Stolen marble head of Rome's first emperor returns to Italy - Page 3 of 3

‘Sistine Chapel of the Middle Ages’ reopens to public in Rome
ROME (Reuters) – A sixth-century church boasting a rare collection of early Christian art is reopening to the public in Rome after a restoration that took more than 30 years.

New York auctions paint somber picture of Chinese art buyers
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Along with oil, stocks and steel, China’s roiling economic slowdown has deflated the buoyancy of another sector: the Asian Art market.

Artist Emin unveils first solo exhibition in China
HONG KONG – British artist Tracey Emin showcased on Monday her “I Cried Because I Love You” exhibition, taking place in two Hong Kong galleries, marking her first solo presentation in Greater China.

Ballet star Acosta returns to Cuban roots with dance company
HAVANA (Reuters) – Global ballet star Carlos Acosta returns to his Cuban roots when his new dance company takes to the stage next month.

Mural in the muck tells story of Rome on riverside wall
ROME (Reuters) – Silhouettes of emperors, popes and artists are slowly emerging on the grimy walls of the Tiber River in Rome, part of an epic mural that tells the history of the Eternal City.

Italy arrests 12 over $17 million Verona art theft in November
ROME (Reuters) – Twelve people suspected of stealing paintings worth some 15 million euros ($16.6 million) have been arrested, Italian police said on Tuesday.

Graffiti artwork of drowned Aylan highlights refugees’ plight
(Reuters) – A huge graffiti image of toddler Aylan Kurdi, pictures of whose dead body stirred global sympathy for migrants fleeing war and poverty, confronts motorists, pedestrians and river traveler in Frankfurt.

Record-breaking modern Chinese painting to be sold at auction
Hong Kong – A modern Chinese painting that smashed an auction record when it was sold in 1987 is expected to fetch as much as $8.3 million when it goes under the hammer at Sotheby’s spring sale next month.

Amid repression, art scene in Thailand’s capital blooms
BANGKOK (Reuters) – On a wall in a northern suburb of Bangkok “Asin Acid” puts the finishing touches to a spray-painted picture of a colorful giant chicken holding a broken loudspeaker.

‘Cut the bullshit,’ Israeli culture minister tells liberals
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israel’s culture minister had a blunt message on Sunday for liberals worried about what they consider efforts by the government to stifle dissent in the arts: “Cut the bullshit.”

‘Stop working so hard!’ Italian unions tell new museum chief
ROME (Reuters) – Italian unions have lambasted the new museum chief of the world-famous Royal Palace of Caserta for working too hard, prompting Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to ride to his defense.

Elton John to rock ancient Roman theater in Pompeii
ROME (Reuters) – Elton John will perform in an ancient Roman theater in Pompeii in July as part of a world tour to showcase his new album “Wonderful Crazy Night”, his Italian promoter said on Friday.

Artist sets off smoke bombs at London Somerset House
LONDON – Italian artist Filippo Minelli set off colorful smoke bombs in the courtyard of London’s Somerset House on Wednesday as part of a new exhibition on street art.

The Met Breuer in New York showcases modern, contemporary art
NEW YORK – The Met Breuer, a new extension of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, gave a preview of its opening exhibition which features works by artists ranging from Titian and Leonardo da Vinci to Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock.

Bangkok’s Chinatown: a night at the opera
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Battles, a search for love and justice, all set in China. Hired by local Chinese shrines, opera companies in Bangkok’s Chinatown perform mythical stories in Mandarin to round off celebrations marking the Lunar New Year in the Thai capital.

Big name Dutch art fair follows flush collectors to New York
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – One of the world’s largest art fairs is venturing away from its Dutch home base for the first time as economic weakness in Europe and emerging Chinese and Russian markets leave New York an increasingly important source of wealthy collectors.

‘Black Swan’ choreographer Millepied stepping down as Paris Opera dance director
PARIS (Reuters) – French choreographer Benjamin Millepied said on Thursday he was stepping down as director of dance at the Paris Opera after little more than a year in the role, citing personal reasons.

Painting by numbers? China art trading house promises investors sound platform
HONG KONG (Reuters) – As China’s economy wheezes to a 25-year low, investors who once collected stocks and property are turning to what they are willing to believe will become a new safe haven market – a trading platform for fine art.

Owner of ‘Big Lebowski’ house hopes to inspire with LA museum gift
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The owner of a luxury house featured most notably in the 1998 film comedy “The Big Lebowski,” is donating it to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art with the hope that people will build more architecturally creative homes.

‘The Kiss’ and other Rodin bronzes up for auction in Paris
PARIS (Reuters) – Five small bronze statues by French 19th century sculptor Auguste Rodin will be auctioned in Paris next week, including a cast of his celebrated “The Kiss”, which is estimated at 1.5 to 2 million euros ($1.70-2.27 million).

Chicago architect’s design selected for U.S. World War One memorial
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A park-like design by a Chicago architect was selected for the National World War I Memorial in Washington on Tuesday, the project’s organizers said.

Five works from Gurlitt art trove were looted by Nazis, task force finds
BERLIN (Reuters) – A task force set up by the German government to determine the ownership history of more than 1,500 art works discovered in 2012 has found that only five were wrongfully taken from Jews, drawing criticism from Jewish groups.

With Cara Delevingne as muse, artist Yeo presents new portraits
LONDON (Reuters) – Known for his famous subjects, from politicians and royalty to Hollywood celebrities, portrait artist Jonathan Yeo explores different ways of looking at the same person in his latest work — a series of paintings of model and actress Cara Delevingne.

Artist marks Year of the Monkey with miniscule sculpture
(Reuters) – Taiwanese artist Chen Forng-Shean welcomed the lunar New Year by making a tiny resin sculpture of a monkey so small it can fit on the tip of a pencil.

Yoko Ono opens ‘Land of Hope’ exhibition in Mexico
MEXICO CITY – – Yoko Ono is seeking to spread a message of peace in Mexico with an exhibition in the capital’s Museum of Memory and Tolerance.

Scandalous painting inspires new London ballet ‘Strapless’
LONDON (Reuters) – When acclaimed choreographer Christopher Wheeldon first saw “Portrait of Madame X”, he was captivated by the painting that caused a social uproar in 19th century Paris.

N.Y. art gallery, Sotheby’s chairman settle fake Rothko case
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Knoedler & Co, which before closing in 2011 was New York City’s oldest art gallery, has agreed to settle a lawsuit over an $8.3 million sale of a fake Rothko painting, just as its ex-president was preparing to testify at trial.

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ headed for Broadway debut
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Harper Lee’s classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” is coming to Broadway for the first time in a new stage version written by “West Wing” writer Aaron Sorkin, producers said on Wednesday.

Israel bars novel about Jewish-Arab love affair from school curriculum
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s Education Ministry has ruled against the inclusion of a novel about a romance between an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man in the Hebrew high school curriculum because it feared it could raise tensions among pupils, an official said on Thursday.

Artifacts linked to JFK assassination to be sold at auction
DALLAS – Keys to the limousine President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was killed more than 50 years ago are expected to fetch up to $50,000 when they are sold in an online auction this month.

Archaeologists unearth artifacts from ancient civilization in Honduras
CATACAMAS, Honduras – A clay tray featuring the head of a jaguar and pottery with handles resembling a vulture were among the treasures from an ancient civilization found by archaeologists in Honduras.

Repatriated antiquities focus of new Egyptian exhibition
CAIRO – Nearly 200 antiquities smuggled out of Egypt and repatriated from eight countries are featured in a new exhibition at the Egyptian Museum.

Abstract painter, sculptor Ellsworth Kelly dies at 92
(Reuters) – Influential American abstract painter and sculptor Ellsworth Kelly died on Sunday, said an art gallery owner in New York. He was 92.

Nero’s golden palace, Siena’s crumbling walls win much-needed restoration cash
ROME (Reuters) – Emperor Nero’s golden palace, the walls of medieval Siena and the foundations of Venice will all receive sorely needed restoration funds after Italy approved a plan on Monday to spend 300 million euros ($325 million) to protect its cultural heritage.

Catalan group puts on high-flying show in Chile’s Valdivia
Catalan theater group La Fura dels Baus put on a high-flying, acrobatic show at the weekend at an event designating Chile’s Valdivia the “American Capital of Culture 2016”.