– Clint Eastwood, Patron of the Arts: The director and former Dirty Harry made the Smithsonian Institution's day by paying a visit to the Museum of American History in Washington to help inaugurate the new 264-seat Warner Brothers Theater dedicated to presenting Hollywood history (the film studio donated $5 million to the project). For the event, which also saw Eastwood honored with the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal for his contributions to film, the star was joined by Warner Brothers CEO Barry Meyer and Vermont senator Patrick Leahy, who sits on the Smithsonian's board of regents. [LAT]
– Qatar Pays Big For Cezanne. Really Big: The Middle Eastern sovereignty of Qatar has been revealed as the purchaser of Paul Cezanne's "The Card Players," Vanity Fair reports. The price paid in the private sale — $250 million — makes it the single most expensive work of art of all time. Check ARTINFO later today for a full report on the momentous transaction. [ITA]
– Netherlands Returns Nazi-Looted Paintings: The Dutch government will return two paintings that were looted more than 70 years ago by Nazi mastermind Hermann Goering. Goering's art advisor seized Theobald Michau's 18th-century landscape and an anonymous 16th-century portrait after a Jewish antiques dealer sent them to Paris for safekeeping during the Nazi invasion. "During a war, everybody loots a little bit,” Goering once said in an interview. [Bloomberg]
– Art Treasures in Italian Shipwreck: Jewelry, cash, fine wines, and even a series of 300-year-old Japanese woodprints by the legendary Hokusai all sank with the Costa Concordia, and the sunken cruise ship could soon become a prime target for treasure hunters. "As long as there are bodies in there, it's considered off base to everybody because it's a grave," said veteran diver Robert Marx. "But when all the bodies are out, there will be a mad dash for the valuables." Treasure seekers, be warned: the objects still belong to the passengers and anyone attempting to loot the ship is subject to arrest. [AP]
– Occupy Wall Street Comes to Hyperallergic: The OWS Arts & Culture Working Group has begun a two-month residency at the Williamsburg HQ of the art blog Hyperallergic. The residency, titled "Spatial Occupation," "offers the group an opportunity to explore ideas in a physical space." (Hope it works out better than Occupy Artists Space!) [Hyperallergic]
– Johnny Cash's Daughter Plays the Rubin: She may not have much connection to Himalayan art or Tibetan Buddhism, but folk singer Rosanne Cash has become the Rubin Musuem's unofficial musician-in-residence. Friday marks her 12th appearance since the Chelsea institution opened in 2004. [NYT]
– Helsinki Gugg Has a Long Way to Go: Though the Guggenheim's proposal to build an outpost in Helsinki has been well received, the Social Democrats of Helsinki have raised concerns that the project is moving too fast. They may have a point: funding for construction is supposed to be approved this week, but the feasibility study for the project hasn't even been translated into Finnish yet. [Der Standard via Artforum]
– MoMA Acquires Works by Feminist Artists: The New York museum has acquired important selections of work from the '60s and '70s by feminist artists Martha Rosler and Valie Export, including Rosler's seminal Vietnam-era collage series "Bringing the War Home." [NYT]
– Gavin Turk's New Works Stitched by Prisoners: Inspired by Alighiero E Boetti, Turk's new series of works — to be unveiled at Ben Brown Fine Arts next week — has been hand-stitched by 35 inmates in 29 prisons across the UK. They spent months embroidering the name of the artist in coloured letters using a particular Afghani stitch. "I'm trying to question our contemporary values about authenticity," said Turk. [Independent]
– A Game-Changer for the Art World: L.A. Times critic Christopher Knight pens a profoundly personal appreciation to Mike Kelley, who died earlier this week at 57. "Standard advice circa 1980 to gifted, ambitious young L.A. artists — and every artist I knew also knew that Mike was unique — said, 'Move to New York,'" writes Knight. "He said no." [LAT]
– Bulgari to Support New Australian Art Award: The Italian jewelry brand Bulgari has teamed up with Sydney's Gallery of New South Wales to launch the Bulgari Art Award. The $80,000 prize will allow an annual acquisition for the gallery of up to $50,000, while $30,000 will be spent on an artistic residency in Italy. The first winner is to be announced in April. [AMA]
– Antwerp's Wide White Space Wins 2012 Art Cologne Prize: The €10,000 ($13,144) prize, awarded in recognition for "outstanding services in the promotion of modern art," will be presented to Anny de Decker on April 19. She ran the gallery with her husband Bernd Lohaus from 1966 to 1976. [e-flux]
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VIDEO OF THE DAY: See Destroy All Monsters, the late Mike Kelley's one-time band, perform: