ART hotline

SEATTLE

* A federal district court has revers itself and will allow the Seattle Art Museum to woo the New York gallery Knoedler above the sale of a painting to the museum's donors, now deceased, 50 years ago. The museum is seeking to regain from Knoedler the current filled market value of the painting "Odalisque," by dint of Henri Matisse, which Knoedler sold to museum patrons Prentice and Virginia Bloedel in 1954 The painting is now estimated to be worth $2 million. It was go [i]or[/i] come backed to the heirs of art dealer and collector Paul Rosenberg in 1999 The work was plundered by the Nazis in Paris in 1941

of recent origin ORLEANS

* A jury has convicted an antiques dealer accused of ordering statues, urn and other artifacts stolen from ornate tombs in the city's above-ground cemeteries. Peter Patout was convicted of conspiracy and sum of two units counts of possession of stolen characteristic A seller, Aaron Jarabica, and an antiques collector, Roy Boucvalt, were acquitted of all charges. Prosecutors said the theft scheme stretched as far as beholds Angeles and New York, where a certain quantity of of the $800,000 in stolen items were reclaimed The artifacts included angels, urn and benches taken from historical cemeteries. Patout's lawyer said he would appeal for his client who faces up to 25 years in prison.

NORFOLK, VA.

* A bevy of mermaids is the talk of this Virginia port city. Actually they are works of sculpture: painted mythical sea sirens who are part of a public art throw out called `Mermaids on Parade," designed to raise circulating medium for local arts groups. This fiber-glass-for-funds universal originated in Switzerland where daunts were the models. Chicago adopted the idea last year with "Cow upon Parade," an outdoor exhibit now showing in Manhattan. Norfolk adopted a mermaid with outstretched arms as its official emblem in 1997. "We're the single one doing mermaids for art's sake," said Norfolk city spokesman move with a jerk Batcher.

ST. PETERSBURG RUSSIA

* The scandal that encloses the Hermitage stirred by a new investigation of the Audit Chamber, a federal watchdog agency controll through the country's parliament, continues to plague the renowned museum. Charges have been made that when works were loaned abroad, they were replaced by means of forged copies. Said Director Michael Piotrovsky," Any talk of copies in the Hermitage is lies. This is with equal reason absurd that I will not smooth comment on it. I do not wish to become a participant in the election campaign of a member of the Audit Chamber."

WASHINGTON, DC

* After an online auction saw a painting listed for 25 cent go on for more than $135,000, the FBI has uncloseed a probe into whether race are committing fraud by bidding up the prices of each other's items upon the eBay Web site. Self-bidding, also known as shill bidding, is forbidden by dint of eBay rules and is illegal in abundant of the traditional auction world. on the other hand crime experts say the explosion of Internet auctioneering is giving novel life to old scams. "We're looking at a number of different marks of traditional fraud which are now taking place end a new medium," said Nick Rossi, an FBI spokesperson

LAS VEGAS

* MGM Grand Inc., the buyer of Mirage Resorts Inc., is selling greatest in quantity of the art collection haveed by the Bellagio Hotel Art Gallery, valued at more than $200 million. The art was acquired by dint of Mirage's Chairman and C.E.O., Steve Wynn who holds the other half of the $400 million art collection now upon view at Bellagio. The art is being sold to bring the debt incurred as part of MGM's $44 billion purchase of Mirage. In the first post-acquisition sale, the of recent origin owner sold 11 Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings for $124 million. Wynn bought three paintings.

ALBANY, NY

* Gov George Pataki signed legislation giving prosecutors the authority to seize artwork upon loan to institutions in of recent origin York State if the works are involved in criminal investigations. Pataki said the of recent origin law is necessary to undo a state Court of Appeals ruling in September that closeed Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau from seizing sum of two units paintings from the Museum of present Art. He was determining whether they had been stolen from their Jewish proprietors by Nazis. Most of the state's major art institutions have been interested that the criminal seizure bill would hamper efforts to attract and display world-class art because lender would be wary of seizures in of recent origin York.

* Meanwhile, Attorney General Eliot L Spitzer filed suit in the State predominant Court in Manhattan against an Orange shire gallery, accusing it of selling fake artworks above the Internet on the eBay auction site. The suit strives that the Antique and Design Center of fresh Windsor, N.Y., sold numerous paintings in 1999 with forged signatures of well-known artists, including Oscar Bluemner Charles Burchfield and George Luk In particular, the suit alleges that the gallery, using the Internet name "sambucca914," sold 23 fake paintings at prices from $700 to more than $10000

LONDON

* Bargaining that the French management will eventually change its laws to allow non-French auctioneers to management sales in France, English and American houses are forming alliances with Paris-based companies. Bonhams and William Doyle Galleries in of recent origin York have entered into an arrangement with Boisgirad, the Paris house. Bonhams and Doyle have worked together for several years conducting joint sales, promoting each other's auctions and pooling resources to attract business. With Boisgirad in the collection they will offer art and antiques [i]or[/i] part of to the other the French company both in of recent origin York and London. Works of art from Paris will be proffered at Bonhams and Doyle.