“The once-grand Knoedler gallery has been accused again of selling a forged painting for $5.5 million that was attributed to an American master, in this case, the artist Mark Rothko.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
More Historic Moscow Landmarks Demolished
“The demolition of the early 19th-century structures took place under the cover of darkness in the early hours of New Year’s Day. The complex on Strastnoy Boulevard was designed by the Neo-classical architect, Joseph Bové, who was commissioned to rebuild Moscow after the city was engulfed by fire following Napoleon’s invasion in 1812.”
Angry Battles In Newcastle Over Threatened Elimination Of Arts Funding
As some politicians and voters insist that there’s no other way to handle the cuts in revenue-sharing from the national government, others argue not only that cutting all arts funding is disproportionate but also that the city council is manipulating its budget numbers.
No Dogme Allowed: The Danish Director Making Thoroughly Un-Danish Films
Nikolaj Arcel’s A Royal Affair, a nominee for the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar, is completely un-Dogme-tic: a period costume drama about an obscure (to us) historical incident known to every Danish schoolchild.
Two More Arrested In Plundering Of Historic Naples Library
“Prosecutors in Naples said two more people had been arrested on suspicion of taking part in a ‘premeditated, organised and brutal’ sacking of the city’s 16th century Girolamini library … where thousands of rare and antique books were last year found to have disappeared.”
The Robert Frost We Didn’t Know About
Think he was an aloof and thoughtful but cheerful rural New Englander? He was born and raised in San Francisco, son of a boisterous former Confederate and local politician, and Robert spent his youth riding on parade floats and tacking up his old man’s placards in saloons.
Aaron Sorkin Drops Out Of Hugh Jackman Broadway Musical Houdini
Sorkin was to write the book (his first) for the show, expected to open next season, and had already put in considerable work, but he is withdrawing for scheduling reasons – i.e., he says he can’t juggle the musical with writing the scripts for his TV series The Newsroom and his Steve Jobs biopic.
Can Humans Know What It’s Like To Be A Bat? No, But We Can Come Closer Than You’d Think
“This amazing skill – echolocation – is like a whole new sense, distinct from our experience of sight, hearing or touch. So what is it like?” Thanks to technological advances and some research out of Berkeley, we’re beginning to find out.
When Salvador Dalí Illustrated Alice In Wonderland
“It was a match made in psychedelic Heaven.”
Not All Of Timbuktu’s Ancient Manuscripts Were Burned, It Seems
Researcher Jean-Michel Dijan: “The great majority of the manuscripts, about fifty thousand, are actually housed in the thirty-two family libraries of the ‘City of 333 Saints.’ Those are to this day protected.” Many other documents (though not all) may have been hidden by the families who originally possessed them before the rebels arrived.