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Painting to Remain--"Numbers, 1964" by Jasper Johns was created specifically to adorn the lobby of State Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City. After considering the sale of the artwork for $15 million to fund building improvements, the board abandoned the idea as a result of criticism from several museums and the artist himself.

Campaign Successful--Yaddo, the artists' community in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has received a gift of $1 million for its Centennial Gift Campaign. Yaddo provides artists with an environment where they can think, create and work, and will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2000.

Artifacts Go Home--The J. Paul Getty Museum has returned to Italy three important antiquities from its collection. The artifacts, determined to be previously stolen, were a 480 B.C. Greek terracotta drinking cup, a torso of the god Mithras from 2C., and a 2C. Roman copy of a sculpture by Polycleitus.

Role Model "Created"--The U.S. Postal Service has issued a new stamp celebrating Jackson Pollock's contribution to abstract expressionism, the second to commemorate an American artist. They have, however, altered the 1949 Life magazine photograph. The artist is now shown in his studio pouring paint onto canvas sans a cigarette dangling from his mouth. The stamp is part of the 1940's series of the Postal Service's "Celebrate the Century" campaign.

Milestone for Mural Painter--Spanish artist Jose Vela Zanetti has died in Spain at age 85. Vela Zanetti won an international competition in 1952 to create a mural on the theme of peace for the UN headquarters in NYC. "Mankind's Struggle for a Lasting Peace" is 64 feet long, was restored last year, and was recently rededicated.

Watercolors Sold--Thirty paintings by "Sybil," a renowned woman with possibly 16 personalities who was the subject of a book and television movie, have been sold for more than $30,000. Shirley Ardell Mason was a trained artist who died in 1998 at age 75. Makes you wonder--Did different personalities paint different works?

Top Draws Announced--The Art Newspaper has compiled a list of attendance for major shows in the U.S. during 1998. "Monet in the 20th Century," Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, was top draw at 565,992; second was "The Private Collection of Edgar Degas," Metropolitan Museum of Art, at 528,267; and third was "Van Gogh's van Goghs," National Gallery of Art, at 480,496.

Museums Merge--The Museum of Modern Art, NYC, has agreed to merge with the P.S. 1 Center for Contemporary Art in Long Island City, Queens. The Modern will now have greater involvement with contemporary art, reach a younger audience, and have access to additional exhibition space.

Exhibitions:

--"Daguerreotypes to Digital," Oregon History Center, Portland, through March 28, explores the medium from the earliest photographs (daguerreotypes) to today's digital imagery.

-- "Sinners and Saints, Darkness and Light: Caravaggio and His Dutch and Flemish Followers," Milwaukee Art Museum, through April 18.

-- "Gustave Moreau: Between Epic and Dream," Art Institute of Chicago, through April 25.

-- "The Invisible Made Visible: Angels from the Vatican," Norton Museum of Art, Palm Beach, FL, through April 4.

-- "Pop Impressions Europe/USA: Prints and Multiples from The Museum of Modern Art," NY, through May 18.

-- "Fate, Fortune, Nemesis: Albrecht Durer at the Century's End," Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, through April 11.

--"Picasso and the War Years 1937-1945," Guggenheim, through May 9.

March Birthdays

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 9 No. 5 -- March 1999