In Paris, a Dramatic, Monumental Balloon

(NEWSER) - Celebrity power revived the art market in Paris for at least one night, the Wall Street Journal reports. Despite the economy, a giddy atmosphere prevailed at Christie's as bidders battled over blue-chip works from Yves Saint Laurent's personal collection, dishing out $32 million more than expected. Only a moody, Cubist work by Picasso failed to excite and went unsold. More»

Paris' nude life models strike—in the buff—to demand better pay

(NEWSER) - Paris is notorious for constant protests by striking workers, but yesterday the French capital witnessed an uncommon work action: dozens of nude life models who braved freezing temperatures—naked—to demand a pay increase. As the Guardian reports, the models took to the street and re-created Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, while artists and students sat sketching them in support. More»

Henri Loyrette has global ambitions that grate traditionalists

(NEWSER) - France's publicly funded museums once eschewed the big-money efforts that are common in American art institutions. Not anymore. BusinessWeek profiles Henri Loyrette, the ambitious director of the Louvre in Paris, who has coaxed major corporations to pony up cash, rented out its galleries for the filming of The Da Vinci Code, and reaped millions for the museum with touring exhibitions. More»

Priceless artifacts go missing before flight to Paris

(NEWSER) - Bangladesh has mounted a massive hunt for two priceless artifacts that went missing yesterday at the Dhaka airport, Reuters reports. The statues of the Hindu god Vishnu, sculpted 1,500 years ago, were on their way to an exhibition at a Paris museum. Bangladeshi authorities have detained 12 suspects and stopped the shipment to France while the investigation continues. More»

Group broke into Paris museum during all-night culture festival

(NEWSER) - Four or five people broke into a Paris museum on Sunday and punched a hole in a Monet. The group broke open a back door to the Musee d'Orsay and fled when an alarm sounded, but not before tearing a four-inch hole in "Le Pont d'Argenteuil," a scene of a bridge and boats on the Seine painted in 1874. The vandals appeared to be drunk. More»