“Barbara Fleischman, the New York art collector who with her husband donated and sold more than 300 prized antiquities to the Getty Museum in 1996 and then quietly made a personal loan to the curator who arranged the deal, resigned from the Getty board Wednesday.”
Tag: 01.26.06
Model Sues Spamalot For Ad
A model is suing the producers of the hit Broadway musical Spamalot for using her image in a promotional poster without permission.
Discovered: Two Caravaggios
Two paintings in a French church have been declared Caravaggios. “It is thought the paintings were probably bought by a French ambassador to Rome, and friend of Caravaggio. The works were kept under the organ loft in the church of Saint Anthony in Loches, until in 1999 a curator expressed an interest in a coat of arms on the works. It turned out to belong to Philippe de Bethune, a minister of France’s King Henry IV, an enthusiastic art collector who befriended Caravaggio in Rome.”
Painting Goes Missing At Sotheby’s
A painting worth an estimated £500,000 has disappeared from Sotheby’s auction rooms in New Bond Street, London. The company won’t say what the work is or who it belongs to.
The Renee Fleming Mozart Mystery
Why was Renee Fleming suddenly replaced for Mozart celebrations in Austria this week? The circumstances raise questions. “Why was the Mozarteum so inflexible, refusing either to substitute another aria for the one scheduled or to hire someone else for the aria but let Ms. Fleming perform the rest of the program?”
Art Thief – Snared By Cellphone
How did Robert Mang get caught for stealing Cellini’s priceless saltcellar? “After holding the Cellini masterpiece, valued at roughly $60 million, for nearly three years and making two attempts to collect about $12 million in ransom, Mr. Mang was identified as the culprit late last week. On Friday, the police had circulated security camera images of him buying a cellphone that he used to send a text message.”