What appears to be the first Leonardo da Vinci work in over 100 years was found by a Canadian. Valued at approximately $150 million, it is a picture of a young woman. Join discussion...

This artist, serving in the Territorial Army, speaks on how his art influences his experience in the war surroundings. Through his art, he is distanced with the reality of the surroundings, reflecting on what is happening around him and making connections through history. By studying everyday life in the area, he achieves contrasting emotions through his work. View the link to see his work and hear him speak about his work and experience Join discussion...

Before the athletes ever arrive in London, the Arts Council is collecting artwork from around Britain to showcase British culture at the London 2012 Olympics. The show is dubbed "the most ambitious and wide-ranging art prize in the UK" and will feature 12 winning commissions from every region of the country. These pieces range from feature films to 30 ft tall crocheted lions and a "spinning column of cloud and light." Each of the 12 chosen groups will share £5.4m and create their masterpieces between 2010 and 2011 to be ready for the Olympics in 2012. Join discussion...

According to several artists and art dealers, the market for works of art is slowly picking back up after the lag during the economic recession. While business is nowhere near as good as it was before 2008, collectors are starting to buy again, even if it is after much more consideration than it used to be. This is a promising thought - with the economy (somewhat) on the rebound, artists will benefit along with everyone else. Join discussion...

Much the the dismay of many of the more conservative museum-goers in Madrid, a new exhibiton is opening with the intention to display artwork that will also be featured on condom packages. One of the most awaited pieces sports a picture of a sleeping David Beckham, sports star and model. The exhibition is called Tears of Eros and will include 119 works. Nothing is finalized yet, but plans are going smoothly thus far. The museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum in Madrid, will be selling the condoms (that is, those with the works of art on them) in the gift shop. Baroness Thyssen is married to the founder of the museum and is supporting the project with all the enthusiasm of a beauty queen winning the grand prize (which she once did). "I don't see why anyone should be scandalised," she said the the press. "It is a way of bringing art and responsibility together." In fact, it is the hope of those in charge of the exhbition that having art on the packages will encourage people to buy, and subsequntly use, condoms. The museum believes that while perhaps it's not the first time condoms have been used in art, they can claim to be the first to use art to sell condoms. It is not certain when, or if, the exhibiton will open, but it promises to study "the close relationship between sexual desire and the death instinct" as well as other themes. Join discussion...

At the Whitney Museum of American Art, artist Steve Wolfe has a exhibit of painting and drawings that are all copies of covers of books or old vinyl records. They are trompe l'oeil pieces, and, according to the author of this article, Ken Johnson, they are very realistic looking. As he says, "With creases, cracks, abrasions, tears and stains reproduced..., the paintings are curiously confounding." Join discussion...

On October 16, almost 2,000 woks by influential Brazilian artist Helio Oiticica (1937-1980) were destroyed in a fire. The paintings were in a storage facility in Oiticica's brother Cesar's home in Rio de Janeiro. The artworks were uninsured and losses have been estimated at $200,000 million. Ninety percent of the collection was lost. Join discussion...

"For decades, the main argument against the return of the sculptures -- known as the Elgin or Parthenon Marbles -- was Greece's lack of a suitable location for their display. The new Acropolis Museum is a stunning rebuttal." To highlight what's missing, the museum intersperses "plaster casts of the sculptures housed in London ... with original pieces." Join discussion...

The Museum of Arts and Design is doing a three part "Materials and Process" series, with paper cutting being the most recent. Paper cutting is an intricate, if not too difficult art that is met with much enthusiasm and many different ideas. Join discussion...

Just recently Timothy Rub, museum director and chief executive of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, named Gail Harrity as the president of the museum. There has been no president since 1996, when Robert Montgomery Scott left. Ms. Harrity has been the chief operating officer of the museum since 1997. With this appointment she faces new challenges, that she looks forwards to meeting. One such challenge is the underground expansion of the museum that will cost more than $500 million. She recognizes that this will need to be a group effort in fund raising in these economically trying times, but sounds hopeful. Join discussion...