“When the dusty heirlooms and bric-a-brac of a once-stately French family went under the hammer at a minor auction eight years ago, an anonymous portrait of the Dutch scholar Erasmus sold for €2000… [now] experts have established that the work was the last ever portrait that Holbein painted of an ageing Erasmus, and the painting – one of a tiny minority of Holbein works to be in private hands – is worth millions.”
Tag: 12.26.08
Art Goes Missing From British Embassies
“Works of art worth hundreds of thousands of pounds are missing from British embassies and other official buildings around the world. At least 50 paintings from the Government Art Collection are unaccounted for, according to the latest audit.”
Harold Pinter – Language As A Shield
“Language, which is so often a weapon in his plays, is also a reliable shield, ‘a constant stratagem to cover nakedness,’ as the playwright himself once described it. David Hare was right to pay Pinter the ultimate Auden compliment of having ‘cleaned the gutters of the English language, so that it ever afterwards flowed more easily and more cleanly’.”
William Ferris: America Needs A Culture Secretary
“I believe the president should create a cabinet-level position — a secretary of culture — to provide more cohesive leadership for these impressive programs and to assure that they receive the recognition and financing they deserve.”
Researchers: Drug Performance Enhancements Aren’t Cheating
“We enhance our brain function all the time, they say — by drinking coffee, by eating nutritious food, by getting an education, even by getting a good night’s sleep. Taking brain-enhancing drugs should be viewed as just another step along that continuum, one that’s ‘morally equivalent’ to such ‘other, more familiar, enhancements,’ they write.”
Reflecting On A Pair Of American Icons
Leonard Bernstein and Tennessee Williams: Both were world-famous, gay, and profoundly affected their art forms, and both had significant anniversaries in 2008 (Lenny’s 90th birthday, the 25th anniversary of Tennessee’s death). But Bernstein received big celebrations in major classical music centers, while Williams got “small, gay-themed affairs in places like Provincetown and Glasgow.” Why the difference?
2008, The Year Celebrity Gossip Died (Well, Maybe…)
“In May, Us Weekly editor Janice Min told the New York Times, ‘When you look at the great celebrity dramas of the last few years, you have Team Aniston, Team Jolie, Team Heidi and Team Lauren. And now we have Team Hillary and Team Barack.'” With a historic election and major issues at stake, it wasn’t so fun to gawk at Amy Winehouse anymore.
New York, City Of Light
Holland Cotter: “The light on the buildings outside the windows changes, the all-night lights of the city, the shadow of clouds on the river, the light through a rose window, the light through a sculpture, the light in Times Square, where one year will soon be seen out, while another, with a sizzle of light, brought in.”
The Sound Of Dvorak On The Altiplano
Conductor David Handel has been attracting news coverage in the U.S. for his success at turning the National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia from a ragtag pops band into a real classical ensemble. A recent public radio feature includes a brief interview with Handel and clips of the NSOB in performance.
Eartha Kitt, 81
“Eartha Kitt, who purred and pounced her way across Broadway stages, recording studios and movie and television screens in a show-business career that lasted more than six decades, died on Thursday. She was 81 and lived in Connecticut.”