A rare royal tapestry housed at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris has been spared the water damage officials feared, after firefighters doused the great mediaeval edifice to extinguish last April’s devastating blaze. The huge tapestry, finished under the reign of king Louis Philippe in 1838, was evacuated from the gothic monument just days after the fire. It had been stored in two parts in trunks — which protected it from the molten lead falling from the roof, which was destroyed along with the steeple in the April 15 disaster. But the tapestry had soaked up huge amounts of water, which swelled its weight to three tonnes from just one tonne when it was handed over to France’s Mobilier National, which oversees the country’s collection of valuable furniture and artworks. “Rolled up, it would have been a bacterial soup” that could have quickly started rotting, said Herve Lemoine, head of the Mobilier National.

From 14 September 2019 until 15 March 2020, tens of thousands of precious gems will sparkle at the Hermitage Amsterdam. From agate to zirconium, almost every type of precious stone will be on display. They were turned into the most exquisite jewels and accessories, worn by Russian high society. Together with an abundance of richly decorated ball gowns, imperial costumes and majestic portraits, the jewels tell the personal stories and give a fascinating impression of over two centuries of fashion and jewellery. From Rococo, Empire and Romantic, to Art Nouveau. The fabled collection of jewels forms one of the great treasuries of the State Hermitage in St Petersburg. The impressive collection has grown into an absolute treasure trove, with thousands of exquisite jewels. From this collection, over 300 breathtaking pieces are coming to the Netherlands this autumn for Jewels!. Visitors will meet flamboyant, powerful tsarinas such as Eliz

The Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State is honored to be the recipient of nearly 200 works of art as part of the estate of Barbara R. Palmer, longtime benefactor, beloved friend, and champion of the museum, who passed away in January 2019. The bequest of her world-class collection will elevate the already significant national reputation of Penn State’s art museum. “Both Penn State and central Pennsylvania have been immeasurably enriched through Barbara and Jim Palmer’s commitment to the arts and the community, and their legacy will live on through all who experience the Palmers’ collection on our campus,” said Penn State President Eric J. Barron. “The University is deeply honored that Barbara chose to entrust these works to our institution, and we look forward to preserving and sharing this generous gift.” Widely considered one of the finest private collections of American art in the count

Pérez Art Museum Miami is presenting What Carried Us Over: Gifts from Gordon W. Bailey, an exhibition organized by PAMM’s curatorial staff in concert with Gordon W. Bailey, a Los Angeles-based collector, scholar, and advocate. The exhibition will be on view from September 12, 2019 through April 25, 2020. The title of the exhibition emphasizes the artists’ impassioned commitment to their diverse practices and confirms the inclusive theme of the show which features artworks selected from 60 gifted by Bailey to PAMM since 2016. A variety of media is displayed including drawing, painting and sculpture. A number of well-known artists from the American South are represented: Sam Doyle, Purvis Young, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Thornton Dial Sr., Clementine Hunter, Herbert Singleton, Roy Ferdinand, Leroy Almon, Lonnie Holley, O. L. Samuels, Mario Mesa, Minnie Evans, Sulton Rogers, Welmon Sharlhorne, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Mose Tolliver, and

Robert Frank, a trailblazing documentary photographer whose raw, piercing aesthetic placed him among the 20th century’s greats, has died, according to his gallery. He was 94 years old. The Swiss-born photographer rose to fame with the publication of his landmark book “The Americans,” an unflinching look at US society that proved hugely influential. A spokesperson from the Manhattan gallery Pace/MacGill told AFP that Frank died overnight of natural causes in Inverness, Nova Scotia. His seminal book — published in France in 1958 and in America one year later — emerged out of a series of road trips across the United States with his family in the mid-1950s, a journey akin to those made by his friend and writer Jack Kerouac and others from the “Beat Generation.” Eschewing classic photographic techniques,