FRUGAL QUEEN MOTHER

VISITORS TO THE QUEEN MOTHER'S HIGHLAND RETREAT WHO ARRIVED EXPECTING REGAL POMP AND ROYAL SPLENDOR WERE IN FOR A SEVERE SHOCK, A FORMER AIDE HAS RECENTLY REVEALED. SHE SPENT AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE ON MAINTAINING THE CASTLE MEY, WHICH HAD FRAYED AND AGE WORN CURTAINS AND CARPETS THAT BECAME INCREASINGLY THREADBARE. AND SUCH WAS HER FRUGALITY THAT SHE REFUSED TO BUY A TV AND VIDEO RECORDER, INSTEAD RENTING THEM FOR HER ANNUAL STAY AT THE CASTLE, ACCORDING TO ASHE WINDHAM, WHO SERVED AS HER EQUERRY AT THE REMOTE PILE IN CAITHNESS, NEAR JOHN O'GROATS, SCOTLAND. HE SAID THAT AFTER DINNER THE ROYAL PARTY WOULD SIT IN THE LIBRARY FACING AN ANCIENT TELEVISION,WHICH ARRIVED EVERY SUMMER FROM A SHOP IN THURSO. 'THE MOST CHALLENGING JOB WAS TO GET THE EQUALLY ANTIQUATED VIDEO RECORDER TO WORK PROPERLY. THIS ACHIEVED, WE WOULD ALL SIT AND WATCH ONE OF HER FAVORITE COMEDIES, WHICH INCLUDED DAD'S ARMY, FAWLTY TOWERS, YES MINISTER, KEEPING UP APPEARANCES AND ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE. IF THERE WAS A HORSE RACE GOING ON WE WOULD BE ASKED TO RECORD IT, WHICH WAS SOMETHING OF A POISONED CHALICE IN CASE IT DIDN'T WORK. IT WAS A PARTICULARLY OLD AND TEMPERAMENTAL VIDEO RECORDER.' WINDHAM NOW CHAIRS THE CASTLE OF MEY TRUST, WHICH MAINTAINS THE LANDMARK AS A TOURIST ATTRACTION. HE IS KEEN TO COUNTER THE PERCEPTION THAT THE QUEEN MOTHER, WHO HAD A PERSONAL FORTUNE OF £70 MILLION AND ONCE RAN UP A £4 MILLION OVERDRAFT AT COUTTS, PURSUED A LAVISH LIFESTYLE. SHE REFUSED TO REPLACE HER COLLECTION OF SIX BURBERRY RAINCOATS, FOUR BLUE AND TWO GREEN, WHICH SHE WORE YEAR AFTER YEAR. THE QUEEN MOTHER WHO DIED IN 2002 AGED 101. SHE FIRST SAW WHAT WAS THEN BARROGILL CASTLE IN 1952, WHILE MOURNING THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND GEORGE VI. FALLING FOR ITS RUINED ISOLATED CHARM, AND HEARING IT WAS TO BE ABANDONED, SHE DECLARED: 'NEVER! IT'S PART OF SCOTLAND'S HERITAGE. I'LL SAVE IT.' HAVING ACQUIRED THE MOST NORTHERLY CASTLE ON THE BRITISH MAINLAND, SHE HAD IT RESTORED WITH BEAUTIFUL WALLED GARDENS. 'THE DECORATIONS WERE PUT IN BETWEEN 1952 AND 1955 AND I'M LED TO BELIEVE THAT NOTHING MUCH WAS CHANGED AFTER THAT', SAID WINDHAM. 'I REMEMBER SAYING ON ONE OCCASION, 'MA'AM, THE CURTAINS IN ONE OF THE UPSTAIRS BEDROOMS ARE RATHER FALLING TO BITS' SHE LOOKED AT ME WITH A TWINKLE IN HER EYE AND SAID, 'I THINK THEY WILL LAST A FEW MORE YEARS'. THE OLD TV AND VCR ARE NOW ON DISPLAY AT THE CASTLE, WHICH IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ON MOST DAYS BETWEEN MAY AND OCTOBER. WINDHAM SAID HIS FORMER EMPLOYER'S PARSIMONY WAS INSPIRED BY THE PRIVATIONS OF TWO WORLD WARS. 'SHE WAS 14 WHEN THE GREAT WAR BROKE OUT AND WAS VERY MUCH ACCUSTOMED TO RATIONING. DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, WHEN SHE WAS QUEEN, THEY EVEN HAD LINES PAINTED ROUND THE BATHS AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE TO MAKE SURE THEY DIDN'T USE TOO MUCH WATER.'

ZHANG HUAN'S THREE HEAD SIX ARMS INSTALLED IN SAN FRANSICO

SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM, ARTS COMMISSION PRESIDENT PJ JOHNSTON AND DIRECTOR OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS LUIS R CANCEL RECENTLY DEDICATED A NEW TEMPORARY SCULPTURE BY CELEBRATED CHINESE ARTIST ZHANG HUAN. PRESENTED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SHANGHAI-SAN FRANCISCO SISTER CITY 30th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, ZHANG'S COLOSSAL THREE HEADS SIX ARMS (2008) MADE ITS WORLD PREMIERE IN THE HEART OF SAN FRANCISCO'S CIVIC CENTER, THE JOSEPH L ALIOTO PERFORMING ARTS PLAZA, WHICH IS LOCATED ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE CITY HALL. THREE HEADS SIX ARMS, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND THE PACE GALLERY, NEW YORK, IS ON LOAN THROUGH 2011. THREE HEADS SIX ARMS IS PART OF A SERIES OF MONUMENTAL WORKS DEPICTING THE FRAGMENTED EXTREMITIES OF BUDDHIST STATUES. THE SERIES WAS INSPIRED BY ZHANG'S DISCOVERY OF RELIGIOUS SCULPTURES THAT HAD BEEN DESTROYED DURING THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION FOR SALE IN A TIBETAN MARKET. HE BEGAN THE AMAZING SERIES IN 2006 SHORTLY AFTER MOVING TO NEW YORK CITY FROM SHANGHAI WHERE HE RETIRED HIS PERFORMANCE ART PRACTICE AND EMBRACED A MORE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO ARTISTIC CREATION. HIS RECENT WORK IS CHARACTERIZED BY A MORE OVERT RELATIONSHIP WITH TRADITIONAL CHINESE CULTURE AND BUDDHIST ICONOGRAPHY. STANDING OVER 26 FEET TALL AND WEIGHING ALMOST 15 TONS, THREE HEADS AND SIX ARMS IS ZHANG'S LARGEST SCULPTURE TO DATE. ZHANG CHOSE SAN FRANSISCO AS THE IDEAL SETTING TO DEBUT HIS SCULPTURE, IN PART BECAUSE OF THE LONG-STANDING HISTORY BEING HONORED BETWEEN SHANGHAI AND SAN FRANCISCO DURING THIS YEAR'S SISTER CITY CELEBRATION. 'THE SHANGHAI SAN FRANCISCO CITY CELEBRATION COMMEMORATES THIS IMPORTANT TIME IN THE HISTORY OF OUR TWO COUNTRIES WHEN THE EXCHANGE OF ART, CULTURE AND IDEAS BETWEEN THE EAST AND WEST IS MARKED BY OPENNESS AND MUTUAL APPRECIATION. WHILE THREE HEADS SIX ARMS CLEARLY EMBODIES IDEAS THAT ARE ROOTED IN CHINESE CULTURE AND TRADITION, IT IS ALSO ABOUT OUR COMMON HUMANITY. I HOPE THAT, WHILE THE SCULPTURE IS IN SAN FRANCISCO, IT WILL SERVE AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN THESE TWO GREAT CITIES AND THAT IT WILL CONTINUE TO FOSTER THIS SPIRIT OF TOLERANCE AND APPRECIATION', SAID ZHANG.

$4 MILLION ART COLLECTION RECOVERED BY POLICE IN ARGENTINA

SOME 77 PAINTINGS AND OTHER ART OBJECTS BY NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS VALUED AT ABOUT $4 MILLION WERE RECOVERED BY POLICE IN ARGENTINA ON SATURDAY. AMONG THE RECOVERED WORKS ARE PAINTINGS BY ARTISTS LIKE ANTONIO BERNI, RAUL SOLDI, LINO SPILIMBERGO AND OTHER ARGENTINE ARTIST, TOGETHER WITH ORIGINAL PORCELAIN PIECES OF HIGH VALUE. THE OBJECTS WERE STOLEN LAST NOVEMBER FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION IN THE TOWN OF PILAR ABOUT 60 KILOMETERS FROM BUENOS AIRES. THE COLLECTION BELONGS TO DOCTOR OMAR MANTOVANI, WHO WORKED WITH THE CURRENT COACH OF THE ARGENTINA'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM. POLICE SOURCES SAID THAT FIVE PERSONS OF INTEREST HAVE BEEN ARRESTED AND THAT TEN PAINTINGS STILL HAD TO BE RECOVERED.

BAE/DESIGN Q 'SAFARI JET'

FOR MOST OF US, WHEN WE TRAVEL, WE TRY TO BRING SOME OF THE COMFORTS OF HOME WITH US EVEN WHEN THE TRIP CONSISTS OF 'ROUGHING IT'. RECENTLY BAE SYSTEMS AND DESIGN Q HAVE COME UP WITH THE ULTIMATE IN TRAVEL LUXURY WITH ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME. THE FOUR-ENGINED ACRO BUSINESS JET EXPLORER FOUR HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO LAND ON SHORT RUNWAYS AND UNEVEN LANDING STRIPS, DELIVERING ITS PASSENGERS DIRECTLY TO THEIR EXOTIC LOCATIONS. THEN, WITH THE FLICK OF A SWITCH, A DOOR ON THE SIDE OF THE JET OPENS AND A VIEWING PLATFORM EXTENDS FROM THE FUSELAGE, OFFERING SPECTACULAR OPEN-AIR VIEWS. PRICED AT AN ESTIMATED £16 MILLION, THE 'SAFARI JET' HAS ROOM FOR TWO PILOTS, EIGHT PASSENGERS AND CREW. INSIDE THE AIRCRAFT, A GALLEY KITCHEN WHICH CAN DELIVER GOURMET MEALS TO AN EIGHT SEAT DINING AREA, AND LARGE SOFA FOLD OUT TO PROVIDE ON-BOARD BEDS. ONCE PASSENGERS HAVE HAD THEIR FILL OF 'ROUGHING IT' THEY SIMPLY TRANSFORM THE AIRCRAFT BACK INTO ITS 'FLYING MODE' AND FLY OFF TO THE NEXT LOCATION. THE 100ft AIRCRAFT IS BEING BUILT TO ORDER IN THE UK, AND A SPOKESMAN FOR BAE/DESIGN Q SAYS THE AIRCRAFT WILL 'OFFER A NEW LEVEL OF SOPHISTICATION FOR THE DISCERNING CUSTOMER'. WITH MARBLE FLOORS AND QUALITY FINISHES THROUGHOUT, THE INTERIORS CAN BE MODIFIED AND DESIGNED TO SUIT THE INDIVIDUAL NEEDS OF THE CUSTOMER.

DOM PERIGNON ŒNOTHEQUE ROSE

DOM PERIGNON HAS RELEASED ITS LATEST ADDITION TO THE ŒNOTHEQUE SERIES WITH THE EXCLUSIVE ŒNOTHEQUE ROSE. EVERY FEW YEARS LUXURY VINTNER DOM PERIGNON PUT ASIDE A SMALL QUANTITY OF AN EXQUISITE VINTAGE AND PLACE IT INTO A SPECIAL CELLAR KNOWN AS THE ŒNOTHEQUE (WINE LIBRARY) TO AGE AND MATURE TO ITS FULLEST POTENTIAL. THE NEW ŒNOTHEQUE ROSE HAS SPENT OVER TEN YEARS AGING IN THE ŒNOTHEQUE. THE ROSE IS MADE EXCLUSIVELY FROM PINOT NOIR AND CHARDONNAY GRAPES, AS THE AGING LASTS, THE SCENT BECOMES MORE EXQUISITE AND THE TASTE AS WELL. THE DOM PERIGNON ŒNOTHEQUE ROSE WILL BE AVAILABLE IN EXTREMELY LIMITED QUANTITIES IN SELECT SHOPS WORLDWIDE.

TRUMAN CAPOTE'S BROOKLYN TOWNHOUSE ON THE MARKET

BROOKLYN'S MOST FAMOUS HOUSE, THE 11 BEDROOM MANSION WHERE TRUMAN CAPOTE WROTE MOST OF HIS ICONIC NOVELS INCLUDING BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, HAS RECENTLY BEEN PUT ON THE MARKET FOR $18 MILLION. THE STUNNING HOME AT 70 WILLOW ST IN BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, IS BEING OFFERED FOR JUST THE THIRD TIME IN 70 YEARS AND IS LIKELY TO BREAK SALES RECORDS IN THE BOROUGH AND BECOME THE MOST EXPENSIVE TOWNHOUSE IN ITS HISTORY. THE LAVISH PERIOD HOME FEATURES 18 ROOMS WITH 11 FIREPLACES, PARKING FOR FOUR CARS, A MURAL COPIED FROM THE KENNEDY WHITE HOUSE, A BACK PORCH AND A LUSH GARDEN MODELED AFTER CLASSIC SOUTHERN GARDENS. THE HOME IS BEING TOUTED AS ONE OF THE FINEST HOUSES IN THE BOROUGH'S FINEST NEIGHBORHOOD. 'IT'S LIKE LIVING IN A COUNTRY ESTATE IN THE MIDDLE OF NEW YORK CITY', SAID KAREN HEYMAN, THE SOTHEBY'S BROKER SELLING THE PROPERTY. 'IT TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY THE MINUTE YOU WALK IN.' BUILT IN 1839 AND NOW IN THE HANDS OF A MEDIA ENTREPRENEUR, THE HOUSE WAS OWNED IN THE 1950s BY BROADWAY ART DIRECTOR OLIVER SMITH, WHO DESIGNED THE FAMOUS SETS FOR 'GUYS AND DOLLS' AND 'WEST SIDE STORY'. CAPOTE SAID HE GOT SMITH BLITZED ON MARTINIS TO PERSUADE HIS FRIEND TO RENT HIM THE HOUSE'S GARDEN APARTMENT FROM 1955 TO 1965. THERE, AMID THE GRAND GREEK REVIVAL COLUMNS AND GLITTERING CRYSTAL CHANDELIERS, THE PROLIFIC WRITER DREAMED UP ICONIC NEW YORK PARTY GIRL HOLLY GOLIGHTLY FROM BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, HE ALSO WROTE THE POIGNANT IN COLD BLOOD, HIS FAMOUS NONFICTION NOVEL, AT THE MANSION. CAPOTE WOULD THROW LAVISH PARTIES FOR THE NEW YORK'S RICH AND FAMOUS WHEN SMITH LEFT TOWN, OFTEN BRAGGING THAT HE OWNED THE ENTIRE PROPERTY.

SMU MEADOWS MUSEUM DISCOVER OWNING NAZI LOOTED ART

SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY'S MEADOW'S MUSEUM, DALLAS, HAS RECENTLY LEARNED THAT THREE OF ITS WELL-KNOWN PAINTINGS WERE AMONG THE MILLIONS OF ARTWORKS STOLEN FROM JEWISH FAMILIES BY THE NAZIS DURING WORLD WAR II. THE FOUNDER OF THE DALLAS-BASED MONUMENTS MEN FOUNDATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF ART DISCOVERED THE PAINTINGS' CONNECTION TO WORLD WAR PLUNDER WHILE DOING RESEARCH FOR TWO BOOKS. ROBERT EDSEL SAID HE CAME ACROSS A BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO SHOT IN GERMANY IN 1945 THAT SHOWED A PAINTING HE THOUGHT LOOKED 'EERILY LIKE ONE' HE HAD SEEN AT SMU'S MUSEUM. IT WAS THE 'SAINT JUSTA', HALF OF A FAMOUS PAIR OF PAINTINGS BY THE SPANISH ARTIST BARTOLOME ESTEBAN MURILLO. EDSEL LATER SPOTTED ITS COMPANION PIECE, 'SAINT RUFINA', IN ANOTHER PHOTO. 'THEY'RE NOT JUST TREASURES OF CIVILIZATION, BUT THEY'RE REPRESENTATIVE OF FAMILIES WHO LOST THEIR LIVES AND HAD EVERYTHING STOLEN FROM THEM', EDSEL SAID. EDSEL ESTIMATED THAT THE MURILLO PAINTINGS WERE VALUED AT LEAST BETWEEN $10 MILLION TO $15 MILLION FOR THE RARE PAIR, AFTER DISCUSSIONS WITH VARIOUS AUCTION HOUSES. 'THESE ARE TWO OF THE FINEST WORKS OF ART BY THIS ARTIST, ONE OF SPAIN'S MOST IMPORTANT PAINTERS EVER', HE TOLD THE ASSOCIATED PRES IN A RECENT INTERVIEW. EACH OF THE PAINTINGS BORE A NOW TIME FADED NUMBER ON THE BACK OF THEIR WOODEN STRETCHERS. THE NAZIS USED NUMBER CODES TO INVENTORY STOLEN ART, EDSEL SAID. THE R1171 ON THE SANTA JUSTA MEANT THAT IT CAME FROM THE FRENCH ROTHSCHILD COLLECTION AND WAS THE 1,171st ITEM FROM THAT COLLECTION INVENTORIED BY THE NAZIS, ACCORDING TO A STORY ON DALLAS TELEVISION STATION WFAA'S WEBSITE. THE NAZIS STOLE MORE THAN 6,000 ITEMS FROM THE ROTHSCHILD ESTATE, EDSEL SAID. SMU'S MEADOWS MUSEUM HAS HAD THE MURILLO MASTERPIECES FOR 38 YEARS. THE MUSEUM BOUGHT THE PAINTINGS AT A NEW YORK GALLERY IN 1972 AND DIDN'T KNOW OF THE LINK, SAID NICOLE ATZBACH, THE MUSEUM'S ASSISTANT DIRECTOR. THE MUSEUM IS WORKING WITH CONSULTANTS IN LONDON AND PARIS TO TRACE THE ART WORKS' CHAIN OF CUSTODY AND VERIFY OWNERSHIP. DOCUMENTS SHOW THAT THE PAINTINGS WERE INITIALLY RETURNED TO THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT, BUT THE EXPERTS ARE TRYING TO DETERMINE WHETHER FRANCE GAVE THE PAINTINGS BACK TO THE ROTHSCHILD FAMILY BEFORE THE MEADOWS MUSEUM ACQUIRED THEM. EDSEL TOLD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THAT THAT DOCUMENT IS 'A MISSING LINK TO TITLE OWNERSHIP'. EVEN SO, HE AND THE UNIVERSITY SAID THE MUSEUM'S OWNERSHIP OF THE WORKS WILL BE VALIDATED. THE MUSEUM HAS SHOWN THE ARTWORKS INTERNATIONALLY AND PUBLISHED THEM IN VARIOUS CATALOGS WITHOUT ANYONE CLAIMING TO OWN THEM. 'GIVEN THAT THESE PAINTINGS ARE SO WIDELY KNOWN, THEIR LOAN HISTORY... AND THE FACT THAT THE ROTHSCHILDS WERE CLOSELY TIED TO THE ART WORLD I DON'T SEE HOW THEY WOULD NOT HAVE SPOKEN OUT TO CLAIM THEM IF THEY HAD NOT ALREADY GONE THROUGH PROPER CHANNELS', ATZBACH SAID.