ArtPourri

—Ruling to be Appealed – A judge in Italy has ruled that the J. Paul Getty Museum must return the Statue of a Victorious Youth, often called the Getty Bronze—bought for the Getty collection in 1977—because they had “not acted in good faith.”  The Getty feels the court’s order is flawed both procedurally and substantively, will appeal and vigorously defend its legal ownership of the statue.

—Oops! – An important painting by Pablo Picasso was accidentally damaged at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC recently when a visitor attending a class lost her balance.  A 6” tear in The Actor (1904-5) is expected to be unobtrusive after repair, and the painting will be displayed in the forthcoming exhibition Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art among some 250 works on view from April 27 – Aug. 1.

—NEA News – The President’s FY2011 budget request to Congress includes $161.3 million for the NEA, which is the same level requested last year.  This proposed budget maintains the NEA’s areas of grant making, and it also includes $5 million in proposed “Our Town” funding in recognition of the role that the arts can play in economic revitalization and in creating livable, sustainable communities.  Visit www.nea.gov/grants for info and to apply.

—Auction News – At Sotheby’s, a world record was set for a work of art at auction when Giacometti’s Walking Man I sold for $104.3 million; the highest price for a Gustav Klimt landscape at auction, Church in Cassone, was realized at $43.2 million; and the Contemporary Art Sale was headlined by Willem De Kooning’s Untitled XIV, which sold for $6.2 million.  Christie’s has announced the 2010 inaugural green auction, “A Bid to Save the Earth.”  This charity auction will take place at the Rockefeller Center location on April 22 to coincide with the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day.  Proceeds will be divided among four leading not-for-profit environmental organizations that have programming across 150 countries and all seven continents.

—USPS News – The U. S. Postal Service has commemorated the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games with the issuance of a stamp featuring an illustration of a snowboarder.  Illustrator Steve McCracken captured the thrill of Olympic sports in his portrayal of an airborne snowboarder against the backdrop of a snow-capped mountain.

March - Celebrate Youth Art Month, National Craft Month, Women’s History Month...and the arrival of spring!

Birthdays
2 – Dr. Seuss
6 – Michelangelo
30 – Vincent Van Gogh

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 20 No. 5 — March 2010