– Who Is Crystal Bridges For?: In the second installament of a must-read two-part series on Alice Walton’s Crystal Bridges museum, the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg turns his attention to the museum’s relationship — or lack thereof — with Walmart workers. “Indifference to WalMart, even a kind of disdain, permeates the museum,” he writes. The museum’s executive director Don Bacigalupi told Goldberg he has no plans to provide outreach programs for Walmart employees, and Goldberg said he couldn’t find a single employee at the nearby Springdale, Arkansas, WalMart who had visited the museum or was contemplating visiting it. [Bloomberg]
– Remembering England's Warhol: The National Gallery in London is mounting a memorial exhibition of the father of British pop art Richard Hamilton. The exhibition features 10 portraits of the artist by other artists, including David Hockney, Francis Bacon, and Lord Snowdon. The tribute was originally planned as a celebration of Hamilton's 90th birthday before his death in September. [Guardian]
– Banksy Shows off his Lawrence Weiner: Is the elusive Bansky becoming a text artist? The street art provocateur’s latest work, recently posted on his Web site, is a text piece executed in the Canary Wharf financial district in London. Like his previous Mr. Moneybags sculpture, this one wryly addresses the financial crisis: “Sorry!” it reads. “The lifestyle you ordered is currently out of stock.” [Artlyst]
– Hundreds of Disputed Francis Bacon Drawings Up for Inspection: The Courtauld Institute of Art in London and the Francis Bacon catalogue raisonne project are hosting a debate over 600 questionable drawings that Cristiano Lovatelli Ravarino — who claims to have been the artist's lover — says are by the great painter. The January 25 discussion will include Ravarino along with Bacon specialists from the Tate and other institutions. [TAN]
– Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Stolen: The British sculptor’s bronze “Two Forms (Divided Circle)” was swiped from Dulwich Park in London in the middle of the night. Experts expressed concern that it might be melted down and sold for scrap metal, a fate it would share with a Henry Moore sculpture stolen from Much Hadham in Hertfordshire in 2005. [Guardian]
– China Chow Doesn’t Dress for Men, but for Art: During her first season of “Work of Art,” the host told Bravo producers that she would not work with the stylist they had assigned to her, after the stylist suggested that they look for clothes at Nordstrom. She now aims to create looks that are inspired by the show’s challenges. “A friend told me I don’t dress for men,” she said. “I guess that’s true.” [NYT]
– UNESCO Opens a Turin Research Center: Heritage organization UNESCO has approved the creation of a research center for world cultural patrimony to be based in the baroque Venaria Reale palace in Turin, Italy. The center plans to offer an MA degree in World Heritage at Work, training international professionals to safeguard local heritage. It will be run in cooperation with Turin University and is expected to be open by Easter. [TAN]
– See Classic Artworks Recreated as Photos: Popular blog Boooooom is hosting a contest to see who can best recreate an iconic work of art in photo form. Colossal has a nice selection of picks from the results, including Van Gogh's sunflowers made from actual flowers, a spot-on remake of "Boy With a Basket of Fruit" by Caravaggio, and an update of Grant Wood's "American Gothic" for the present day. [Colossal]
– Forbes Names 30 Under 30 for Art and Design: Artists Adam Pendleton, JR, and Jacob Kassay, sustainable engineer Samuel Cochran, and child stars-turned-designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were among those who made Forbes magazine’s list of top artists and designers under 30. [Forbes]
– Stephen Colbert Sells Ballet: A pair of ballet shoes worn by ballet dancer David Hallberg in a December 7 show and signed by comedic news anchor Stephen Colbert are up for auction on eBay to support the David Hallberg Scholarship Fund, which helps aspiring young male dancers training to become professionals. The current high bid is $1,025. [eBay]
– "Starry Night" is 2011's Most Popular Oil Painting: Overstockart.com released its rankings for the 10 most popular paintings of the year as measured by sales of print copies. Van Gogh took the top three spots with "Starry Night" coming out number one, while Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" placed fourth. Monet, Picasso, and Kandinsky all made appearances on the list as well. [SFGate]
– Counting Sheep: A group of 10 bronze sheep created by French artist and designer Francois-Xavier Lalanne in 1979 were sold by a Japanese museum at Christie’s this weekend for an astonishing $7.5 million. [ITA]