Disturbing Dumas Divides Critics

Once-criticized American artist ended up among the greats

(NEWSER) - Cy Twombly, a renowned abstract painter once slammed by critics, has died at 83 in Rome. No cause has been given, though the American artist had cancer, the New York Times reports. Twombly’s work, full of scribbles and scratches, at first earned him harsh words from art critics. But he largely ignored them and kept to himself, and by the 1990s was established as one of the top American abstract painters of the 20th century. More»

(NEWSER) - Controversial artist Banksy has mounted a huge show at his hometown Bristol City Museum—but the secretive vandal is nowhere to be seem, the Times of London reports. The exhibition was planned in secret through Banksy’s representatives. “We couldn’t even tell the council and the whole thing could have been a huge hoax,” the museum’s director said. The show includes paintings and sculpture. More»

Some call him modern; others, 'corny Americana'

(NEWSER) - Andrew Wyeth divided the art community throughout his life, and little seems to have changed with his passing yesterday. While many in the field call him one of the most important 20th-century American artists, others insist his mode of realism makes him more of an illustrator than a serious painter, the New York Times reports, and his work "corny Americana." Those critics see his most famous painting, “Christina’s World,” as simply a “mandatory dorm room poster.” More»

Pa. museum guard charged with keying $1.2M painting he 'didn't like'

(NEWSER) - Pittsburgh police have charged a museum guard with defacing a $1.2 million painting he "didn't like," the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Timur Serebrykov, 27, added he was "sorry" for keying the night sky image by Vija Celmins. The work suffered a "large vertical gouge" and is "a total loss," said an official at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Art. Serebrykov may plead a mental health defense. 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»