Four years later, Edvard Munch’s masterpiece is back on display to be admired. An exhibition welcomes the restored picture after the vicissitudes that it has been through.

Four years have passed since Munch’s most famous painting was stolen from the Munchmuseet, the museum dedicated to the artist in Oslo. On 22^nd August, two gunmen entered the museum rooms and in broad daylight, under the visitors’ eyes, stole the “Scream”, as well as another painting by Munch, the “Madonna”. The robbery left all the museum operators astonished and thorough investigations began immediately. In 2006, the canvases were found by Norwegian police.

For some while now the importance of private institutions intervening in the art sector has been debated. For instance, Milan, considered the capital city of contemporaneity in Italy, is still waiting for a museum able to be in line with current artistic trends. However, in the meanwhile, fortunately there are the private institutions. Some of the most important ones are the Amaldo Pomodoro Foundation, the Antonio Mazzotta Foundation and the Nicola Trussardi Foundation. Mainly firms active in the fashion sector, one of the sectors that for its nature comes closer to art, through their foundations have become important reference points for art.

Donations as we all know, are more than desirable and difficult to obtain by public museums, above all if that which is desired are objets d’art, and what’s more, contemporary objets d’art. Museums are making more efforts to follow artistic trends, yet they manage with difficulty to keep in step with the times. On the other hand, a host of dangerous collectors move around the art circuit acquiring works by contemporary artists and by young emerging artists. They do it for passion, and for the pleasure of valuing their intuition.

Article translated by Amritee Mahabir

Art and wealth have gone hand in hand since time began. In the last decade, we have observed an upset in the distribution of wealth and in the birth of a very high number of so called “new riches”; this doesn’t mean to say that there were no consequences within the artistic sphere.

Article translated by Amritee Mahabir

Charles Saatchi’s triumph, and his quickly accomplished fame for the most part based on English contemporary art exhibits, reassumes with great simplicity the revolution that took place in the artistic world in Great Britain, employing great avant-garde leaders similar to authentic showbiz stars and guaranteeing a mass following of art that he didn’t have in previous years.

Article translated by Amritee Mahabir

A CONTEMPORARY AUCTION TO FINANCE THE RESTORATION OF TWO MASKS AT THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM

The Egyptian Museum in Turin has undertaken a splendid fund raising initiative. The restoration of two very important antique works will be financed by contemporary art. Fifty artists in fact have decided to donate their works for an auction whose funds will go towards the restoration.

Article translated by Amritee Mahabir

For years museums have competed to attract visitors not only among themselves, but in all different ways to make use of their free time. Shopping centres, cinemas and recreation grounds are today some of the worst opponents of exhibitions and collections; it is enough to think that in third place of all the most visited attractions in Italy after the Coliseum and the Vatican Museums, is the amusement park Gardaland. Competition is therefore ruthless and even the museums have had to gather the armies of communication in order to pull audiences.

Article translated by Amritee Mahabir

The Whitney Museum announced a few days ago that it had received a truly generous donation, the biggest ever to be received by the New York Museum. We are talking about 131 million dollars, donated by the cosmetic industry typhoon Leonard A. Lauder through the The American Contemporary Art Foundation that he is president of.

Article translated by Amritee Mahabir