Monster Mash: Stolen Degas painting recovered; American Ballet Theatre dancers perform in Cuba
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Recovered: A painting by Edgar Degas has been found at a New York auction nearly 40 years after being stolen from a French museum. (Agence France-Presse)
Cultural diplomacy: Members of the American Ballet Theatre danced in Cuba for the first time in 50 years on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Major donation: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given the Smithsonian Institution $30 million to create an endowment for online education programs. (New York Times)
Delayed: The Public Theater’s Broadway revival of ‘The Merchant of Venice’ starring Al Pacino has pushed back its press opening. (Playbill)
Sold: A bronze sculpture by Henri Matisse has sold for $48.8 million at auction, a record for the artist. (BBC News)
Taking charge: The dance company Morphoses said that Luca Veggetti will join the company as its first Resident Artistic Director for the 2011-2012 season. (Morphoses)
Stepping down: Rochelle Slovin, director of New York’s Museum of the Moving Image for nearly 30 years, will be stepping down after the museum completes a $67-million expansion. (New York Times)
Appointment: The Seattle Symphony Orchestra has named Simon Woods, chief executive of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, as its executive director. (Seattle Times)
New rules: The Arts Council England will begin requiring arts organizations to apply for their grants starting in April 2012. (BBC News)
Lunacy: Architects are competing to design a futuristic city for the moon. (Scientific American)
Passings: Jerry Bock, composer of ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ has died at age 81. And Robert Ellenstein, a longtime L.A. theater artist, has died at 87. (Los Angeles Times and here)
Also in the L.A. Times: The Getty Museum’s recently purchased Turner painting is to stay in England -- at least for now; Cirque du Soleil reveals plans about its Michael Jackson touring show; The Huntington has acquired a David Wilkie painting.
-- David Ng
