“Exhibitors at the world’s biggest art and antiques fair reduced prices by as much as 30 percent as collectors hunted for bargains from dealers as well as auctions. Buyers at the European Fine Art Fair — Tefaf — in the Dutch city of Maastricht bought works by Lucio Fontana, Andy Warhol and El Greco, while some sellers said yesterday that they had increased discounts.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Fabulous Timing: Premium Seats Come To The West End
“It’s tedious to harp on about the current economic climate, but it seems an odd time to inflate prices so drastically. The official explanation is that producers are taking a tip from Broadway – if people are willing to pay ticket touts hundreds of dollars to see the latest show, then the theatres themselves should be collecting that money. But will the British public cough up the cash? Perhaps not.”
Suicide Of Sylvia Plath’s Son Is Turned Into Lit Gossip
“Nicholas Hughes had suffered for years from depression. He had had a long and distinguished career as a marine biologist, a professor at the University of Alaska. But of course that is not the story people want. ‘Depressed person commits suicide’ is not a headline. A headline is ‘The Curse of Plath!’ Yet the ‘curse’ idea is repellent.”
Brick-&-Mortar Bookshop Changes Focus To Remainders
“London indie Crockatt & Powell is switching the majority of books in its Fulham Road branch to remaindered stock.” An owner attributed the move to the credit crunch and increased competition.
Paris Reimagined (Because It Doesn’t Work)
Architects’ “10 strategies for creating a metropolitan area known as Grand Paris” mark the city’s “first major redesign since the Napoleonic era. Their ideas range from the prosaic to the fanciful. But they all say that Paris – its public transit system saturated, its periphery spoiled by ugly housing projects, and its suburbs an undefined sprawl of disconnected towns – does not work.”
Aisles! NYC Ballet, Opera To Carve Paths For Patrons
“Taking an orchestra seat at the New York City Ballet or New York City Opera can often sound like this: ‘Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me’ and on. The rows of up to 56 seats have no aisles, so a patron can potentially knock knees with dozens of others. But that is going to change.”
Art Institute Fee Hike Draws Threat From Alderman
“A powerful Chicago alderman is threatening to halt free city services provided to the Art Institute of Chicago because of its plan to increase admission fees by half. But it’s unclear whether Ald. Ed Burke (14th) can reverse the museum’s course, and he suggested something less than that might satisfy him, even as he expressed anger over the fee hike.”
Chicago Appeals Vagueness Ruling On Preservation Law
“Firing back at an appellate court decision that ruled that Chicago’s landmark law is unconstitutionally vague, the city has appealed the decision to the Illinois Supreme Court, citing numerous cases nationwide in which courts have rejected vagueness challenges to laws comparable to Chicago’s.”
Report: Riccardo Muti Asked To Lead Rome Opera
“Riccardo Muti, music director designate of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, has been invited to become music director of the Rome Opera and is reported to have asked for time to mull over the offer, according to the blog Opera Chic.”
Shakespeare & Co. Founders Give Up Eight Weeks’ Pay
“Shakespeare & Company is laying off seven employees, reducing two others to part-time, and instituting a 10 percent pay cut for the remaining 41 year-round staff as part of a restructuring plan to save $900,000. … In addition to layoffs and payroll reductions, the three founders of the 32-year old theater group will each lose eight weeks of pay in order to prevent further layoffs and reductions, according to artistic director Tina Packer.”