Marlene Dumas is interviewed in The Guardian this week, in the run-up to her Tate Modern Retrospective, opening early next month.  “When I start work on a painting, it’s total kitsch!” Dumas jokes during the interview. “When I painted myself pregnant, I couldn’t do the legs, and the blond hair made it look like a bad Klimt!” (more…)

Artist David Hockney has broken the silence surrounding the death of his assistant, 23-year old Dominic Elliott.  Elliott’s death, the causes of which remain somewhat of a mystery, sidelined the painter, forcing him to take a break from his prolific work.   “The spring didn’t start until late April this year. I wasn’t doing anything much, had nearly given up, and was still thinking about going to LA when my assistant, Jean-Pierre, said I didn’t really have an option. I had to continue with the work. And he was right. I’m not going to retire. I just keep working and that’s what I think I should do.” (more…)

The Tate Britain has purchased “Salisbury Cathedral from the Water Meadows,” a 1831 master work by painter John Constable, for the price of $23.1 million.  Previously held by the National Gallery, the work will embark on a national tour, through Colchester, London, Salisbury and Cardiff.  “It is unimaginable that this particular painting could have ended up anywhere except a British public collection.”  Said Heritage Lottery Fund chair Jenny Abramsky, who helped fund the purchase. (more…)

A set of classical Greek statues have been returned to the Greek state from Qatar, after a recent disagreement between Greek and Qatari officials.  While visiting the Middle Eastern nation, Greek Cultural Minister Costas Tzavaras noticed that the nude statues had been covered to avoid offending visiting females.  Refusing to uncover the statues, the Qatari government opted to return them to Greece. “In a society where there are certain laws and traditions authorities felt women would be scandalised by seeing such things, even on statues,” added an official present at the event. “The minister, of course, said while he totally respected local customs he couldn’t accept the antiquities not being exhibited in their natural state. They were great works of art and aesthetically it was wrong.” (more…)