Austria: The city council of Vienna has voted to return a painting by the 19th-century artist Hans Makart, which has been in the collection
of the Vienna Museum since the 1960s.
The painting has been handed over to the grandchildren of Herbert Gutmann, a German Jewish banker forced to sell his collection in 1934 and flee to Britain. Austria's existing spoliation laws cover only the years from 1938 to 1945, so the restitution sets a new precedent.
Iraq: One of Saddam Hussain's many palaces has opened to the public, attracting 1,000 visitors a day. Built near Hillah, south of Baghdad, in the 1980s, it stands on a man-made hill, and is surrounded by gardens. The regional government wants to restore the palace and convert it into a hotel and conference centre.
Italy: The National Museum of Abruzzo, which is housed in a 16th-century palazzo in the medieval town of L'Aquila, was badly damaged in the recent earthquake. The Italian government has pledged €30m for restoration work. Francesco Buranelli, the former director of Vatican Museums, said he hoped the Vatican and its conservators would "adopt" objects damaged in the region's many churches.
Netherlands: The severed head of an Ashanti king executed by the Dutch in 1830 will be returned to Ghana. Recently discovered in the collection of the Leiden University Medical Centre, the head belonged to King Badu Bonsu II, who rebelled against the Dutch and hung two colonialists' heads on his throne. No date has been agreed for the repatriation of the head.
US: The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is the latest US institution to announce budget cuts, redundancies and pay freezes. Others similarly affected by the recession include the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Detroit Institute of Art.
Museum endowments have typically shrunk by a third in value. The Boston museum's Norman Foster-designed wing is still on course to open in 2010, however.
US: The disgraced director of the Independence Seaport Museum has lost his appeal against a 15-year prison sentence for embezzlement. In 2007, John S Carter pleaded guilty to stealing $1.5m from the Philadelphia maritime museum, which he ran for 17 years.
The appeals panel was unimpressed by the fact that Carter forged the signatures of two museum trustees to gain control of a $1m insurance policy while he was trying to plea bargain a lighter sentence.
Compiled by Javier Pes. Seen in Boston Globe, AFP, Reuters, Associated Press, USA Today and Philadelphia Inquirer
of the Vienna Museum since the 1960s.
The painting has been handed over to the grandchildren of Herbert Gutmann, a German Jewish banker forced to sell his collection in 1934 and flee to Britain. Austria's existing spoliation laws cover only the years from 1938 to 1945, so the restitution sets a new precedent.
Iraq: One of Saddam Hussain's many palaces has opened to the public, attracting 1,000 visitors a day. Built near Hillah, south of Baghdad, in the 1980s, it stands on a man-made hill, and is surrounded by gardens. The regional government wants to restore the palace and convert it into a hotel and conference centre.
Italy: The National Museum of Abruzzo, which is housed in a 16th-century palazzo in the medieval town of L'Aquila, was badly damaged in the recent earthquake. The Italian government has pledged €30m for restoration work. Francesco Buranelli, the former director of Vatican Museums, said he hoped the Vatican and its conservators would "adopt" objects damaged in the region's many churches.
Netherlands: The severed head of an Ashanti king executed by the Dutch in 1830 will be returned to Ghana. Recently discovered in the collection of the Leiden University Medical Centre, the head belonged to King Badu Bonsu II, who rebelled against the Dutch and hung two colonialists' heads on his throne. No date has been agreed for the repatriation of the head.
US: The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is the latest US institution to announce budget cuts, redundancies and pay freezes. Others similarly affected by the recession include the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Detroit Institute of Art.
Museum endowments have typically shrunk by a third in value. The Boston museum's Norman Foster-designed wing is still on course to open in 2010, however.
US: The disgraced director of the Independence Seaport Museum has lost his appeal against a 15-year prison sentence for embezzlement. In 2007, John S Carter pleaded guilty to stealing $1.5m from the Philadelphia maritime museum, which he ran for 17 years.
The appeals panel was unimpressed by the fact that Carter forged the signatures of two museum trustees to gain control of a $1m insurance policy while he was trying to plea bargain a lighter sentence.
Compiled by Javier Pes. Seen in Boston Globe, AFP, Reuters, Associated Press, USA Today and Philadelphia Inquirer
