BANK OF AMERICA TO LOAN ITS EXHIBITS

Bank of America announced a new program yesterday to loan exhibitions from its art collection to museums around the country, as well as the world. As part of the program, Bank of America will pay all costs of the exhibitions, including shipping and insurance.

This year, Bank of America is sending exhibitions to 22 American museums and four European museums. Among the largest exhibitions is “Reverberations: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Bank of America Collection,” which will be on loan to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia from June 28 to September 21. In New York, the International Center of Photography will exhibit “Arbus/ Avedon/Model: Selections from the Bank of America LaSalle Collection” from May 16 to September 7.

Staff Reporter of the Sun

A WORLD RECORD FOR VAN HAARLEM

The “Important Old Master Paintings” sale, held Tuesday at Christie’s New York, brought in more than $48 million.

Among the 132 lots that sold — 227 were on the block — was “Hercules and Achelous” by Cornelis van Haarlem, which was sold to a private European buyer for $8.1 million — exceeding the oil painting’s high estimate by more than $6 million. That price set the world auction record for the artist. Another notable sale was that of “Portrait of Princess Sybille of Cleves” by Lucas Cranach the Elder. An anonymous buyer bid $7.7 million for the painting, making it the second-highest price ever paid for the artist’s work.

In a statement, the Christie’s executives said: “We noted keen institutional interest, along with extensive private participation, from both Europe and the United States; a significant number of our bidders who battled for top lots were new collectors.”

Staff Reporter of the Sun

X-FILES: THE TITLE IS OUT THERE

The truth is finally out there about the new “X-Files” movie title. The second big-screen spin-off of the paranormal television adventure will be called “The X-Files: I Want to Believe,” the series’s creator and the movie’s director and co-writer, Chris Carter, told the Associated Press.

The title is a familiar phrase for fans of the series that starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI agents chasing after aliens and supernatural happenings. “I Want to Believe” was the slogan on a poster Mr. Duchovny’s UFO-obsessed agent, Fox Mulder, had hanging in the cluttered basement office where he and Ms. Anderson’s Dana Scully worked.

“I Want to Believe” comes a decade after the first “X-Files” film was released and six years after the finale of the series, whose opening credits for much of its nine-year run featured the catchphrase “The truth is out there.”

Associated Press

PRADA SEEKS MUSIC FOR ITS ANIMATED FILM

Prada is inviting visitors to its Web site to submit original music to accompany an animated short film, “Trembled Blossoms,” released by the fashion house.

At recent screenings, CocoRosie, a Paris-based band, and Frederic Sanchez, who has long created runway show sound tracks, each provided the film’s music. The goal of “Trembled Blossoms” was to create a classic animated film, such as those made in Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s — all the while using modern animation technology to enhance the picture.

The film was directed by James Lima, animated by Sight Effects LA, and produced by Hi! Production and Max Brun. Soundtrack submissions must be received by April 25. The winning music will be credited and displayed at prada.com, where more information about the contest is available.

Staff Reporter of the Sun