Peter Gelb Reverses Course
22 May 2012, 3:23 pm
I’ve been pondering all day what I should add, if anything, to the egregious decision by Peter Gelb to pressure Opera News so much that it voluntarily decided to stop reviewing the Met’s productions.

What’s The Connection Between The Barnes And Hitler?
21 May 2012, 6:08 pm
I’ve always opposed the move of the Barnes Foundation into Philadelphia, and mostly — but not unwaveringly — agreed with the Friends of the Barnes Foundation. But the Friends have goofed, I think, in a very distasteful way. It’s time to call them on it.

Richard Amstrong Gets A Chair — At His Old Museum
20 May 2012, 5:38 pm
To my mind, the creation of an endowed curatorial position at a museum doesn’t make news. But here’s an exception: on Friday, the Carnegie Museum of Art announced that an endowment had been created for the position of curator of contemporary art.

IBM, HP allegedly implicated in Poland graft scandal: report
17 May 2012, 11:34 am
Global IT giants IBM and Hewlett-Packard have allegedly been implicated in a corruption scandal over a technology upgrade in Poland's public administration, the Rzeczpospolita daily reported Thursday.

Roy Lichtenstein Exhibition Opening Delayed — Due To Popular Demand
15 May 2012, 8:25 am
Is this a first? We are quite used to having museums add evening hours for a popular exhibition, staying open all night in the final days, and even extending the run by a few days.

Is The FBI Onto Something In the Gardner Heist?
11 May 2012, 4:53 pm
Yesterday, news reports say, FBI agents spent all day at the home of alleged mobster Robert Gentile, 75, who was arrested earlier this year on a federal drug charge and remains in prison, held without bail.

Art Basel Journeys to Hong Kong — UPDATED
8 May 2012, 4:38 pm
We knew this was coming, but now it’s official: Art Basel will have a fair in Hong Kong, starting next May (the 23rd to 26th, 2013). “Just what we need,” you may be thinking, “another art fair.”

Back Your Bags For Manet in Toledo — Next Fall
1 May 2012, 4:23 pm
The Toledo Museum of Art will be the place to be — ok, a place to be — next fall: it just announced a major exhibition for Manet, which it’s calling “ Manet: Portraying Life .” Co-organized by Lawrence W. Nichols, senior curator for European and American painting before 1900, the exhibit will move from Toledo to the Royal Academy in London next January.

“Portrait of Wally” Is Back In The News, Triggering A Few Thoughts — UPDATED
24 April 2012, 12:53 pm
When Egon Schiele painted his tender “Portrait of Wally,” his mistress, exactly 100 years ago, I am sure he never imagined her ensuing notoriety – for ”Wally,” subject of multi-decade ownership battle, is again in the news. This time, perhaps, it’s in a good way.

What makes the Portrait of Wally case so significant?
24 April 2012, 10:16 am
If true art aims to change the world, perhaps no picture has proven as successful lately as Egon Schiele’s 1912 tender, traditional portrait of his mistress, Wally Neuzil. Far less graphic and edgy than the works that made Schiele’s reputation, the...