NEWSMAKERS | Museum gives view of restoration

NEWSMAKERS

Museum gives view of restoration

CINCINNATI

An art historian has put himself on display at an Ohio museum as he works to restore an 1890 painting by Vincent van Gogh.

Visitors to the Cincinnati Art Museum can watch as chief conservator Per Knutas slowly and carefully removes wax that was applied in the 1970s to the masterpiece, “Undergrowth with Two Figures.” The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the microscope he’s using for the very detailed work is hooked up to a 42-inch flat-screen monitor, so patrons can follow his progress up close.

Wax was put on the back of the painting to protect the canvas and secure the paint. But Knutas says some of the wax seeped to the front surface, obscuring van Gogh’s vibrant colors.

Theory: Roswell UFO was Russian craft

ROSWELL, N.M.

A new book says the Roswell “incident” was no UFO but rather a Russian craft with “grotesque, child-size aviators” developed in human experiments by Nazi doctor and war criminal Josef Mengele.

That latest theory is floated by investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen in a work titled “Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base.”

It’s about the secretive Nevada base called Area 51. One chapter gives the new Roswell theory, citing an anonymous source who says Joseph Stalin recruited Mengele and sent the craft into U.S. airspace in 1947 to spark public hysteria.

Julie Schuster with the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell says she hasn’t read the book. But she says any new theories fuel public interest, and that’s terrific.

Schwimmer, wife have a baby girl

LOS ANGELES

David Schwimmer is now a father. A spokeswoman for the 44-year-old actor and director says Schwimmer and his wife, Zoe Buckman, recently welcomed their first daughter.

Publicist Ina Treciokas says baby Cleo Buckman Schwimmer was born May 8.

Schwimmer was a star of TV’s “Friends.”

He also lent his voice to the “Madagascar” animated movies.

Steve Martin to perform at Capitol

LOS ANGELES

Steve Martin and his banjo are taking on the U.S. Capitol on July 4.

The 65-year-old entertainer is set to perform from the Capitol’s west lawn during the annual “A Capitol Fourth” concert this year.

Josh Groban, Little Richard, “Glee” star Matthew Morrison, “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks and Broadway star Kelli O’Hara also share the bill.

Martin said his participation in the patriotic event inspired him to write a new song called “Me & Paul Revere,” which talks about Revere’s infamous ride from his horse’s perspective.

Martin will play the tune with his band, The Steep Canyon Rangers.

Jimmy Smits will host the Fourth of July concert, which will be broadcast on PBS, National Public Radio and the American Forces Network.

Vindicator wire services