Museum cats get cash
Bequest given to Hermitage Museum's feline friends. Plus: new treasures unearthed in back gardens
maxwell museums friday briefing - 11 December 2020
Hello! And welcome to the 18 new subscribers who’ve signed up since Tuesday!
I bring you quite the bumper round-up of news from the world of museums and art today. Last week was a slow news week™ but this time around we have a bit of everything, from Tudor treasure to a new Banksy. Not to mention a cash windfall for Russian museum cats.
Unfortunately it looks like I already know what story will be leading my friday briefing next week, as reports from yesterday seem to confirm that London is heading into Tier 3 restrictions which means all the capital’s museums will close. So to my London readers, perhaps get your museum fix while you can.
For now, happy reading!
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V&A cuts opening. Another major UK museum slashes the days it opens for at least a year due to the financial shock of the pandemic. The Art Newspaper
Leave it to the cats home. A French man has bequeathed money in his will to…… a bunch of 50 cats that live in the basement of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. As you do. CNN
Back-garden bonanza. A family weeding their garden have accidentally unearthed a hoard of over 60 Tudor coins. They were a highlight of the many discoveries reported to the British Museum due amateur archaeologists turning to their backyards during lockdown. MailOnline
Tudor coins found in a garden in the New Forest, Hampshire © The Trustees of the British Museum
Cash for access. Two London museums have started charging for online exhibition tours. Is this the future, and will art-lovers open their wallets? It’s a yes and a yes from me. New York Times
Statue Arrests. Four people have been charged over the toppling of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol. Sky News
Branching out. One of the world’s first mechanical trees, which sucks CO2 out of the air, is to go on display at London’s Science Museum as part of a new exhibition on carbon capture. Evening Standard
“Urgency that subject is addressed.” The Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands is to open its first major exhibition telling the stories of slaves and the Dutch people who enslaved them. The Guardian
New name? French politicians want the Musée d’Orsay renamed in honour of French president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing who died last week. The Art Newspaper
Under the sea. This looks INCREDIBLE. A jelly fish-like UNDERWATER (!) roundabout is to link two Faroe Islands. AND it features sculpture and light installations by a Faroese artist. UNILAD
"Aachoo!!" Banksy has confirmed new street art in Bristol of a woman sneezing her false teeth out is his own work. Sky News
1 shade of grey…and yellow. The colour of the year 2021 has been revealed. But in a twist, Pantone have picked joint winners to highlight the need to “come together” in the year ahead. CNN
and a bonus read
When the Natural History Museum announced the boss of Amazon’s UK arm would be their new director, there were *ahem* opinions. Well, he’s now started in the role so all eyes are on how he’ll shake up the London institution. In his first major interview this week - for the Financial Times - nothing particularly groundbreaking was offered up, but there was a glimpse of what might be in store. One to watch.
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