Cheat Sheet: Imelda Marcos, Romero Britto, and Rules for Art World Newbies Decoded

Catch up on this week's most-clicked stories.

Imelda Marcos inside her Manila apartment. Photo: Romero Gacad/Getty

IMELDA MARCOS AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING GOYA
An investigation into a Goya painting that mysteriously disappeared from the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art in the late 1970s has turned up a fascinating fact: after a period at the museum, it was sold to Imelda Marcos, and later seized (along with a whole bunch of shoes) by the Philippine government in 2014. Want to know how a Los Angeles-based art blogger tracked this info down? Wonder where the painting is now? Check out: Missing Goya Found Amongst Seized Art Trove of Shoe Queen Imelda Marcos.

A GUIDE TO INTERPRETING THE RULES OF THE ART WORLD
We’ve compiled a list of so-called art world rules along with exactly how and when to break them. If you’re a millennial with arty aspirations, or just a person who has, on at least one occasion, pondered the relative merits of namedropping, party crashing, or joining a young collectors committee, you need to read this: 11 Art World Rules Decoded for 20-Something Newbies.

ROMERO BRITTO CLAIMS APPLE IS STEALING HIS SIGNATURE STYLE
Pop artist Romero Britto has filed suit against both Apple and and a small graphic design firm for copyright infringement and other related counts based on an image used in the tech giant’s “Start Something New” campaign that looks suspiciously similar to Britto’s signature style. “This comes directly as a copy of what Britto does,” said Britto’s lawyer, Robery Zarco. “It’s either an intentional or grossly negligent act on the part of Apple.” Does he have a case? See: Pop Artist Romero Britto Sues Apple for Copyright Infringement.

FORMER V&A DESIGN CHIEF MOIRA GEMMILL KILLED IN FREAK BIKE ACCIDENT
The art world is currently mourning the loss of Moira Gemmill, the former head of design at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Gemmill was killed after a collision with a truck while she was cycling to work. She had just begun a new position at the Royal Trust Collection, and was rumored to have been handpicked for the job by the Queen herself. For more on Gemmill’s life, see: Tributes Pour in Honoring Former V&A Design Chief Moira Gemmill, Killed in Bike Accident.

NEW STUDY REVEALS THE COLOR BLUE DOMINATES ART
A recent study based on over 130,000 images of fine art paintings from two centuries shows that the dominant color in most artworks is blue. However, a similar study of images shared online shows that red, purple, and pink images dominate in the social media sphere. For more on the study, including why it might be flawed, read: New Study Shows Blue Is Art World’s Most Popular Color.

 NEWS TO KNOW: 
Man Fixing Toilet in Italy Unearths Historical Relics and Opens Museum

On Leonardo da Vinci’s Birthday MFA Boston Shows the Most Beautiful Drawing in the World.

Roy Lichtenstein Work Nabbed in $400,000 Art Heist at Simpsons Co-Creator’s Foundation

Why Is an Anonymous Brooklyn Street Artist Producing Anti-Hillary Clinton Posters?

Sotheby’s and Christie’s Add Freud, Rothko, and Van Gogh to Blockbuster Spring Line-Up


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