Thursday’s Art Notes

The work ‘Oil Painting’ by artist Rocco Berger hangs on display at the ‘Based In Berlin’ contemporary art exhibition at Monbijoupark on June 22, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. The show includes works by German and foreign artists living in Berlin and will run until July 24. Photo by Sean Gallup/ Getty Images

*

Artist Ai Weiwei appeared in front of reporters on Wednesday, but remained mum about his time in prison as part of the terms of his bail, via The New York Times.

*

The Corcoran Gallery in Washington will inherit a 1907 Monet “Waterlilies” painting, bequeathed by the late heiress Huguette Clark, who died last month at age 104, via The Washington Post. The rest of her collection, which includes works by Renoir and John Singer Sargent, will all be housed at a foundation in Santa Barbara, Ca.

*

Fashion designer John Galliano was in a Parisian court Wednesday to face criminal charges of anti-semitism, via CNN.

*

A famous painting by Van Gogh, long thought to be a self-portrait, is now believed to show his devoted brother Theo, via AFP.

*

A stagehand for Broadway’s “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” died backstage on Wednesday before the scheduled show, via The Associated Press. Authorities believe the death was caused by a drug overdose.

*

The New Yorker looks at a recent book burning incident in the Netherlands that involved a historical novel by a Canadian author about a West African woman enslaved in America.