the Metropolitan Museum, under Tom Campbell's directorship, got way ahead of itself in making ambitious plans to undertake a $600-million makeover of its Southwest Wing for modern and contemporary art and to assume (for at least eight years) the operation and programming of a large additional facility---the former home of the … [Read more...] about Unsettled at the Met: Breuer Building, Southwest Wing, Director’s Search
Beggar Blogger: Please Support CultureGrrl UPDATED
UPDATE 11/30: For some reason, my "Donate" button stopped working earlier today, which I discovered after wondering why last night's flood of responses (thanks so much!) had stopped cold today. ArtsJournal's tech gurus have now vanquished the gremlins. If your attempt contribute was thwarted, please try again (after reloading my blog page). Since losing my decades-long Wall … [Read more...] about Beggar Blogger: Please Support CultureGrrl UPDATED
Dan’s Plans, Redrafted: Revelations in Metropolitan Museum’s FY17 Annual Report CLARIFIED & CORRECTED
In her recent NY Times piece, Robin Pogrebin provided an upbeat assessment of the Metropolitan Museum's financial progress, as conveyed to her by president and CEO Daniel Weiss in a wide-ranging interview. Arriving as president in July 2015 with a mandate to clean up the Met Mess, Weiss expanded his portfolio after the departure of director Tom Campbell, who had left the place … [Read more...] about Dan’s Plans, Redrafted: Revelations in Metropolitan Museum’s FY17 Annual Report CLARIFIED & CORRECTED
False Dichotomy: Boston Globe’s Deaccession-or-Die Editorial on the Berkshire Museum UPDATED
With surprising disregard for the facts, the Boston Globe's editorial writers yesterday flatly (and wrongly) asserted that the Berkshire Museum needs to sell "40 of the museum’s most valuable works" in order to "remain viable." There's no excuse for this ill-informed take on the controversy over the museum's deplorable deaccessions, given the exhaustive examination of the … [Read more...] about False Dichotomy: Boston Globe’s Deaccession-or-Die Editorial on the Berkshire Museum UPDATED
“Sotheby’s Drudgery”: My Live Tweets on a Contemporary Art Sale Short on Excitement
Last night's Contemporary Art sale at Christie's, headlined by a certain very non-contemporary religious painting, was a hard act for Sotheby's to follow. It did interpose its own anomalous lot to jazz things up---a red Ferrari. For the most part, though, the offerings tonight were less than spectacular and the bidding was mostly slow. The action was more lively for the … [Read more...] about “Sotheby’s Drudgery”: My Live Tweets on a Contemporary Art Sale Short on Excitement