Caught My Eye

Canada Dumping Ground for Stolen Art — Toronto Star

“Art thieves and black market dealers in cultural heritage material have a better chance of unloading their valuable booty — and avoiding prosecution — in Canada than almost anywhere else, say two prominent stolen art experts.” ***The article includes a fascinating list of infamous art thefts•••
Top 30 Exhibitions (By Attendance) in 2009 — Art Newspaper

Of the Top 10: 4 are in Tokyo; 3 in Paris; 2 in New York; and 1 in Nara, Japan. Surprisingly, Banksy‘s show in Bristol (of all places) came in at #30. The biggest surprise for me was #19, the “Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures of Kabul” show at Houston‘s Museum of Fine Arts. Outside of New York, it was the only US show to make the list.
Duke Student Finds Only Known Copy of Haiti’s Declaration of Independence — Duke Chronicle

This is an incredible story, esp. considering all Haiti lost in the recent earthquake. Why are documents from this period so valuable and rare? Because Jean-Jacques Dessalines, first ruler and and governor-general of the Republic of Haiti, was illiterate and dictated his documents to secretaries.