The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, which houses one of the finest collections of Russian art, may have to close on Jan. 1, officials said on Monday, after the Interior Ministry reduced the museum’s security force because the guards were not being paid. A gallery spokeswoman, who declined to specify the number of guards affected, said they were owed $1 million. She said the ministry threatened to remove all the guards if the wages were not paid by Jan. 1. In that event, said Olga Guseva, a museum official, “the collection is in danger.” The Tretyakov, home to medieval icons and other masterpieces, reopened in 1995 after a decadelong renovation.
UNMERRY `WIDOW’
Monday night’s opening performance of “The Merry Widow” at the Paris Opera was free. Of course, there was a catch. An opera spokesman said a strike by electricians and some stagehands forced the performance of the Franz Lehar opera to go on without spotlights or scenery changes, so there was no charge for those who chose to remain.
`ROAD TO’ OSCAR?
At the Salonika Film Festival in Greece, a jury headed by the Czech director Ivan Passer on Monday voted “Road to Nhill” by the Australian director Sue Brooks the best film. The accolade carries with it the $50,000 Golden Alexander prize. The jury awarded second prize to Turkish filmmaker Dervis Zaim for his “Somersault in a Coffin.”
VAN GOGH SALE
“Cottage,” a small, early Van Gogh painting, sold at auction Tuesday in Amsterdam for $693,000, almost three times higher than predicted. The identities of the private buyer and the previous owner were not revealed. “Cottage” was painted in 1885, the same year Van Gogh painted his famous “Potato Eaters,” now at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
