Earlier this summer the British government promised extra funding help to the country’s ailing museums. But “since the summer, a mysterious silence has fallen, and Tate director Nicholas Serota now condemns what he believes is a broken promise. ‘My fear is that far from it being the museums’ turn, the museums will go to their traditional place – at the back of the queue’.” What will get the funding? Sports.
Blog
An El Greco Out Of The Envelope
An old man in Spain pulls out a dirty old envelope and reveals… an El Greco. “The elderly man said The Baptism of Christ had been in his family for over a century: he had no idea where it came from before that, and was astonished at its value – estimated at up to £600,000, although it could go for more at auction in December.”
Philadelphia Orchestra, Players, Extend Contract Talks
Seeking to head off a strike by musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra set for Thursday, the city’s mayor called players and management into his office Wednesday and got both sides to agree to a ten-day extension of talks. “Orchestra management says it is facing a $4.2 million deficit, and had asked the musicians to agree to a reduction in the size of the orchestra or a pay cut or a combination of both. It also wanted to change the pension system in a way the musicians say would reduce benefits. The musicians countered that cuts in personnel or pay would undermine the quality of one of the world’s great orchestras.”
Wal-Mart Cancels Order For Stewart Book
Jon Stewart’s “America” is the best-selling book in the country right now, but Wal-Mart has “canceled its order for the book after learning that page 99 features a doctored photo of nine naked bodies with the heads of the Supreme Court justices attached.”
This Year’s Turner: Not Good Enough For Controversy?
Richard Dorment recalls a time when the Turner Prize mattered to him. “This year, the shortlisted artists don’t rise to the level of being controversial. Tate Britain has mounted the Starbucks of art exhibitions: a show of almost interchangeable artists all working with film and video and all politically engaged in exactly the same, wholly predictable way.”
A Fugitive’s Tale (It’s Scandalous)
Radovan Karadzic is on the run, a $5 million bounty on his head, and facing charges of genocide in Bosnia at The Hague’s war crimes tribunal. But that hasn’t stopped him from writing and publishing a book. “The strong autobiographical element is a reminder of a man with a large ego and a small sense of responsibility. It is scandalous that he should have had the leisure to write anything but a confession. The fact that he has been able to publish a book does not inspire confidence that Nato and the Bosnian Serb police are doing enough to harass him and his network of loyal supporters so he can be brought to justice.”
More On The Liz Taylor Van Gogh Case
A family claiming ownership of a Van Gogh painting looted by Nazis and now owned by Elizabeth Taylor, has gone to court in Los Angeles to try to get her claim on the painting voided. “If the dismissal motion is successful it could set the stage for a major legal battle between the two-time Oscar-winning actress, who purchased the van Gogh at auction in 1963, and the heirs of the German Jewish collector who first bought the landscape in 1907 and who, they claim, subsequently lost it “as a result of Nazi economic and political coercion” before the start of the Second World War.”
Dancing The U of C Shuffle
“Even if you don’t know the merengue from a lemon meringue pie, be assured: Dancing is big at the University of Chicago. There are nearly a dozen student-driven clubs specializing in ballet, jazz, folk and modern dance, but here we’re talking ballroom and swing.”
Philadelphia Orchestra Players Pessimistic In Contract Talks
“Players of the Philadelphia Orchestra [Tuesday] reviewed the latest contract proposal from management, which they said was a lot like the first contract proposal from management, which they said looked a lot like management was trying to force a strike.”
Declining Use Cripples UK Libraries
Book borrowing from public libraries in the UK is down dramatically, says a new report. “These figures mean that book issues have fallen by on average 31% in Britain since 1995. In England the fall since 1995 was 33% , in Wales 38%, in Scotland 32% and in Northern Ireland 28%.”