Best of 2007 - Art

This undated photo provided during a press conference by the Italian Culture Ministry in Rome, Thursday Aug. 2, 2007, shows a 5th century B.C. 2.2-meter (7-foot) statue of the goddess Aphrodite. Italian Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli gave a press conference Thursday on a deal reached with the J.Paul Getty Museum for the return of 40 disputed artifacts over the coming months, including one of the most prized works in dispute, the statue of the goddess Aphrodite, which will remain on display at the Getty until 2010, the ministry said. Italian authorities believe the statue was looted from an ancient Greek settlement of Morgantina in Sicily and bought by the Getty for US$18 million in 1988.

“The White Horse” painting from 1819, by artist John Constable, was part of an exhibit at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino.  (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)