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New York Times: Want a Great Gift? Put Their Initials on It.

LONDON — In certain social circles, Anne Singer is something of a monogramming legend.

The French-born Ms. Singer, whose husband’s great-grandfather Isaac Singer invented the sewing machine, established the Monogrammed Linen Shop four decades ago on Walton Street, an enclave in the Chelsea/Kensington area that’s lined with upscale shops. For everyone from Hollywood celebrities and European royalty to expatriates and the posh British set, her sweetly designed and monogrammed baby pillows, personalized linens and home accessories became gift-list perennials. Read more

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New York Times: A Polish Artist With Varied Talents

Growing up in Lublin, Poland, Agnieszka Polska had little access to contemporary art. So a visit to the Tate Modern on a trip to London as a teenager, she said, was “a revelation.”

Two decades later, Ms. Polska is an artist and filmmaker whose video works have been featured at institutions like the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof, where in 2018 she was awarded the Preis der Nationalgalerie. Read more

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New York Times: A Smithsonian Museum Sharpens Focus on the History of Slavery


On a Sunday stroll up 16th Street in Washington, D.C., years ago, Lonnie Bunch got a hug and a gentle talking-to from an African American woman.

Mr. Bunch — who at the time was the director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, which was still under construction, and now heads the entire Smithsonian Institution — had been very visible in the media discussing the newest of the Smithsonian museums. Read more

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New York Times: What to Do When a Once-Beloved Art Piece Has Lost Its Luster

LONDON — Several years ago, Bari Shaffran and her husband were meandering around Frieze London when they came across the booth of Berlin-based gallery Eigen + Art.

While not avid collectors, the couple had purchased works at art fairs before. One of the gallerists introduced them to Birgit Brenner, an artist featured in their show. The couple bought three of Ms. Brenner’s pieces. Read more

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New York Times: For Vulnerable Art, Help Making a Fresh Start

LONDON: As the first of Vincent van Gogh’s paintings to become part of a public museum collection, the provenance of“Poplars Near Nuenen” is easily traceable. The landscape’s restoration history, however, has not been as straightforward.

Painted on a used canvas, it has another work beneath it. An early attempt at restoration weakened the paint’s already compromised stability. And questions about added brush strokes remained unresolved. Read more

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