BRONZED: Schwarzenegger Unveils Statue of ... Himself!

Arnold Schwarzenegger may be tabloid fodder in the US, but he's still a hometown hero in Thal, Austria. He unveiled a hulking statue of himself there today outside the home where he was born, which is now a museum dedicated to all things Arnold, reports the Telegraph. "For me, this is not only a museum," he said, according to the AP. "It is also a symbol of will ... everyone has a chance." Can't get to Austria? Don't worry, there's plenty more statues on the way elsewhere.

MOLDED: Arnold Commissions 8-Foot Bronze Statues of Himself!

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s biggest fan may just be … Arnold Schwarzenegger. The action hero and former Governator of California has commissioned at least three larger-than-life bronze statues of himself when he was at his most buff, and he’ll be keeping at least one for himself. The owner of the bronze business Arnie hired tells the New York Daily News that as many as seven of the statues could ultimately be created. 

They’ll be based on a 22-inch sculpture created by an artist in 1980, which shows Schwarzenegger flexing his biceps during the body-building era in which he won seven Mr. Olympia titles. The new statues will be blown-up versions, eight feet tall. The first was already shipped to a Schwarzenegger museum in his old childhood home, and a second will go to the location of the annual Arnold Fitness Weekend.

CENSORED: Rick Perry Favors the ART!

THEFT: Rembrandt Lifted From LA Hotel!

A small pen-and-ink drawing by Rembrandt was stolen from a California Ritz-Carlton Saturday night in what detectives are calling a "well-thought-out and well-planned theft." The Judgment, an 11-by-6-inch drawing worth more than $250,000, was on display at the Marina del Rey hotel during an exhibit for potential buyers, the Los Angeles Times reports. It went missing between 10:20pm and 10:35pm, while the curator was distracted. It's not clear whether the person doing the distracting is connected to the heist, but detectives do believe the thief had accomplices.

BEEFCAKE: Anthony Greenfield's Wash Board!

Newcomer Anthony Greenfield joins the men’s board at Major NYC and launches his book with these spectacular portraits by Jon Malinowski. 
Via VGL

ICONIC: Andy Warhol Grows Old in New Sculpture!

Had Andy Warhol survived gallbladder surgery, he would have turned 83 on Saturday—a very, very old 83. At least that's how artist Edgar Askelovic imagines him: with bloated legs, lots of wrinkles, and toothless, but still with a shock of white hair. Askelovic, 23, used silicone and clay to recreate the pop legend in a strange squat that he based on an old photo of Warhol. "He is a huge inspiration to me and I wanted to make sure that I did him justice with my work," he said. The work is on display at the McDermott Galleries in England.

BEEFCAKE: Garrett Neff does Gaultier!

The new Schön magazine delivers top model Garrett Neff in this stunning, all-Gaultier editorial My Name is Neff -- Garrett Neff. Laurent Dombrowicz styled the spread which was photographed in Paris by Philipp Mueller. 

Via VGL

BANNED: Lesbians Booted From Gertrude Stein Exhibit!

The irony was apparently lost on a museum guard who ejected two lesbians from a San Francisco exhibit on Gertrude Stein for holding hands. "We are not leaving and we want to talk to somebody in authority right now," the couple told the guard after they were informed they "couldn't hold hands," a witness tells the San Francisco Chronicle.  A spokesman for the Contemporary Jewish Museum says officials support the gay community and have asked the private company that provides security to reprimand the guard. 

In another discrimination complaint on the other side of the country, a lesbian couple is suing a Vermont inn for refusing to allow them to hold a wedding reception on the grounds. The mother of one of the women was told point-blank that the Wildflower Inn does not host "gay receptions," the suit charges. "The law is clear that any business that provides a service to the public can't pick and choose who they want to serve based on the customer's race, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity," an ACLU attorney told MSNBC. The inn's owners were not immediately available for comment.

TWA(R)T: Chicago's Colossal Marilyn Monroe 'Seven Year Itch' Sculpture!

ART: 'Lost Michelangelo' Found on Oxford Wall!

A previously unknown painting by Michelangelo has been hanging on the wall of an Oxford University residence for Jesuit scholars since the 1930s, a respected Italian expert claims. Infrared technology has revealed that the painting at Campion Hall, previously believed to have been the work of Michelangelo's lesser-known contemporary Marcello Venusti, was likely painted by Michelangelo himself, says Antonio Forcellino. 

The painting, bought at an auction in the 1930s, has been removed from the residence and sent to a museum for safekeeping. "It's a very beautiful piece, but far too valuable to have on our wall any more," the master of Campion Hall tells the BBC. "Its value in the three years I've been master has gone up tenfold, even if it's not by Michelangelo. No doubt the art historians will argue the points to and fro."

CAUGHT: Picasso Thief Busted!

A thief who strolled out of a San Francisco gallery with a stolen Picasso has been arrested and the 1965 pencil sketch has been recovered, police say. The suspect, a man who flew in from New Jersey the day before the theft, was found staying with friends in Northern California's wine country, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Police say he had the sketch ready for shipment and it "would have been in a FedEx box somewhere" if they had found him a day later. Investigators tracked the man down after finding a cabbie who took him from near the gallery to an upscale hotel. The 30-year-old suspect, who has no major criminal record, has worked as a wine steward in high-end East Coast restaurants. "We can assume he has good taste, and how he was going to finance that good taste, perhaps, was based upon his success in obtaining a valuable piece of art," the chief investigator says.

BRONZED: Reagan Statue Debuts in London!

Ronald Reagan joins Dwight Eisenhower and Franklin Roosevelt in London—as a 10-foot bronze statue, reports the Independent. Commissioned to mark the 100-year anniversary of Reagan's birth, the unveiling ceremony outside the US embassy at Grosvenor Square will be attended by Condoleezza Rice, British foreign secretary William Hague, and Nancy Reagan. No word of who else will be Bronzed!

PHONY: Van Gogh 'Self Portrait' Really His Brother!

Vincent Van Gogh's younger brother Theo was his closest ally, and many found it strange that the artist never painted him. Researchers at the Van Gogh Museum, however, now believe that an 1887 painting long thought to have been one of Vincent's dozens of self-portraits is actually a portrait of Theo, reports the Telegraph. The biggest clue is the ears, and not because of the number, researchers say.

In the work the museum now calls Portrait of Theo Van Gogh—painted before Vincent cut one of his ears off—the subject has shorter, rounder ears than Vincent and a darker-colored goatee. Theo, an art dealer who once shared an apartment in Paris with his brother, died six months after Vincent shot himself in 1890. The museum also says its researchers have also determined that the bird in the work Wheatfield with a Lark is actually a partridge.

MARKED: Franco Carves Brad Renfro's Name into His Arm for Art!

The L.A. Times reports on an art installation produced for this year's Venice Biennale featuring contributions from James Franco, Douglas Gordon, Harmony Korine, Damon McCarthy, Paul McCarthy, Ed Ruscha and Aaron Young. The installation is based around James Dean's Rebel Without a Cause.


Franco, who had a hand in the other artists’ projects, also made work for this show in homage to the actor Brad Renfro, who died in 2008 at age 25 of a heroin overdose. He had Renfro’s name carved into his right arm with a switchblade, documenting the carving in photography and film. (The carving itself could be seen as one of the show’s more permanent artworks.)

Above, Franco and Renfro in a detail from a still from the 2002 film, Deuces Wild.

SOLD: Warhol Self-Portrait Fetches Record $38.4M!

A private European collector walked off with Andy Warhol's very first self-portrait after a 16-minute bidding war at Christie's Wednesday night. The 1963-64 work sold for $38.44 million after two competing bidders kept raising their price in increments of $100,000, causing Christie’s auctioneer to call it the “longest lot in history," reports Forbes.


The eight Warhols on sale at the auction took in a total of $91 million. Self-Portrait, sold by the family of Detroit collector Florence Barron, who commissioned the work for $1,600, broke the record for a Warhol portrait. "I really believe my mother-in-law would have been ecstatic," Nora Barron told Reuters after the sale. "She loved the picture, she loved Andy and I truly believe she would have loved tonight."

ART: Banksy's 'Gay Bobbies' Expected To Fetch Over $1.6 Million!

Banksy's graffiti art piece titled "Gay Bobbies," which depicts two kissing policemen, is expected to go for over $1.6 million at auction in New York City. The painting was originally created on the side of a pub in the United Kingdom called Prince Albert and has been targeted by vandals over the last few years, reports the Daily Mail.

"...the Prince Albert is set to benefit from the guerilla artist's popularity, with the painting of the gay policemen predicted to sell for up to £1million. Chris Steward explained: 'When he put it on the pub it belonged to the pub and, if it is sold, all the money will go back to the pub. 'It is very difficult to just keep the pub going, so a little break from that would be very welcome.' As well as plenty of attention from admirers, the work also attracted attention of a different kind. Within weeks of the work going up two men were caught on CCTV daubing the image with black paint and were fined £40 for criminal damage, but soon after it was targeted again. After repeated attacks, Steward decided that to preserve the image it had to be removed."

CULTURE: Philly Orchestra Files for Backruptcy!

The 111-year-old Philadelphia Orchestra is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing a "tremendous decline" in audiences. The orchestra, made internationally famous by such great conductors as Stokowski and Ormandy, has $46 million in operating costs this year, but is expecting just $33 million in revenues, reports the AP. "I feel overwhelmed and horrified by the events of the past few days, and I cannot yet grasp what the consequences of today's vote will be," wrote chief conductor Charles Dutoit in a statement.

Although the bankruptcy vote last night was nearly unanimous, all five orchestra members on the board voted against it. "I think it was unnecessary," a players' rep tells the Philadelpha Inquirer. Management "has not turned over every stone." Experts say the bankruptcy filing is unusual because, with an endowment of $140 million, the orchestra's assets are more than triple its liabilities. But despite the move, concerts will continue as scheduled for now. "It's shocking," said one regular concert-goer. "I think they do a wonderful job, and the city loves them."

ARTSY SCANDAL: Facebook Censors Famous French Painting!

Gustave Courbet's The Origin of the World hangs in Paris' renowned Musee d'Orsay—but good luck posting it on Facebook. A French man made the painting, which features a woman's, ahem, lower half, his profile picture—and found his profile deleted. He is now suing the social networking site, the Telegraph reports. His lawyer calls the action "blind censorship" and says Facebook has not answered emails demanding that his client's page be reinstated.


A Danish artist who posted the same painting also had his account deactivated in February; Facebook eventually reactivated it, but only on the condition that he wouldn't post any more nude pictures. Gawker notes that a French writer who, in an act of solidarity, also made the painting his profile picture found his account axed as well.

Team to Unearth Bones... of Mona Lisa?

Florence researchers are about to excavate the bones of the woman they believe served as the model for Mona Lisa. Their hope is that facial reconstruction will prove once and for all if Lisa Gherardini was the subject of the Leonardo da Vinci portrait that has mesmerized viewers for centuries. The painting has long also been known as La Gioconda, linking it to Gherardini's husband, Francesco del Giocondo, who commissioned da Vinci to paint his wife. Digging will begin later this month at a convent in central Florence where Gherardini was buried in 1542.

The same research team last year unearthed bones of the artist Caravaggio and discovered a possible cause of his death 400 years earlier. Researchers this time will hunt for Gherardini's specific tomb at the convent using radar and seeking the remains of a woman in her 60s who died in the mid-1500s, reports the Guardian.

Just last month somone  had a theory that Mona Lisa is Leonardo's male lover.  So what is the truth?

Traveling exhibit detailed Nazi persecution of gays!

It is well-known that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust, but the plight of 5 million other victims — including people with disabilities, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war and gays — are rarely detailed, writes Melissa Allison
in Seattle Times.

A traveling exhibit by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum sheds light on the Nazi persecution of gay Germans. Though the Nazis never intended to murder all gays, as they intended to eliminate all Jews, they nevertheless sent thousands of them to concentration camps and destroyed the lives of tens of thousands others.

The free exhibit, which ended a five-day run Sunday at McCaw Hall in Seattle, attracted roughly 2,000 people, said Dee Simon, co-executive director of the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center.