MUSEUMS

Katy Perry, Celebrities Burnish LA’s Contemporary Art Museum Gala

Keith Girard
Katy Perry and Glee’s Dianna Agron were among celebrities who attended the Museum of Contemporary Art’s 35th Anniversary Gala in Los Angeles, burnishing the troubled museum’s reputation and bottom line. The event, sponsored by fashion brand Louis Vuitton, also honored Philippe Vergne, the museum’s new director. Owen Wilson, singer Pharrell, television host Ryan Seacrest, burlesque star Dita Von Teese and actress Jane Fonda were also spotted in the crowd that came out Saturday (Mar. 30)...
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George Clooney’s Monuments Men in Real Life Featured at The Met

Keith Girard
James J. Rorimer, one of art experts portrayed in George Clooney’s film “The Monuments Men,” will be featured in a new Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit, highlighting his historic role saving priceless artworks during World War II. Rorimer became director of the Museum after the war. The film, starring Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray and John Goodman, is about museum directors, curators and art historians who go to war in search of plundered Nazi loot. ...
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Riley Keough, Michelle Williams Light Up Whitney Gala (photos!)

Keith Girard
Riley Keough, granddaughter of the late King of Rock Elvis Presley, and actress Michelle Williams were among celebrities who polished their artsy cred at the Whitney Museum of American Art Gala & Studio Party in New York City last night (Oct. 23). Riley, who had a rough go in the tabloids recently, was the picture of hipster chic in her Louis Vuitton black mini-dress, with a white jacket from the designer’s spring 2013 collection....
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Mendelssohon Heirs Sue Over Picasso Sold Under Nazi Duress

Keith Girard
Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s extensive art collection, looted by the Nazis during their reign of terror in Europe, is the subject of another lawsuit, filed by his heirs. At issue is an iconic Picasso painting known as “Madame Soler.” The Mendelssohn dynasty included famed composer Felix Mendelssohn and Enlightenment philosopher Moses Mendelssohn....
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Eugene Delacroix Defaced Liberty Raises Security Issues Anew

Keith Girard
Eugene Delacroix’s homage to the French Revolution, entitled “Liberty Leading the People” has been defaced by a “9/11 truther,” raising questions once again about museum security and public access to priceless works of art. The 29-year-old woman used an indelible maker to write “AE911″ on the 1830 painting, one of the best known symbols of the 18th century Gallic upheaval....
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Met Museum Hosts First Ever Exhibition of Music Masterpieces

Keith Girard
Sau-Wing Lam’s collection of rare Italian string instruments will go on display for the first time in the United States at the Metropolitan Museum of Art later this month. The collection includes rare violins by Antonio Stradivari. Sau-Wing worked as president of the Dah Chong Hong Trading Corp., Inc. in New York City, an import-export business. An amateur violinist and violist, Lam bought his first important violin in the 1960s and over the 25 years assembled his impressive collection of stringed instruments and bows....
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Abraham Roentgen’s Royal Furniture at Met Museum (photos)

Keith Girard
Abraham Roentgen was known throughout Europe for fine cabinetmaking starting in the mid-1700s, when he established his shop in Germany. Today, Roentgen’s works are hailed as masterpieces, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art has gathered nearly 60 exquisite pieces, many of which have never been seen outside of Europe, for a special exhibition in New York....
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Dürer, Holy Roman Masters Star in New Met Exhibit

Keith Girard
Albrecht Dürer is German's dominant artist from a period spanning almost 300 years in Central European development. But a new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art showcases the works of other who shaped German, Swiss, Austrian, and early Bohemian drawings. The exhibition of artists were active before 1700 in the Holy Roman Empire runs from Apr. 3 through Sept. 3, 2012....
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