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• Guggenheim Taps Curator as New Chief

  Sep 24, 08 10:24 AM CDT
  The Guggenheim Foundation has chosen Richard Armstrong, the head of the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, as the museum's new director. He succeeds Thomas Krens, who established the Guggenheim as a global brand with branches in Europe and more planned in Asia and the Middle East. But Krens' commercialism and expansionist ambitions antagonized many in the art world, not to speak of donors, and the choice of Armstrong seems to herald a new direction.
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• Met Surprises With Choice of New Director

  Sep 10, 08 9:34 AM CDT
  The Metropolitan Museum in New York has chosen Thomas P. Campbell, its curator of European tapestries, as its new director, reports the New York Times. Campbell succeeds Philippe de Montebello, who transformed the Met during his 31 years at the helm. The selection of Campbell, an insider who did not overtly campaign for the job, was one of the most closely guarded secrets in the art world.
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• Vatican Objects to Image of Frog on Crucifix

  Aug 28, 08 6:45 PM CDT
  Despite objections from the pope, a sculpture of a crucified frog will continue to hang in an Italian museum, board officials said today. The Vatican slammed the work, called Feet First, as a blasphemous attack on Christianity. But museum officials cited artistic freedom and said its German creator considered the piece a self-portrait illustrating human angst, Reuters reports. More »

• X-Ray Unveils Hidden Van Gogh

  Jul 30, 08 7:25 PM CDT
  European scientists today revealed a Van Gogh portrait of a peasant's head behind one of his paintings, LiveScience reports. Using a new X-ray technique, the researchers pulled out the portrait's brown and red pigments, which Van Gogh covered with Patch of Grass, 1887. The scientists, primarily from Belgium and the Netherlands, plan to uncover other hidden paintings with the new technique.
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• Ambitious Director Revives the Louvre

  Jul 29, 08 10:04 AM CDT
  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.
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