Toronto

MacDonald’s Wind Clouds blows past estimates at Sotheby’s auction

“An oil painting displayed at the first ever Group of Seven exhibition, in May 1920, fetched a staggering $589,000, including buyer’s premium, Tuesday evening at the Sotheby’s Canada auction in Toronto.” Globe & Mail, November 23, 2010

Crashing the Toronto art scene

“Inside every one of us, it seems there is an inner collector trying to break free. Whether it’s baseball cards we covet, hubcaps or Old Masters, there’s something each of us wants. That’s why we are either suppressed collectors or out-of-the-closet acquisitors. For art lovers hovering between the two, OCAD University offers a course designed to give students the knowledge they need to get started.”  Toronto Star, November 22, 2010

Ottawa

Ottawa Art Gallery to move to Lansdowne Park
“The Ottawa Art Gallery will get a spot on Bank Street in the Lansdowne Park redevelopment plan approved by city council Monday. Although the city hasn't studied the feasibility of the move, both councillors and art gallery officials are confident it will go forward.” CBC News, November 23, 2010

Montreal

Meanwhile, in Montreal…

“Three artists - all women - have been awarded prizes by the City of Montreal.” Views on Canadian Art, November 20, 2010

Beauty and the bad boy

“Jean Paul Gaultier, who has always defied convention, gets a retrospective in Montreal.”  Ottawa Citizen, November 22, 2010

Berkeley, California

UC Berkeley to Go Ahead With New Museum Despite Budget Woes

"Even as financially strapped UC Berkeley is preparing to raise tuition 8 percent next fall, it has pledged to spend as much as $20 million in campus funds to help build a $96 million art museum." San Francisco Chronicle, November 22, 2010

New York

Chelsea Museum Gets One More Year in Foreclosed-On Building

"[A] bankruptcy court [has] paved the way for a $19.35 million sale of the museum's building to a New York developer. The sale would allow the museum to continue operating at its West 22nd street site, rent-free, until the end of 2011." Wall Street Journal, November 23, 2010

In the name of art, NYU prof has camera implanted in back of head

“A New York University arts professor might not have eyes on the back of his head, but he's coming pretty close.” Globe & Mail, November 23, 2010

United States

Making College Art Programs Safe For Students

"A growing number of art programs are making studio safety an integral part of the both curriculum and facilities. They are improving the air quality, reducing exposure to potentially hazardous materials, and increasing the safety training that students and faculty receive." Chronicle of Higher Education, November 23, 2010

Chichester, England

Robin Day, 95, Designer of the Stackable Plastic Chair

"Rare is the human backside that hasn't found solace and support in Mr. Day's most famous creation, a molded polypropylene shell fastened to an enameled bent tubular steel base that has become familiar seating in schools, churches, offices, auditoriums, home patios, kitchens, dens, bedrooms and basements around the world." New York Times, November 20, 2010

Perm, Russia

Pushing Art, Maybe a Bit Too Far

A self-assured group from Moscow with ties to theater and the arts is transforming Perm, an industrial city once known for its gulags, into a cultural center. But not everyone is happy.   New York Times, November 24, 2010