Dolly Parton Remembered at 80; Santa Fe Indian Market, Kehinde Wiley Controversy

Dolly Parton, the renowned country music star, died yesterday at the age of 80, leading to an outpouring of tributes, including a 2020 exhibition at East Tennessee State University showcasing Kym Day's portrait of her. Day referred to Parton as "a proverbial ray of sunshine." Celebrated for her charitable work in Appalachia and Tennessee, Parton was often regarded as the "Patron Saint of the South." In other developments, the Santa Fe Indian Market adopted a "By Us, for Us" philosophy. A documentary titled "Barbara Forever" about filmmaker Barbara Hammer was released. The US State Department removed Kehinde Wiley's artwork from the Dominican Republic embassy, while Chinese artist Gao Zhen was sentenced to three years in prison. The Getty Museum will feature Sir Joshua Reynolds's "Portrait of Mai" beginning September 14. Europol noted a concerning trend in cultural property theft, and the Estonian Artists' Association initiated an emergency auction after losing over $800K to fraud. The WNDR Museum in Chicago is set to close, potentially reflecting a decline in interest in immersive art.