Moving Up and Moving Out

CultureGrrl blogger Lee Rosenbaum points us to a report that says Wilfried Seipel, the director of Vienna's Kunsthistoriches Museum, is out when his contract expires at the end of next year. It appears that he's being gently ousted because of criticism that his negligent security policies were responsible for the theft of Benvenuto Cellini's 16th-century gold-plated salt cellar, worth tens of millions of dollars, in 2003 — no matter that the Renaissance masterpiece was recovered in 2006 and the thief sentenced to five years in prison earlier this summer. Why not just give Seipel a lecture on the importance of safeguarding art historical treasures — they've already done that, to be sure — and be done with it. After all, the dramatic theft and recovery is just the thing that Cellini, who penned an illustrious autobiography recounting (and sometimes embellishing) his dramatic exploits, would've relished.

Carol Vogel has the news that the Guggenheim Museum in New York has created a new position, chief conservator, for Carol Stringari, currently senior conservator. She'll be fortifying the museum's approach to collection maintenance. Earlier this month, the Guggenheim released the findings of an investigation into the state of its Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home and announced that it would cost about $29 million to fix damage suffered by the building over time. Perhaps they're making a preemptive strike on potential deteriorating artworks?