There was no shortage of good news in 2022—we know because we covered it. So please, do your psyche a favor and embrace these feel-good stories, from the joyful adoption of Van Gogh the one-eared painting dog to the repatriation of cultural heritage to a literal feel-good exhibition promoting that tingling sensation known as ASMR. Let these 10 upbeat stories wash over you like a happy ending. Out with doom and gloom and in with mirth and merriment! It’s our gift to you.
Van Gogh, the One-Eared Dog With a Penchant for Painting Internet-Viral Canvases, Has Finally Been Adopted
By Sarah Cascone, December 13, 2022
Van Gogh the rescue dog with his version of The Starry Night. Photo: courtesy of Happily Furever After Rescue.
“If you’re in need of some balm for the soul as this crazy year draws to a close, look no further than Van Gogh, the one-eared rescue dog who was saved from the cruel world of dogfighting through the power of art. The North Carolina boxer/pit bull mix, age seven, has become an internet sensation thanks to his colorful abstract paintings. But more importantly, Van Gogh’s canvases also helped the canine creative find his forever home.”
In a Landmark Move, the Smithsonian Will Return Benin Bronzes in Its Collection to Nigeria
By Taylor Dafoe, March 8, 2022
A plaque made by an Edo artist between the mid-16th to 17th centuries. Photo: Franko Khoury. Courtesy of the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.
“Making good on a recent pledge, the Smithsonian Institution will repatriate Benin Bronzes in its collection to their homeland of Nigeria. The news, first reported by the Washington Post, comes as the Smithsonian works to develop a new restitution policy and signals a major ideological shift that could have major implications for U.S. museums.”
A $100 Million Willem de Kooning Painting Finally Returns to the Arizona Museum It Was Stolen From 37 Years Ago
By Jo Lawson-Tancred, September 28, 2022
University of Arizona staff at the inspection and authentication of the recovered Willem de Kooning painting Woman-Ochre (1954–55), © The Willem de Kooning Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo by Bob Demers/UANews, courtesy of the University of Arizona Museum of Art.
“A Willem de Kooning painting that was stolen from the University of Arizona Museum of Art in 1985 has finally returned home. A New Mexico gallery called Manzanita Ridge Furniture and Antiques found Woman-Ochre (1954–55) in 2017 among the possessions of Jerry and Rita Alter, whose estate it had bought for $2,000 after they both died.”
Maya Angelou Is the First Black Woman to Appear on the U.S. Quarter. We Asked Its Designer to Walk Us Through Its Symbolism
By Katie White, January 17, 2022
The new Maya Angelou quarter. Courtesy of the U.S. Mint.
“The poet, writer, and activist Maya Angelou has become the first Black woman to appear on a U.S. quarter. The U.S. Mint released a coin featuring her likeness into circulation earlier this week; the coin was created as part of the American Women Quarters Program, through which a series of special-edition coins honoring American women will be minted over the next four years.”
Mega-Collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos Gifts Over 350 Artworks to Four Museums in Three Countries
By Vivienne Chow, April 13, 2022
Dimitris Daskalopoulos. Photo: Natalia Tsoukalas.
“Dimitris Daskalopoulos marks the accomplishment of what was once seen to be impossible: He concludes an important chapter of his art journey by donating more than 350 works from his collection to four museums in three countries on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The City of Basel Is Funding Its Museums to Scour Their Collections for Looted Objects
By Taylor Dafoe, September 19, 2022
A view of the anthropological collection of the Natural History Museum Basel. © Gregor Braendli.
“As part of a new city-sponsored initiative, museums in Basel, Switzerland, are investigating their collections for objects that may have been unethically sourced. Some of those items have already been tagged for deaccessioning. The project was announced last week by the Basel City cantonal government, which has set aside CHF250,000 ($250,000) from next year’s budget for the effort.”
Art Is Good for One’s Mental Health, Says a U.K. Charity That Brings Patients and Artists Together for Collaborative Projects in Hospitals
By Emily Steer, November 29, 2022
Julian Opie, corridor of Jasmine Lodge in Exeter. Image courtesy of Hospital Rooms; photo: Damian Griffiths.
“The British charity Hospital Rooms has a clear mission to improve the standard of living for mental health patients through art. In the past six years, curator Niamh White and artist Tim A. Shaw have accessed the tightly controlled wards of the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) buildings, collaborating with patients, clinicians, and artists at the top of their game, from Nick Knight and Julian Opie to Anish Kapoor and Tschabalala Self.”
Germany Will Set Aside Nearly $1 Billion for Cultural Institutions as Part of Its New Economic Package to Combat the Energy Crisis
By Taylor Dafoe, November 3, 2022
German Culture Minister Claudia Roth. Photo: Angelika Warmuth/picture alliance via Getty Images.
“Germany’s newly passed Economic Stabilization Fund will include €1 billion ($977 million) for cultural institutions, the country’s Minister of State for Culture, Claudia Roth, said. The announcement came after Roth met with the federal chancellor and the prime ministers of the federal states on Wednesday, November 2. In a statement, she called the date a ‘good day for culture in Germany.’”
‘Bonsai Is One of the Few Art Forms That Is Really About Time’: Longwood Gardens Curator Kevin Bielicki on How a Gift of 150 Masterpiece Trees Will Transform the Botanical Collection
By Sarah Cascone, October 17, 2022
Bonsai curator Kevin Bielicki installing a Kinsai Satsuki azalea hybrid at Longwood Gardens. Photo: Carol DeGuiseppi, courtesy of Longwood Gardens.
“Guests are always amazed by bonsai trees, and they sometimes have trouble wrapping their heads around how these are grown—or even the fact that they’re real! To see a small pomegranate that’s a foot tall with a full-sized fruit on it, it just captures their imagination in a lot of different ways.”
Overlooked Female Masters Are Getting Pride of Place at London’s Masterpiece Fair. Here Are a Few of Their Stories
By Jo Lawson-Tancred, June 30, 2022
Marie-Victoire Jaquotot, Anne of Cleves (1825). Courtesy of E & H Manners Ltd.
“Many of the most famous female Old Masters came from artist families, as is the case for Artemisia Gentileschi, Angelica Kauffman, and Mary Moser. Over the course of the 19th century, women had better opportunities to train as artists, while the growing appetite for public exhibitions opened an avenue to exposure that allowed their work to be hung side-by-side with examples by their male contemporaries. They still tended to work less after getting married.”
C-C-Cool New Shhhhhhhhow? London’s Design Museum Hosts the World’s First Exhibition Dedicated to ASMR
By Dorian Batycka, May 20, 2022
Installation view of “Weird Sensation Feels Good: The World of ASMR.” Photo: Ed Reeve for the Design Museum, London.
“A sedative tingling feeling that slowly forms on the scalp, prickling as it descends its way over the entire body before finally becoming an immersive physical experience that collapses the acoustic and visual environments into an all-encompassing sensorial climax. No, this isn’t an orgasm, it’s a new exhibition looking at those who experience ASMR, or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.”