Monster Mash: Mandela painting stirs controversy; Russian art curators avoid prison sentence

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Controversial portrait: A painting depicting Nelson Mandela undergoing an autopsy -- inspired by a Rembrandt masterpiece -- stirs outrage in South Africa. (Agence France-Presse)

Going home: Two Russian art curators are fined but avoid jail for organizing a 2007 exhibition featuring unconventional depictions of Jesus Christ. (BBC News)

Cutting back: Producers for the Broadway revival of ‘West Side Story’ reduce the number of musicians in the orchestra pit, and some people aren’t happy about it. (Broadway World)

New hire: The American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco has named Ellen Richard, a New York theater veteran, as its new executive director. (San Francisco Chronicle)

For sale: A Christie’s auction of items belonging to the late Roy Rogers includes the preserved remains of his horse, Trigger. (Associated Press)

Increasing girth: Performing arts venues have increased the width of their seats in the last two decades, coinciding with the rise in obesity. (The Wall Street Journal)

Little boxes: Long Island holds a competition to design a better suburb. (New York Times)

Bloody history: A museum exhibition in Romania aims to debunk myths surrounding Vlad the Impaler, the medieval monarch who served as the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula.’ (Agence France-Presse)

And in the L.A. Times: Art critic Christopher Knight reviews ‘Dennis Hopper Double Standard’ at L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art; a conversation with violinist Joshua Bell.

-- David Ng