2 Downtowns, 1 New Museum

Artifact team will hunt for Imperial Gardens booty

(NEWSER) - China is about to send teams of artifact hunters to the world's top museums to track down looted art treasures. They'll be on the lookout for art from the splendid Imperial Gardens of Yuan Ming Yuan, more commonly known as the Old Summer Palace, which was used by Chinese emperors in the 18th and 19th centuries. British and French armies sacked the palace complex outside the walls of Beijing in 1860 then picked through what was left in 1900. More»

(NEWSER) - Charles Gwathmey, who died of esophageal cancer at 71 this week, began his architectural career as a steely, pared-down Modernist and never wavered from his style over decades of work, writes the New York Times. His larger buildings, such as an extension to Frank Lloyd Wright's landmark Guggenheim Museum, were often controversial. But it was in residential architecture that he most excelled—one 1,200-square foot house, designed for his parents while still in his 20s, became an instant classic. More»

(NEWSER) - Trying to awake from the nightmare of history? Mental Floss' list of 12 "oddly specific" American museums may only give you bad dreams:

• The SPAM Museum: Complete with a wall of 5,000 SPAM tins and a scale plant where visitors can suit up in white coats and hardhats, the Austin, Minn., museum is "guaranteed fun for the whole canned-pork-loving family."
• The Hobo Museum: True to form, the monument to tramps is open sporadically; go during the Hobo Convention and experience the real thing down by tracks in Britt, Iowa.

Piano's addition for Art Institute called his best in a decade

(NEWSER) - This weekend the Art Institute of Chicago opens a mammoth new modern wing designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. Nicolai Ouroussof praises Piano's mix of "Modern and classical themes," and "towering glass-and-steel facade, with its floating roof and excruciatingly slender columns" straddling gritty railroad tracks. The New York Times' critic calls the building one of Piano's best, "the closest he has come in at least a decade to achieving his near-classical ideal." More»

(NEWSER) - A New York art dealer was charged today with stealing $88 million in investments and artwork in what may be an art-world Ponzi scheme, the Times reports. Investors and collectors say they entrusted Lawrence Salander with funds or artwork after the dealer promised hefty returns. In many cases, they were paid a fraction of the funds invested, or never saw the artwork again. More»