Cambodian deputy Prime Minister Sok An shakes hands with British Khmer art collector Douglas Latchford during a function at the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh on June 12, 2009. Latchford, a well known collector of Khmer art repatriated a number of Khmer antiquities during the event. Photo credit should read Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP via Getty Images.
Cambodian deputy Prime Minister Sok An shakes hands with British Khmer art collector Douglas Latchford during a function at the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh on June 12, 2009. Photo by Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP via Getty Images.

BEST?

What Art K-Pop Star T.O.P Collects – The Korean idol Choi Seung-hyun dishes on the artists he’s watching and why collecting is a passion project.

Pop Goes the Clay – A show at Jeffrey Deitch explores the weird and Pop-y new direction a new generation of ceramicists are heading.

Biden Names Humanities Leaders – The U.S. President named Maria Rosario Jackson and Shelly C. Lowe to head up the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts.

A Unicorn in the Art Market – Masterworks, the startup that lets you buy shares of major artworks, is now valued at more than $1 billion.

Botticelli Heads to Auction – Sotheby’s is offering a $40 million painting that is poised to wake up the slumbering Old Masters market.

Inside Munch’s OG ‘Madonna’ – Researchers discovered a preparatory drawing underneath Munch’s famous erotic Madonna that depicts her as a much more chaste figure.

Warhol’s Portrait of Basquiat Hits the Block – A portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat that Andy Warhol urinated on to achieve an oxidized background is set to fetch $20 million at auction.

Baltimore Museum Workers Organize – The workers at the Baltimore Museum of Art are the latest to begin unionization efforts to achieve workplace parity.

Finders Keepers – A retiree unearthed a jellybean-sized diamond while visiting the Arkansas National Park—and she gets to keep it.

A New Deal for a New Age – Lawmaker, inspired by the New Deal’s WPA, want to fund public cultural projects with a $300 million bill for unemployed artists.

Mr Doodle Plays Pygmalion – For his Curiosities column, Ben Davis looks at the millennial art super-star Mr Doodle, who has recently found his Mrs Doodle.

 

WORST?

UNESCO Asks U.K. to Reconsider Restitution – The U.K. has rejected UNESCO’s urging to reassess its position on returning the Parthenon marbles.

Inside Pandora’s Box – The massive Pandora Papers leak reveals how art dealer Douglas Latchford sold looted Cambodian antiquities through offshore accounts.

Dubai Censors ‘David’ – An art fair in Dubai covered up the private parts of MIchelangelo’s famous sculpture, fearing it would upset visitors.

Nifty Gateway Faces Lawsuit – A collector is suing the NFT platform over some very strange terms of sale that left him with a big balance.

Yale’s Map Is a Fraud – It turns out that Yale’s prized 15th-century Vinlland map is actually a modern day fake.