Saturday, December 22, 2007
Art Week
It was a busy week at Spiegel Online. On Tuesday, I wrote about an exhibit of Italian artwork which was acquired by American museums under questionable circumstances. After a long fight, Italian officials reclaimed the works -- most of them ancient Greek and Roman sculpture and pottery -- and put them on display in Rome.
On Friday, I covered the other side of the coin. Russian officials threatened to pull the plug on an exhibit of French and Russian Impressionist art that was scheduled to open at London"s Royal Academy in late January. The reason? Much of it was seized from its rightful owners in 1917. Fearing claims from angry heirs, Russian officials wanted stronger guarantees from Britain that the art would make its way home after the exhibition was over.
On Friday, I covered the other side of the coin. Russian officials threatened to pull the plug on an exhibit of French and Russian Impressionist art that was scheduled to open at London"s Royal Academy in late January. The reason? Much of it was seized from its rightful owners in 1917. Fearing claims from angry heirs, Russian officials wanted stronger guarantees from Britain that the art would make its way home after the exhibition was over.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Nazi or Nice: Swastika Rings for Christmas?
Here's an odd story about a swastika-emblazoned fundraiser for Finnish veterans I did for Spiegel Online yesterday. It also ended up on Businessweek.com. The Finns were fun to talk to, although I think they were a little surprised I was calling.
Labels: ring, spiegel, swastika
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Author typecasting
December's issue of National Geographic features a short item I wrote about the shrinking American population. Well, not shrinking, exactly: According to John Komlos, an economist in Munich who uses height data to chart health and economic well-being through history, ever since WWII American height has stayed the same (just under 5'10 for men) while Europeans have been getting taller. Dutch men are now the tallest people in the world, averaging over six feet. (The ladies aren't far behind.) Check the magazine to learn more about the reasons why.
Labels: dutch, National Geographic, tall
