Prez Sarkozy's Father Exhibits Carla Bruni Paintings

Top ART News Headlines for Monday, February 8, 2010

The centerpiece of Pal Sarkozy's exhibition will be a large canvas of his daughter-in-law Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. [Credit: Mail Online]

Pal Sarkozy Exhibits Paintings of His Daughter-in-Law | BUDAPEST — Eighty-two-year-old Pal Sarkozy has a famous son and daughter-in-law to thank for "enormously" boosting his painting career. The Hungarian aristocrat is the father of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Pal's paintings are currently on view in Budapest before being shown at Espace Pierre Cardin in April. A large canvas of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was a wedding present to the pair but will be the centerpiece of the show. Pal says Carla is an "adorable girl" who helped bring him closer to his son after years of estrangement. "There is a rose on the piano as a symbol of the openness of Nicolas to the political Left, but also an emblem of love," he said. [Source: Telegraph]

NoMA Victorious in Super Bowl Art Bet | NEW ORLEANS — In case you've been locked away in a closet for the past 24 hours - the New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday evening. Looks like Joseph Turner's The Fifth Plague of Egypt (1800) will be traveling to the New Orleans Museum of Art for a 3-month visit. [Background on the Super Bowl art bet here]

Kate Moss Fashions Herself a Painter | LONDON — Supermodel Kate Moss was recently spotted stocking up on art supplies after signing up for a private art course at her home in London. A source close to the waifish celebrity said: "Kate has always been a big collector of art and has several valuable works in her home. But she has been getting more into painting herself. She has a very hectic life and that is one of the few things that relaxes her." [Source: The Sun]

Missouri Museum Gifted 400 Artworks for 75 Years | KANSAS CITY — Dozens of patrons have donated 400 artworks to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in celebration of its 75th anniversary this year. Among the gifted pieces is an impressive Impressionist collection from Marion and Henry Bloch (founder of H&R Block Inc.), including works by Monet, Van Gogh, Edouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Pierre Bonnard and Camille Pissarro. The museum will feature 130 of the 400 artworks in a special exhibition February 13-April 4. [Source: ABC News]

Iran Formally Cuts Ties with British Museum | TEHRAN — "Since the Cyrus Cylinder has not been transferred to Iran, we will lodge a complaint against the British Museum to UNESCO and cut ties," head of Iran's cultural heritage and tourism organization, Hamid Baghai, confirmed Sunday. Baghai accused the museum of stalling in returning the Persian treasure to Iran, who formally severed relations after the final deadline of Sunday was not met. The British Museum expressed "great surprise" at the decision, saying it planned to return the artifact in late July. "The British Museum has acted throughout in good faith, and values highly its hitherto good relations with Iran. It is to be hoped that this matter can be resolved as soon as possible," said a museum official. [Source: AFP]

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Prez Sarkozy's Father Exhibits Carla Bruni Paintings

The Standoff is Over: France Returns Stolen Relics to Egypt

PARIS — If  Zawi Hawass, the current head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, made a "to do" list, it would read something like this:

• Naos artifact from the Met - check.  
• Steele relics from the Louvre - check. 
• Rosetta stone from the British Museum and bust of Queen Nefertiti from the Neues museum - in process.

Since taking office in 2002, Hawass has been on an international campaign to recover Egyptian artifacts for his country. On Monday, Hawass achieved another victory when France's President Nicolas Sarkozy presented his visiting Egyptian counterpart, Hosni Mubarak, with the last of five in a series of what Egypt characterized as "stolen" ancient relics. "Thank you very much," Mubarak said to Sarkozy as the exchange was made.

The items at issue are 3,000-years-old and were taken from a wall painting of an ancient Egyptian tomb in the 1980s. The SCA argued that the pieces were stolen from Egypt, while French officials maintained that the Louvre took them from the country in good faith. Initially, Egypt's demands for the artifacts went ignored. Egypt then cut ties with the Louvre in October, causing the standoff that has now ended peacefully.

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Read More - France Returns Stolen Louvre Relics to Egypt | Agence France Presse

[Photo: French President Nicolas Sarkozy (left) meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (right) on Monday. Courtesy: AFP]

The Standoff is Over: France Returns Stolen Relics to Egypt