Conservators are working to save one of the largest paintings in the world – a 45 feet-by-195 100-year-old religious work in California. “Using 4-foot-long brushes, Polish artist Jan Styka completed the painting in 1897 after working on it 12 hours a day for five years. Styka originally had hoped to show the painting at the St. Louis Exposition of 1904 but there was no room so Styka displayed other works instead.”
Tag: 08.02.05
Would You Buy This Art Online?
A few years ago the internet was full of companies trying to sell art online. “These days, with New York-based e-commerce firm JupiterResearch projecting that 2005 Internet spending will top $79 billion in the U.S. alone and Web sales will continue to post double-digit growth until at least 2009, the wrangling over art’s future on the Internet has been reignited. Critics still insist that unlike books, clothing, and other consumer goods, art really has to be experienced in person before deciding whether or not it’s the right fit. But with some 126 million Americans already buying an increasing number of goods electronically, a new batch of entrepreneurs is banking on a bright future in online art.”
Montreal Symphonty Strike – A Disagreement Over Suspending Negotiations
Why have talks in the Montreal Symphony musicians’ strike stopped? “An MSO spokesperson told The Gazette yesterday negotiations were suspended for the month of August because the mediator was on vacation. Musicians’ association president Marc Beliveau concurred. Yet a press release from MSO management, dated Thursday, quotes the chief negotiator for management as saying, “Given the gulf separating the two sides, we fully understand why the mediator saw no need to schedule any new negotiating sessions.”
Kaminer To Edit NYT A&L
Ariel Kaminer has been named the new editor of The New York Times Arts & Leisure section. “Ariel was deputy editor of the section under Jodi Kantor and, before that, an editor on the Magazine under Adam Moss.”
Australia National Gallery To Close One Day A Week
To save money, Australia’s National Gallery of Victoria will begin closing one day a week. “The decision by the gallery’s board of trustees comes months after the Victorian Government granted it an extra $1.2 million a year for three years. But the costs of running the two new complexes meant the gallery recorded losses of $1.9 million last financial year and $6.8 million in 2003-04.”