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Raising a glass to the cocktail -- Newsday.com

Often art history includes the study of "cultural history" and in the US, the history of the cocktail can't be overlooked. The Museum of the American Cocktail (MAC) feels this way too as they are hosting an exhibit in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the cocktail now until the end of the year at The Balance, a space above a club called The Nest, at 215 W. 28th St. at Eighth Avenue in Manhattan, New York.

This show focuses on the history of the cocktail prior to prohibition. According to Sylvia Carter's article from Newsday.com, "The cocktail, which initially was not a genre of drink but another name for what became known as an old-fashioned, was first mentioned in print in 1803, but it was not until May 13, 1806, that it was defined. In response to a mention of the word in the May 6 issue of The Balance and Columbia Repository in Hudson, a reader wrote in to inquire what on earth a cocktail was. The next week, the paper's editor wrote that it was composed of spirits, bitters, sugar and enough water to dissolve the sugar, and that the potent concoction was useful for "electioneering" - persuading people to vote in favor of the party that bought the drink."

The Museum of the American Cocktail™ is a nonprofit organization providing education in mixology and preserving the rich history of the American cocktail. View over two hundred years of cocktail history including vintage cocktail shakers, Prohibition-era books, drink archives, tools, and other cocktail memorabilia from the outstanding collections of the museum founders.

Link: Raising a glass to the cocktail -- Newsday.com by Sylvia Carter.

Link: For Show Details: www.MuseumoftheAmericanCocktail.org

Link: Alcohol and Spirits in the Yahoo! Directory

Trio found guilty of stealing Munch's Scream - World - Times Online

Good news, bad news. Good: The perpetrators of The Scream art theft from Norway's museum in Oslo (August 2004) have been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay 750 million kroner (£67 million). Bad: The whereabouts of Norway's tour de force artwork, The Scream by Eduard Munch, is still at large. Despite a nationwide search, the painting has never been found.

"Police believe that the brazen daylight robbery was ordered by a notorious crime boss to distract investigators from another multimillion-pound raid in which a policeman was killed."

Link: Updated News about Theft of Munch's Scream from Times Online.

At Spring Auctions, Big Names Are Selling, and Being Sold - New York Times

Springtime brings big named artists to the auction block for expected record prices. Van Gogh's Portrait of Madame Ginoux, Picasso's 1941 painting of his mistress Dora Maar (pictured; expected to fetch $20 million), a Warhol soup can and Koon's vacuum cleaners in a Plexiglas box all come up for sale in two weeks of back to back auctions.

Art auction prices are up as newly rich collectors from Russia and Asia make themselves known at auctions. Who is selling? Both seasoned collectors and well-know dealers who smell an opportunity to capitalize on the upward price trend.

The fall 2005 prices had been so high, it encouraged active sales at both Sotheby's and Christie's "so cutthroat that both houses have been doling out large guarantees" to their clients.

More info: Auctions in New York Times.

Picasso Art Watches at eMuseumStore.com

UCLA Egyptologists to Launch New E-Encyclopedia

Set to become available in stages beginning in 2008, UCLA has received a grant to work in cooperation with an international team of scholars to launch the "world's first comprehensive online encyclopedia dedicated to all aspects of ancient Egypt and its legacy".

From a press release from April 28: "The UEE will have two versions: an Open Version, an easily operated, no-frills version that will be available to anybody with access to the Internet via the University of California's online publication series eScholarship; and a Full Version, a more sophisticated version that will target users familiar with such information retrieval systems as map searches and weighted keyword searches. Unlike a printed reference book, the UEE Full Version also will feature virtual reality models - or 3-D computer reconstructions of ancient temples, tombs, settlements and landscapes. Editors are looking into the prospects of including a database of hieroglyphic texts and archaeological data. They hope to integrate primary and archival material, so that users can inspect archaeological treasures."

Read more about this project: UCLA Egyptologists' E-Encyclopedia Project.

Egyptian Coronation of Seti Relief: Egyptian Statues and Wall Reliefs at eMuseumStore.com