BEST?

Visitors Flock to the Met – The institution has set a new attendance record by luring a whopping 7.35 million visitors to the institution in the last fiscal year—thanks in large part to the blockbuster “Michelangelo” show, and perhaps in some small part to the buzz surrounding the museum’s cameo in Oceans 8.

Tate St Ives Takes Top Prize – The newly renovated satellite of London’s great twin museums, Tate St Ives has been awarded the prestigious distinction as the Art Fund Museum of the Year, which neither sibling-institution Tate Britain nor Tate Modern have won.

Better Late Than Never – The 97-year-old artist Luchita Hurtado spoke to artnet News about her decades-long work as an artist, and being recognized (finally) and celebrated in the Hammer Biennial this year.

Posh Adds Pizzazz to the Old Masters – Victoria Beckham’s recent gig partnering with Sotheby’s went surprisingly well, as a Rubens portrait pushed by Posh far exceeded its presale estimate at the London sale of Old Master paintings.

An Ear for Music and An Eye for Art – The record producer Seymour Stein is selling works from his collection of Symbolist and Pre-Raphaelite artworks next month at Sotheby’s. Stein made a name for himself by discovering other kinds of artists, including Madonna, the Ramones, and the Talking Heads.

Posed Animals Are a Thing of the Past – PETA has successfully convinced five major photo agencies to stop using photographs of animals being forced into “unnatural” poses.

WORST?

Are Artists Born to be Poor? – A new study from Creativity Research Journal reveals that the physiology of many artists’ brains aren’t excited by money, perhaps contributing to the idea that artists are motivated more by their creative impulses than financial success.

Sotheby’s Artist-Estate Whisperer Moves On – After just over one year, Christy MacLear has left her post at Sotheby’s Art Agency Partners advisory arm, where she managed artist estates. MacLear had run the Rauschenberg Foundation prior to joining the auction house.

A Crackdown on Crime – A British art dealer and a slew of Italians have been corralled as part of a four-year-long investigation into Sicilian artifact-smuggling; many of the looted pieces came from Sicily’s so-called Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO heritage site.

Stamp of Disapproval – The USPS owes artist Robert Davidson a whopping $3.5 million after the Postal Service accidentally printed Davidson’s (flirtier) rendering of the Statue of Liberty on billions of stamps.

Lucian Freud’s Drinking Buddy Redid His Painting  – A long-lost landscape by Lucien Freud turned up… hidden under a painting by his art-school friend, who used the original painting as canvas when supplies ran low. Now the work is being sold at auction, and may have a place in Freud’s upcoming catalogue raisonné.