International News Briefs

Gerard C. Wertkin, director of the American Folk Art Museum since 1991 and assistant director from 1980 to 1991, has announced to the Board of Trustees that after serving the museum for almost 24 years, he plans to retire from his position within the next 12 months. In December 2001, the American Folk Art Museum inaugurated its widely admired headquarters at 45 West 53rd Street. "Now that the new building is in its third year and so many of the museum's long-held objectives have been realized, I feel that it is time for a new generation of leadership to chart the museum's future for the coming decades. The years that I've spent at the museum have been the most rewarding of my life, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have led the institution through a period of great transformation," said Wertkin. In addition to serving as director of the American Folk Art Museum during a period of dramatic growth and development, Wertkin has been an adjunct associate professor of art and architecture at New York University, where he has taught graduate courses in American folk art since 1982. Recognized as an expert on the art and culture of the Shakers, he is the author of The Four Seasons of Shaker Life (Simon & Schuster, 1986) and other books and is a frequent contributor to folk art publications and exhibition catalogs. Most recently, he was a contributor and wrote introductions to the major books published in conjunction with the museum's inaugural exhibitions in its new building. Long interested in the spiritual dimension in American vernacular culture, he has organized exhibitions exploring this theme, such as "Millennial Dreams: Vision and Prophecy in American Folk Art," 1999-2000.

The Ormond Beach, Fla., Police Department arrested Lawrence Stone, 43, of Lebanon, N.H., on April 25 on a charge of being a fugitive from justice. Stone is wanted in Pembroke and North Hampton, N.H., on burglary charges involving the theft of antiques from across the state and out of state. The police responded to an anonymous report of a broken window at a residence in their town. Officers found Stone at the rear of the building. He was arrested for loitering and possession of a narcotic drug. Subsequent computer checks showed him to be wanted in Pembroke for three counts of burglary. He was held in the Volusia County Jail in Daytona Beach overnight, and was scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, April 26. Detective Christopher Currier at the New London Police Department, New London, N.H., said that as soon as they can determine the extent of the property recovered, authorities will provide photographs and/or descriptions of the items in order to help return them to their rightful owners. Police are asking that any dealers or collectors that may have bought items since September 2003 from Stone should contact their local police or Detective Currier at the New London Police Department at 603-526-2626.

A Georgia O'Keeffe painting stolen four months ago from the New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, is featured on the FBI's art theft program website, reports the Associated Press. The painting, entitled "Special 21, Palo Duro Canyon," has been valued at between $500,000 and $1 million. It was stolen from the museum in Santa Fe on December 16, 2003. The painting also was featured for two months on the Interpol art theft website. Interpol is an international police organization headquartered in Paris, with 181 member countries. The FBI considers the illicit trade in art and cultural artifacts a major category of international crime. This includes theft of individual works of art, illegal export of objects protected by international laws and pillaging of archaeological sites. The FBI website is www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/arttheft.

LiveAuctioneers.com, a Manhattan-based company that provides real-time Internet bidding capability to more than 130 auction houses, has signed an agreement with Sotheby's New York branch to provide Internet bidding services for selected Sotheby's sales. Julian R. Ellison, LiveAuctioneers' chief executive officer, said his company's working association with Sotheby's would commence with the April 20 Arcade Jewels sale. LiveAuctioneers provides Internet bidding services for the Washington, D.C., auction house Weschler's, as well as Doyle New York.

Toni Laxson of the East Valley Tribune, via AP, writes that looters are plucking more ancient Indian pottery from dwellings and graves across the Phoenix area and Arizona, encouraged by a growing market for the wares over the Internet. "It opened up an opportunity for people who were selling - on this gray market at best -to people in Japan and anywhere else," said Jerry Howard, curator of anthropology at the Mesa Southwest Museum. "And because of that, we have seen a rise in the amount of vandalism and pot hunting. Howard has seen rare Hohokam artifacts for sale on the Internet auction site eBay. The items were reportedly excavated from private land in Queen Creek before being sold to a Scottsdale dealer. In Arizona, landowners may do whatever they like to archaeological sites on their property, provided they do not disturb human remains. The problem, said Howard and others, is the most valuable items typically are found in graves, the desecration of which is a serious concern to American Indian cultures. It is difficult to prosecute vandals because authorities rarely can prove an artifact came from public land.

What is causing the Mona Lisa to deteriorate so quickly? Jamey Keaten of the Associated Press reports that Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of the unknown woman with the enigmatic smile, is sparking a new kind of mystery. The thin, poplar panel on which 'Mona Lisa" is painted in oil has changed shape since conservation experts last evaluated it, the Louvre Museum said. Leonardo's masterwork - now nearly 500 years old - is inspected every one to two years. The Louvre said the "state of conservation" of the most famous artwork in France's most famous museum "has aroused some worry." The state-run Center for Research and Restoration of Museums of France will conduct a study to better determine what materials the painting is made of and evaluate its vulnerability to temperature changes.