Lost painting found in kids movie

Gergely Barki probably expected a quite, uneventful evening as he and his daughter Lola watched “Stuart Little” in 2009. But Barki, a researcher at the Hungarian National Gallery (Magyar Nemzeti Galéria), “nearly dropped Lola from my lap. A researcher can never take his eyes off the job, even when watching a Christmas move at home.” What grabbed Barki’s attention was a long-lost avant garde painting used as a prop in the film.  The painting was “Sleeping Lady with Black Vase” by Róbert Berény, a member of the pre-World War I movement Group of Eights. Berény’s painting disappeared in the 1920s but was found in an antique shop in Pasadena by a set designer from Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures. “Sleeping Lady with Black Vase” will be sold on auction December 13.

Read more here.

Pazzi Chapel restoration project on Kickstarter

The landmark Pazzi Chapel in Florence is in urgent need of restoration. In an attempt to raise funding needed to carry out this restoration project — repairing the crumbling grey sandstone used on the facade, columns and sculpted decorations — the Opera di Santa Croce has established a Kickstarter project with the goal of reaching at least $95,000 by December 19. Donations range from $10 to $1000 or more. A pledge of $10 or more gets donors a thank you in the historical archive while a pledge of $1000 provides donors with a private tour of the restoration, the unveiling of the restored chapel, a thank you tweet, a lithograph and medal.

Go here to see the Pazzi kickstarter project.