St Fagans National Museum of History has been awarded the prestigious title of Art Fund museum of the year 2019.
Category: All Articles
Germany to return stolen Dutch painting to the Uffizi Gallery
The descendants of a Nazi soldier are to return a €2 million (£1.8 million) painting to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Germany announced the result of the secret deal this week, which will see the painting handed back almost 75 years since it was looted. Continue reading
Brazilian court bans subway performers
If you ever thought of making a career out of busking on a Brazilian subway carriage, think again. The Rio Court of Justice has banned street artists from performing on the subway on the basis that such performances disrupt commuters’ “tranquillity”.
Caravaggio discovered in a Toulouse attic bought by mystery buyer
A controversial painting, supposedly by Caravaggio (1571-1610), has been purchased by a mystery buyer just two days before it was due to be sold at auction. “Judith and Holofernes” was sold for an unknown price, although it was expected to fetch at least US$110 million (£86.5 million). Continue reading
No more view from the top English Heritage tells drone pilots
Drone activity over Britain’s most beautiful stately homes, castles, monuments and landscapes has prompted English Heritage to ban the unapproved use of unmanned aerial vehicles over all of its sites. Continue reading
French Museum filled with fakes still questioning how it happened a year on
In April 2018, a French museum dedicated to the painter Étienne Terrus (1857-1922) announced that over half of its collection were, in fact, fakes. Exactly how this catastrophic mistake was made remains a mystery over a year since the discovery. Continue reading
Telecoms billionaire buys Sotheby’s for $3.7 billion (£2.9 billion)
This week French-Israeli telecoms billionaire, Patrick Drahi, bought Sotheby’s auction house for a staggering $3.7 billion (£2.9 billion). Drahi’s purchase returns the auction house to private ownership after 30 years of public trading on the stock market. Continue reading
Anne Frank painting commemorates her 90th birthday
This week, Anne Frank would have celebrated her 90th birthday. To commemorate the event, a new painting showing what Anne might have looked like if she was still alive was commissioned and sold at auction in London, with proceeds going to the Anne Frank Trust. Continue reading
A view from the market: Will the Ivory Act work in practice?
In 2017 Art Law & More reported on the Government’s consultation on whether or not to roll out an outright ban on trading in worked ivory of all ages (see Government confronts the elephant in the room with ivory ban plan). Following the consultation, the Ivory Bill was introduced on 23 May 2018. The Government has reported that it “rapidly cleared Parliamentary processes, with support from across the House.” It is expected to come into force in late 2019. Continue reading
Notre-Dame: to innovate or not to innovate?
When a destructive blaze tore through the Notre-Dame in Paris, the devastated city and its beloved building were flooded with support from across the world. But opinions in France now stand divided: should the city carefully restore, or instead rebuild afresh, the iconic gothic cathedral? Continue reading
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