London Mayor In Statue Battle

The mayor of London is taking sides in a debate over whether a new sculpture of Nelson Mandela by artist Ian Walters should be placed in Trafalgar Square. The Westminster City Council decided on the advice of renowned sculptor Glynn Williams to reject the statue, saying it doesn't fit the area. Mayor Ken Livingstone took expection, and took a highly personal shot at Williams in the process, holding up a photo of a Williams sculpture design and declaring that "The only sense in which that looks like Harold Wilson is if he has been dead for several days, has started to decompose, and is emerging through a pile of dog mess." Livingstone pointed out that Williams's design for that particular sculpture was rejected in favor of Ian Walters.
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Irish Art

Disney Gives Away Major Art

A major collection of African artwork, some dating to the 1400s, has just been donated to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art. The Walt Disney-Tishman Collection, 525 pieces in all, includes most major styles of African art and represents seventy-five peoples and twenty countries. "This is a collection that has been sought after by everyone in the museum world because it is so great," said Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small. "Finally, for reasons I wholeheartedly agree with, it came here."
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Tate Rehangs Its Collection

The Tate Modern, the rousingly successful new gallery in a converted power plant, plans to rehang its collection for the first time since it opened five years ago. The four main exhibits will revolve around the themes of cubism, surrealism, abstract expressionism and minimalism, replacing the current divisions of landscape, still life, history and nude works. Each theme, or moment in modern art history, will feature a pair of artists from different generations to serve as a springboard which looks both back and focuses on the roots of those moments in the 20th century and looks forward.
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Irish Art

Royal Academy Screams Art

The work of one of the world's most famous artists is set to arrive at a London gallery this weekend. An exhibition of self-portraits by Edvard Munch, painter of The Scream, opens at the Royal Academy on Saturday. Munch by Himself will allow art lovers a rare insight into the Norwegian artist's consciousness, across the 150 works that are to be displayed. After a life fraught with alcoholism and depression, Munch died aged 80 nearly 60 years ago.
Two Munch paintings were stolen last year from the Munch-museet in Oslo, Norway last year. "Madonna" and one of the versions of "The Scream" have not yet been found.
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Irish Art

50 Million For Art Collection

Hans Grothe, the German construction magnate, has sold his collection of over 700 works of post-1960s German art to the Wella haircare billionaires Sylvia and Ulrich Ströher for an estimated E50 million. The bulk of Mr Grothe’s collection is currently on loan to two municipal German museums in Duisberg and Bonn, where it is expected to remain for the foreseeable future. The figure of E50 million, reported in the German press, represents half of the collection’s estimated value. A recent tax appraisal of the works put their market value at between E120 to E200 million. There has been speculation that Mr Grothe had financial problems and needed to raise money fast. He was unavailable for comment.
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Da Vinci Heart Discovery

A UK heart surgeon has pioneered a new way to repair damaged hearts after being inspired by artist Leonardo da Vinci's medical drawings. The intricate diagrams of the heart were made by artist Leonardo 500 years ago. Mr Francis Wells from Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, says Leonardo's observations of the way the heart valves open and close was revelatory. Mr Wells has used this understanding to modify current repair operations, and has successfully treated 80 patients. Narrowing the diameter of the valve opening with surgery helps, but Mr Wells, with help from Leonardo, believes he has found a better way. He said Leonardo had a depth of appreciation of the anatomy and physiology of the body - its structure and function - that perhaps has been overlooked by some.
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Irish Art

Hockney 'Smoking'

The Yorkshire artist David Hockney is in Brighton today to rail against the "dreary" Labour politicians who want to ban smoking in all public places. Hockney called Julie Morgan, the Welsh Labour MP who is heading the government initiative, "too bossy" and "absolutely dreary", describing the planned ban as "ridiculous". "Death awaits you whether you smoke or not. Pubs are not health clubs. People go to drown their sorrows," he said. The Government hopes to ban smoking in workplaces, cafes, and pubs and bars which serve food in England by 2008 and a report is due soon based on a public consultation on smoking in public. Hockney, who was the only living British artist to make the shortlist in a BBC poll of the nation’s favourite painting, said in a statement released by Forest ahead of the meeting: "Smoking calms me down. It’s enjoyable. I don’t want politicians deciding what is exciting in my life."
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Irish Art

Bitter Feud & Saatchi Relocates

Charles Saatchi is moving his London art gallery out of its County Hall premises following an "endless campaign of petty unpleasantness" by its landlord. The multimillionaire art collector accused Japanese businessman Makota "Mac" Okamoto of creating a "malevolent atmosphere", adding: "The behaviour of the landlord has made our long-term tenancy untenable".
The announcement will not shock many, and comes as the bitter climax of a long-running feud between the gallery and Mr Okamoto. The dispute has at times verged on the farcical: Mr Okamoto has been accused not only of changing the locks on the gallery's sole disabled lavatory, but also of kicking a realistic sculpture of a homeless person in a sleeping bag, a work by celebrated British artist Gavin Turk. Mr Okamoto reportedly clashed with gallery employees several times, particularly when staff failed to recognise him.
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Irish Art

Make An Million In Art

An accounts receivable clerk at the Orange County Performing Arts Center has pleaded not guilty to embezzling more than $1 million from her employer since 2000. Ana L. Limbaring, 53, was arraigned Friday on 29 charges that included multiple counts of grand theft, falsely stating her financial condition and 11 counts of computer access and fraud. If convicted on all counts, Limbaring faces up to 10 years in prison. She is held on $2 million bail and an immigration hold placed on her as she's a Philippine citizen.
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Irish Art

Lost 'Masterpiece' To be Restored

Celebrated German abstract artist Blinky Palermo caused confusion and consternation at Edinburgh College of Art when he painted his lines in the entrance hall. The Scottish arts establishment regarded the 'work' as anti-art and concealed it behind a thick coat of emulsion. Now the lost work is regarded as a masterpiece with a theoretical value of £300,000. Sadly, removing the paint without destroying the original is cost-prohibitive, so the lines will be recreated on top of the originals.
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Irish Art

William Portrait - £100,000

The only life portrait of Prince William is to go on sale this week. The rare study of the second-in-line to the throne when he was 17 was painted by artist John Wonnacott in preparation for a group picture of the royal family to celebrate the late Queen Mother's 100th birthday. It will be put on public display for the first time on Wednesday at Agnew's gallery in Mayfair, London. Two pictures of the Queen Mother and one of the six royals in the final image - the Queen, the Queen Mother, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and Princes William and Harry - will also be available for collectors to buy. The rare portraits are expected to fetch around £100,000 each.
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Irish Art

Getty Art Looted?

Attorneys for the J. Paul Getty Museum have determined that half the masterpieces in its antiquities collection were purchased from dealers now under investigation for allegedly selling artifacts looted from ruins in Italy. Italian authorities have identified dozens of objects in the Getty collection as looted, including ancient urns, vases and a 5-foot marble statue of Apollo. The Italians have Polaroid photographs seized from a dealer's warehouse in Switzerland that show Getty artifacts in an unrestored state, some encrusted with dirt — soon after they were dug from the ground, Italians officials say.
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Irish Art

George Michael Art Galleries

British pop star George Michael and his partner Kenny Goss are set to launch a second art gallery after the success of their Texas venture. The singer's Texan boyfriend opened the Goss Gallery, which featured a mix of contemporary art and photographs, in his native Dallas earlier this year. After the success of the Dallas exhibitions, Goss has bought a property on London's Bond Street with the hope of selling art from it.
Irish Art