“For most of the last 60 years, Maria Altmann did not know that the celebrated Klimt paintings hanging in the Austrian Gallery in Vienna actually belonged to her. And when she learned that they most likely did, she also knew that recovering them was probably an impossible quest. But in an unexpected turn of events, the endless ripples of World War II history have washed up on the shore of a California museum, where this week the 90-year-old Mrs. Altmann came face to face with the sumptuous gold and sinuous lines of Gustav Klimt’s portrait of her aunt.”
Tag: 04.06.06
Rockwell Original Discovered (If Only We’d Known It Was Missing)
For years, art experts have noted that the original copy of Norman Rockwell’s painting, “Breaking Home Ties,” appears to be lighter in color than the prints that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1954. The discrepancy has long been blamed on an overly aggressive cleaning of the work. But now, the truth has come out: cartoonist Don Trachte, who owned the painting for years, apparently made a sophisticated copy in the 1970s and hid the original in a secret compartment in his Vermont home, in an effort to avoid losing the Rockwell in a bitter divorce. It wasn’t until last month that Trachte’s sons discovered the genuine article, right where their father had left it.
With All The Talking, It’s Amazing He Has Time For Music
There are times when it seems that conductor/pianist Daniel Barenboim must be the busiest speechmaker in the classical music world. “This week, Barenboim puts down his baton and some of his worries to deliver the first in his series of the BBC’s annual Reith Lectures. He will argue that music lies at the heart of our understanding of what it is to be human and his theme will encompass how music provides a way of making sense of the world: of politics, of history and of our future.”
Big Expectations For The New SF Conservatory
San Francisco Conservatory is preparing to move into its fancy new digs in the heart of the city’s arts district next fall, and hopes are high that the $80 million facility will finally allow the school to compete with the U.S.’s major conservatories on something closer to an equal footing. “Serving roughly the same number of students and faculty with twice the usable space of [the current building,] it will have at least double the current number of classrooms and practice rooms. The library will be three times [the current] size, and boast a listening room, reading room, and far more computer stations… There will also be an electronic music studio and a recording studio, a café, and a genuine box office for concert ticket sales.”
The Cult of Corporate Radio
Commercial radio has plenty of detractors, of course, and no shortage of critics who call it soulless, corporate, and gimmicky. But what about those who work on the inside? “Working for commercial radio, certainly my experience of it, was, I suspect, a lot like being in a cult.”
Not All Plagiarism Stories End Badly
It was just over a year ago that UK playwright Bryony Lavery’s career appeared to be on the verge of imploding. Accused of plagiarizing large portions of her award-winning play, “Frozen,” from a New Yorker profile of a psychologist specializing in serial killers, Lavery argued vociferously against the charges, but faced an avalanche of publicity. But instead of killing her career, the accusations caused the artistic community to rally around her, and even the New Yorker author rushed to her defense.
Glasgow Fair Tries To Take The Next Step
“After 10 years of financial development but fluctuating quality and a growing belief that it was falling just too far downmarket to attract serious players, this year’s Glasgow Art Fair is making determined efforts to mature. Of course, growing up is hard to do and the fair has come under concerted pressure from those local galleries who perceive themselves as unfairly excluded… For the visitor, the ability to breathe will be welcome, the atmosphere is far more visually careful, with spaces well hung and a better focus on individual artists rather than a pile-’em-high Wal-Mart approach to retailing that was beginning to prevail.”