“In its latest effort to return wayward ancient artworks to their rightful owners, the J. Paul Getty Museum will send a Roman fresco fragment to Italy. The fragmentary panel, a roughly 36-by-32-inch section of a wall painting made in the third quarter of the 1st century BC, joined the museum’s collection in 1996 as a gift of New York collectors Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
What’s Wrong With The AAMD’s Deaccessioning Policy
“The AAMD code of ethics provides that sales proceeds may not be used ‘for purposes other than acquisitions of works of art for the collection.’ As seen in the National Academy case, the consequences of violating the guidelines can be grave. … The rule is usually justified on the ground that works in museum collections are held ‘in trust’ for the public and therefore cannot be sold. The problem with this argument is that museums sell work all the time.“
What’s Wrong With The Argument Attacking AAMD Policy
“The first sentence of the AAMD handbook guiding deaccessioning policy … says: ‘The board of an art museum should adopt a written policy pertaining to the deaccessioning and disposal of works of art from its collection.’ That doesn’t sound to me like the profession (or its ‘supporters’) thinks works in museum collections cannot be sold. It sounds like they think that, when such sales inevitably happen, they need to be done with forethought and care.”
Amid Gloom, Bodice Rippers Fly Off Shelves
“At a time when booksellers are struggling to lure readers, sales of romance novels are outstripping most other categories of books and giving some buoyancy to an otherwise sluggish market. … Like the Depression-era readers who fueled blockbuster sales of Margaret Mitchell’s ‘Gone With the Wind,’ today’s readers are looking for an escape from the grim realities of layoffs, foreclosures and shrinking 401(k) balances.”
Budget Casualty At Juilliard: Program For Poor Children
“The Juilliard School’s music-training program for poor minority schoolchildren — a rigorous curriculum that the conservatory holds up as a national model — has been slashed, disappointing dozens of children preparing to audition. The Music Advancement Program will take back about 50 children in the fall to finish the second year of their two-year course. But it has canceled auditions next month for the incoming class….”
Funding In Hand, Curtis Institute Is Expanding
The Curtis Institute of Music has raised the needed $65 million for a new 10-story building housing dorms, an orchestra rehearsal room, studios and practice rooms. “It is among the last pieces of civic ambition spearheaded by [the school’s board chairman] in collaboration with the Pew Charitable Trusts and Leonore Annenberg, the philanthropist who died in March.”
Canada Promises $100 Million For Festivals
“Canada’s major festivals can breathe a sigh of relief. The federal government has confirmed it will spend $100 million over the next two years to give marquee events a boost during these tough economic times.”
Public Garden Duckling Stolen, Possibly For Scrap Metal
“Pack, the second-to-last of Mrs. Mallard’s storied eight ducklings in the cherished ‘Make Way for Ducklings’ sculpture in the Public Garden, was stolen sometime between Sunday night and yesterday morning, cut off at the base of its bronze webbed feet. City officials consider the theft no prank, and have threatened to bring criminal charges of larceny of public art against anyone who stole the prized duckling.”
Porn Film, Freedom Of Speech Experts Share Double Bill
“More than 100 students cheered swashbuckling and sex-crazed pirates in a pornographic film that screened at the University of Maryland on Monday night – a film that, at various points in the past week, state lawmakers and the university tried to suppress. University administrators, who canceled a planned showing of Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge last week…, reversed their position Monday and allowed the screening as long as it included an educational component.”
Equity Buys A Stake In Chicago Theatre: Its Own Building
“Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States, has purchased its own building on Randolph Street just a block or two west of the core of Chicago’s theater district. … Equity is considering moving some of the union’s national back-office functions from New York to Chicago.”