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BBC Series ‘Fake or Fortune?’ Discovers ‘Enormously Important’ Katherine Read Painting

An episode of the BBC One documentary series Fake or Fortune? that aired on July 23 confirmed that a previously unattributed artwork was in fact painted by the 18th century Scottish artist Katherine Read. The painting belongs to Mary-Louise Wedderburn, a retired accountant who inherited it from her uncle 20 years ago. Wedderburn presented the gold-framed painting—a portrait of a young Indian woman with a languid expression, wearing several strands of pearl necklaces and a large emerald pendant—wrapped in a sleeping bag. According to the BBC, their research team wasn’t going in complete cold: Wedderburn had an inkling that it could be by Read, who was a distant relative. The painting is estimated to be worth approximately $130,000. Read was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1723. She traveled with a niece to India in the mid-1770s, and died en route back to England the following year. During the 18th century, she was well-known for oil and pastel portraits, o...
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Ottawa’s New Drone Plan: Build Fast or Fall Behind

Ottawa wants Canadian drones to fight faster than Canadian bureaucracy usually allows. The big picture: The federal government launched the Defence Drone Initiative (DDI) today, a fast-track program to get Canadian-made uncrewed and autonomous systems from workshop to battlefield — and into the hands of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Canadian Coast Guard (CCG). Why it matters: Drones have rewritten the rules of modern conflict. Ottawa is betting that speed — not just capability — will decide who keeps pace. Minister of National Defence David McGuinty put it bluntly: the future belongs to those who “innovate and adapt the fastest.” How it works: The Department of National Defence and the Defence Investment Agency (DIA) will jointly run the program, creating a faster pipeline from concept to testing to production — assuming the tech meets defence requirements. Target audience: everyone from scrappy startups to established primes. What they...
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Leonardo da Vinci May Become the Face of Future Euro Banknotes

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Could Leonardo da Vinci, alongside imagery of visitors strolling through art exhibitions, become the face of future euro banknotes? In a first, Europeans can now help decide how they want to pay for their Belgian chocolate and French cheese: with bills printed in designs depicting either “European culture” or “Rivers and birds,” announced the European Central Bank (ECB) today. Not too shabby. The bank has revealed 10 shortlisted finalists of an international competition for the eurozone’s new banknote designs, and invited the public to share their two cents about it in a survey here , open until September 21, 2026. This is the first time the euro will get a full makeover since it was issued in 2002. Among the design proposals, the arts and culture category features figures such as opera star Maria Callas on the 5-euro bill, Ludwig van Beethoven on 10-euro notes, and Leonardo on the 100-euro bill. On the reverse side of the latter note, designe...
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The engine room – 10 instances of storming games by tight forwards in Jubilee Cup finals

The Jim Brown Plate has been awarded to the Player of the Jubilee Cup Final since 2004. It has been awarded to tight forwards on seven occasions. A recap of those winners and their performances below, as well as some other picks.  Jubilee Cup finals are often decided by a big play in the backs...
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If Dealers Want to Sell an Artwork to a Museum, They May Have to Find the Buyer Themselves

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Art dealer Sonia Dutton was at her gallery on the Lower East Side last fall, where “Night Drawing,” Boston artist Rose deSmith Greenman’s debut New York exhibition, was on view. The untrained artist began drawing only in her seventies, but her still lifes, often made after dark with humble materials like everyday markers and ballpoint pen, bristle with energy.  In came a museum curator who expressed enthusiasm about the show, and even interest in acquiring a piece. But that news came with a pitch many dealers have come to expect, and not necessarily relish. It goes a little something like this, Dutton said: “We love the show. We love the work. We’d love to have something for the museum’s collection. But I’m not sure we have the funds for it.” In practice, that can translate to, “Who can you find to buy it for us?” This presents a mixed prospect for the dealer: the chance to have an artwork enter a museum collection is a coup, but it is tempered by the...
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HOBM preparing for title defence in final against great rivals Petone

By Steven White Ben Tuiomanufili says the banter is flying on both sides of the Ewen Bridge this week as local clubs Hutt Old Boys Marist and Petone prepare for the final this Saturday at neutral Porirua Park to decide the 98th Jubilee Cup champion. “I have had groups of people come up to me...
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Trump-Backed Federal Council Aims to Reduce Protections of Historic Sites

On Friday, the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), most of whose members were appointed by President Trump or include leaders of Trump-controlled agencies, sent an internal draft proposal to eliminate federal regulations requiring public and state input before construction begins on historic sites, as first reported The Atlantic . The suggested amendments to regulations, shared by the Washington Post , have stoked fears that the requested changes to existing rules will give Trump nearly unchecked power to build a portfolio of controversial projects monumentalizing him in the US capital, while also threatening historic sites around the country, including those considered sacred by Indigenous tribes. “This is not only a massive assault on laws that have benefited that nation for some 60 years, it almost completely eliminates the role of the public,” added Charles A. Birnbaum, CEO of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, in a statemen...
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