VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Star Wars
“George Lucas can’t give his $1.5 billion museum away.” A deep dive into the Star Wars creator’s attempts to find a home for his museum of “narrative art.” [Bloomberg Businessweek]
Lucas will decide this month whether to build his museum in Los Angeles or San Francisco. [AP/Skift]
International Relations
The French government has put an export hold on a €15 million ($15.6 million) Leonardo drawing—a double-sided one!—so the state now has 30 months to raise the funds in order to prevent it from leaving the country. [The Art Newspaper]
Thanks to new legislation passed by the United States Senate, there may be an end to the deadlock in U.S.-Russia loans. Note that this article features a photo of Donald Trump speaking at Mar-a-Lago with Mikhail Piotrovsky, the director of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. [The Art Newspaper]
Big Money
The Walton Family Foundation has given $20 million to the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas. It is the largest gift in the museum’s history. [Dallas News]
The Newport Art Museum in Rhode Island has received an anonymous gift of $4.7 million. [RINPR]
Writers and Artists
Sarah Nicole Prickett on Eric Mack… [Interview]
…and Stephanie LaCava with Flavin Judd. [Interview]
Bonus
Paul Thek at Hannah Hoffman in Los Angeles. [Contemporary Art Daily]