Our most-talked-about stories in Art, Design & Fashion, and Performing Arts, June 18-22, 2012:
ART
— You are not going to believe the lavish, over-the-top art amenities being offered to students enrolling in Avenues, the new Chelsea based for-profit private school.
— Art+Auction launched its list of the 50 most collectible contemporary artists.
— London's Impressionist and Modern art auctions fared unevenly, with Sotheby's struggling despite a record-setting Miró, while Christie's did much better thanks to works by Degas, Picasso, Magritte, and a new Schwitters record.
— A Picasso at Houston's de Menil Collection was vandalized by a mysterious stencil artist.
— Caravaggio's "The Raising of Lazarus" was unveiled at the Palazzo Braschi in Rome after a thorough, five-month restoration process.
DESIGN & FASHION
— Employees at U.K. McDonald's restaurants received new "Man Men"-style uniforms for the Olympic Games.
— On the occasion of Full Figured Fashion Week, Ann Binlot explored the little-known $17-billion-per-year full figure fashion industry.
— Christie's prepared to auction 100 pieces from Daphne Guinness's wardrobe to help fund the Isabella Blow Foundation.
— Nate Freeman was in Los Angeles, where auteur David Lynch unveiled his new custom-designed Dom Perignon bottles and celebrated its launch with an elaborate party at the legendary Chateau Marmont.
— Ann Binlot pitted the fashion choices of the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder players against one another shortly before the former team won the 2012 NBA championship.
PERFORMING ARTS
— J. Hoberman reminisced about his longtime colleague after the esteemed film critic Andrew Sarris passed away on Wednesday.
— A new trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" revealed more details of the director's highly anticipated film about Scientology.
— Patrick Pacheco speculated that "Grace," a play premiering in the fall and set to star Paul Rudd, may reverse Christian-themed productions' bad fortunes on Broadway.
— Tim Roth was cast as the lead in David Cronenberg's new series about self-taught 18th-century surgeon John Tattersall, "Knifeman."
— Dutch director Paul Verhoeven landed a producer and a screenwriter for his long-germinating film about Jesus Christ.