Over 1K Looted Artifacts at the Met Museum

March 21, 2023

Good morning. 🌤️ The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York holds over 1,000 illicitly trafficked artifacts, according to a new report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. That's a devastating number, and it might only be the tip of the iceberg. For now, it seems that The Met is counting on the Manhattan DA to decolonize its collection instead of taking a hard look at its past and current acquisition practices.

Also: What did the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston do when it learned that climate activists were planning a protest at its premises? It closed for the day. To be fair, the protest was scheduled for the 33rd anniversary of the Gardner Museum art heist, a painful occasion for the institution.

In other stories, NYC is replacing artist Milton Glaser's famous “I ❤️ NY” with a lackluster design, the "Free the Nipple" movement has PR problems, and art writer and consultant Paddy Johnson answers the question: How do I get a public art commission?

— Hakim Bishara, Senior Editor

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