Monster Mash: Breaking news and headlines

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

-- Someone still has cash: Yves Saint Laurent auction, left, fetches a record-breaking $261 million, including $45.6 million for a Matisse, above.

-- Want ‘em back? Buy ‘em: Judge rules bronze heads looted from China can be auctioned.

-- More anger over auction: Sale of Gandhi’s belongings sparks outrage among Indians.

-- It’s official: ‘Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark’ musical is slated to open on Broadway Feb. 18, 2010.

-- Top prize: John Baldessari and Yoko Ono will receive Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale.

-- Bad news in the art world: Detroit Institute of Art cuts 20% of its staff -- 63 of 301 employees -- in an attempt to cut its budget by $6 million.

-- More bad news in the art world: Metropolitan Museum of Art to cut costs by closing gift shops and imposing a hiring freeze.

-- It’s a satire: Death threats prompt tight security around premiere of Vienna play based on the Austrian man who imprisoned and abused his daughter.

-- Jailhouse confession?: Inmate offers tip on 1990 theft of $300 million in art from Isabel Stewart Gardner Museum.

-- Lisa Fung

Left photo: EPA / Christie’s

Right photo: Remy de la Mauviniere / Associated Press