Thursday’s Art Notes

Mythical animals on the eaves of a pagoda are silhouetted against a near full-moon at a park in Beijing. December 31, the last day of the year and the decade, will see the rare occurance of the second full moon in a month, something that happens only once every two or three years, and because of its rarity been called a ‘blue moon’, even though the moon actually stays exactly the same color as a regular full moon. Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

*

A painting by Degas has been stolen from an exhibit in Marseilles. The painting, which is worth over a million dollars, was missing Thursday morning when the museum opened.

*

Of all professions, architects were hit the hardest by the recession in 2009, reports MSNBC.

*

The man who wrote the book on New York architecture, the authoritative AIA guide, has died. Norval White, an architect himself, passed away at age 83 in France.

*

The Associated Press says goodbye to many of the artists and entertainers who died this year. NPR Music reminisces with a great multimedia interactive, where you can listen to a clip for each musician who passed away.