Author: Matthew Westphal

How The Tate Refused 30 Rothkos

“Mark Rothko, the late American painter whose work commands multimillion-pound prices, offered Tate Gallery a gift of 30 paintings which was not accepted because trustees feared he would expect to see them on permanent display. […] If the Tate had accepted the work, it would most likely be worth $1bn in the current art market.”

Classical Fiend Tries To Become Rock Chick

The Guardian‘s Charlotte Higgins, who as a teenager “lay on my bed moodily listening to late Beethoven or Shostakovich quartets,” got tired of saying “I don’t do pop.” She tries out five gigs and tells us about it – from indie-folkster Bon Iver (she uses the phrase “invernal forlornness” and leaves “feeling elated”) to Metallica (which gives her “nauseous, pounding dreams”).

Our Favorite Election Counterfactual (So Far)

“Imagine, if you will, that by some fluke, Libertarian candidate Bob Barr ended up president of the United States. What would the next four years look like? Dare we consider such an unlikely possibility? Oh, we dare all right!” An example: “The Revolutionary War-era ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ flag is reinstated as the official banner of the United States. Barr beams with pride as millions, ignoring the flag’s command, unfurl and stomp on it.”

Evening Standard Awards Feature Battle Of The Heavyweights

The London newspaper’s annual theatre honors are making headlines with the Best Actor category, whose eight finalists include Kevin Spacey, Alan Rickman, Kenneth Branagh and Simon Russell Beale. Other nominees include veteran actresses Margaret Tyzack and Penelope Wilton, the plays Black Watch and Her Naked Skin, and the musicals La Cage aux Folles and Jersey Boys; Rickman lands a second nomination in the Best Director category (for Creditors at the Donmar).

China Enraged At Sale Of Plundered Artwork

“Chinese officials are fuming at plans to sell national treasures from an imperial palace sacked and burned by British and French forces during the second Opium War… The designer Yves Saint Laurent acquired the bronze sculptures of rat and hare heads for his immense art collection. But following his death in June they are to be auctioned alongside his other relics and artworks, in what some have called the sale of the century.”