Foreign Affairs says no art sale in the works

18.05.12

Updated: Mon Apr. 30 2012 20:20:39

CTVNews.ca Staff

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird's office is denying reports that his department plans to sell off some of its art collection as it looks for ways to cut costs and raise cash amid overall government belt-tightening.

The Canadian Press reported Monday morning that the department had planned to sell paintings by major Canadian artists such as Jean Paul Riopelle and Paul-Emile Borduas. Documents obtained by CP under the Access to Information Act said the value of the 22 works identified was about $4 million.

According to the report, the department hoped to sell the art to museums and public agencies, at a 30 per cent discount.

However, Baird's office told CTV News Channel's Mercedes Stephenson that the minister has decided not to move forward with his department's recommendation to sell the art.

"They're not saying there were never plans to do it," Stephenson told CTV News Channel. "What they are saying is that the current minister … has decided not to execute these plans."

Source: CTV.ca

Lifestyles of the rich and tasteless¿.¿.¿.

18.05.12

Billionaires tend to confuse value with cost: for them, nothing is beautiful or delightful if it is not expensive. Furthermore, everything that is expensive is therefore beautiful. This is why the rich love Damien Hirst, Monte Carlo and Rolex wristwatches.

The very rich demand exclusivity, so prefer paintings, which are expensive and unique, to books, which are cheap and available to all.

If an original Van Gogh were to come with a price-tag of £1.50, how many billionaires would still be interested in it?

In the same way, if a tin of sardines cost £750 and a tin of caviare 75p, which of these two dishes would billionaire diners be ordering for their starters at The Ritz?

But the hidden price of these costly pleasures can be  painful. In the days when lace collars were incredibly expensive, and therefore coveted, Marguerite de Valois, the wife of the French King Henry IV, felt obliged to wear such a huge collar that she then needed a

Source: Daily Mail

Prom dress deals come out of the closet

18.05.12

On a recent Saturday, Chesterton High School senior Julia Merryman and her mom, Tracey, offered up seven formal dresses for consignment, an assortment of dresses Julia bought second-hand and had altered for fancy affairs.

And while Julia, 17, was dropping off all those dresses for Horizon Gymnastics’ first prom dress sale, she was in the market for a dress as well. “It’s insane,” Julia, 17, said of the cost of a new dress.

Her mom predicted the sale could pick up popularity over time, given its proximity to Valparaiso University.

“We’re just recycling,” Merryman said, adding she and her daughter have shopped similar sales in other places for formalwear. “It’s difficult to come up with a couple hundred dollars when you’re wearing it for a few hours.”

The gymnastics facility had about 60 dresses up for sale as the event began. Alexis Andress, head cheer coach and head gymnastics team coach for Horizon, organized the sale after looking at her own closet, which included two unused wedding dresses because she found a third one she liked better.

Source: Post-Tribune