Arts
China's Ai Weiwei takes inspiration from milk scandal
BEIJING - Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has taken inspiration from fears in China about milk safety for his latest work of art, a huge map of China made out of milk powder tins appearing at an exhibition in Hong Kong which opens on Friday.
DiCaprio's wildlife charity auction brings in $38.8 million
NEW YORK - Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Christie's auction house raised $38.8 million through a charity art auction and donations, Christie's said on Tuesday, with proceeds to benefit environmental and conservation causes.
Richter painting breaks record for living artist at N.Y. auction
NEW YORK - A 1968 oil painting by German artist Gerhard Richter sold for some $37 million at Sotheby's contemporary art auction on Tuesday, a new record for a work by a living artist.
Vatican to have pavilion at Venice Biennale modern art exhibit
VATICAN CITY - For most people, the relationship between contemporary art and the Vatican - home of some of the world's greatest old masterpieces - is like oil and water - they just don't mix.
Daylight shines on Tate Britain's 500-year gallop through art
LONDON - Out go the themed rooms and groupings of artists at London's Tate Britain gallery, and in comes a pure, sunlit, chronological walk through British art from 1540 to the present.
New Soutine record set as Christie's meets Impressionist goal
NEW YORK - A record was set for French artist Chaim Soutine on Wednesday at Christie's auction of Impressionist and modern art, which met expectations with a total of just under $160 million.
New York's Met Museum celebrates punk's influence on fashion
NEW YORK - With their black leather, studded jackets, ripped jeans, bondage trousers and messages of rebellion and anarchy, punks from the 1970s probably never envisioned that a major museum would be celebrating their influence on fashion 40 years later. | Video
On eve of New York auctions, newer works seen driving the boom
NEW YORK - With a billion dollars worth of art on offer at their spring auctions in New York, Christie's and Sotheby's are looking to the post-war and contemporary works to drive the market this month.
Russia's new Mariinsky theatre woos the doubters
ST PETERSBURG, Russia - Enlisting the drama of Prokofiev and the elegance of Tchaikovsky, St Petersburg's new Mariinsky theatre staged a gala opening on Thursday designed to silence critics of the starkly modernist building erected in the heart of Russia's imperial capital.
Painter Mark Rothko's Latvian hometown opens centre for his art
DAUGAVPILS, Latvia - Modernist painter Mark Rothko's hometown in Latvia devoted a new centre to the late artist's work on Wednesday.

