New Dalí Museum
Salvador Dalí already has a museum dedicated to him. The Dalí Theater and Museum is located in the Catalonian town of Figueres, his hometown about 70 miles northeast of Barcelona, close to the border with France. It was originally the … More…
Picassos Or Pikachus: Fakes Seized In Spain
Art forgery is one of the most lucrative criminal enterprises in Spain. The Spanish government takes the country’s national heritage and culture very seriously, so reports of police seizing forgeries are far more frequent. This past April, I wrote about … More…
British Museum Theft: The Root Cause?
This is an update on the situation at the British Museum. Last month, it was revealed that Peter John Higgs, the museum’s former curator of Greco-Roman art, was fired after he was found to have stolen and/or damaged 1,500 to … More…
A Queen’s Ransom
Freddy Mercury was a rock legend who sang his heart out in “Somebody to Love” as if he was composing a personal ad for love. However, he probably didn’t realize that while searching for someone to love, countless somebodies were already … More…
Christie’s Cancellation Over Nazi Fortune
Christie’s has canceled an upcoming jewelry sale after complaints of Nazi connections. At their Geneva location, Christie’s hosted a successful sale in May called the World of Heidi Horten, featuring the Austrian billionaire’s jewelry collection. Among the collection highlights were … More…
Cleveland Confiscation: More Antiquities Seized
In April, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York wasn’t having a particularly good time, especially after the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office seized many items from its antiquities collection. It is believed that, in the 1960s, local farmers looted … More…
Lost Painting Found At A Thrift Store
I’ve written about works by famous artists being rediscovered in some unusual places, or at least where people least expect. Whether it’s on the wall of your family home, tucked away in storage, behind a door, or in a criminal … More…
The Latest Climate Protest In Canada
A climate activist, mirroring similar incidents in Europe last year, has defaced a painting kept at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Kaleb Suedfeld, age 28, is a member of the Canadian environmentalist group On2Ottawa, which uses “nonviolent civil … More…
No Copyright For AI Art
Last week, a judge in Washington DC ruled that AI-created art is not copyrightable. Judge Beryl Howell of the District Court for the District of Columbia released her decision settling a dispute between Stephen Thaler, creator of the computer program … More…
Banksy Sold Piece By Piece
A British company is now offering fractional ownership of a Banksy work. Valentine’s Day Mascara first appeared on the wall of a house in Margate, a seaside town in Kent, this past Valentine’s Day. It shows a woman dressed like … More…
Barbie Has Found A New Home At The Barry Museum
The Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University made history by announcing it will hold a new exhibition titled “Fashion Innovation: Madame Alexander at 100,” which will be on view from August 29 to December 31, 2023. The show seamlessly … More…
British Museum Update: Suspected Thief Identified
A quick update on the situation developing at the British Museum: I wrote only a few days ago about how the British Museum announced they had fired an employee accused of stealing gold jewelry and semi-precious stones from museum storage. … More…
Met Acquires Work With Hidden Enslaved Boy
New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the acquisition of an American nineteenth-century group portrait that includes a figure that was previously painted out. The painting was created in 1837 and is likely by Jacques Amans. Amans was a French … More…
The Orlando Basquiats: Former Director Sued
The Orlando Basquiat controversy started over a year ago. In June 2022, the FBI sent agents to the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA) to investigate allegations that twenty-five works by the American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat were actually forgeries. There were … More…
Theft At The British Museum (Ironic, Right?)
The British Museum recently fired an employee for stealing and damaging several collection items. Most of the objects taken were jewels and jewelry not on display but kept by the museum for research. Some pieces were only about a hundred … More…
National Gallery Continues Pay-What-You-Want Policy
While London’s National Gallery does not charge for general admission tickets, it does host special exhibitions that require an entrance fee. Previously, the exhibition admission fee was £20. However, the National Gallery will continue a practice initiated last year where … More…