The price paid at Bonhams for a paint-splattered rush seat pine armchair from Roy Lichtenstein's studio, more than 27 times its estimate.

The Royal Collection Trust, which manages the British royal family’s art collection, received an almost $4 million insurance payout after two of its artifacts were stolen while on loan to a French museum.

The two royal snuff boxes, including one covered with almost 3,000 diamonds, were taken in a smash and grab raid on the Musée Cognacq-Jay in Paris last November.

One of them dates to the 18th century and was previously owned by the Russian royal family before being confiscated after the revolution and sold. It was then bought by King Charles III's great-grandmother.

The trust said the money would be used to buy more work for the collection.

Also taken in the raid were two snuff boxes from the collection of the Louvre. None of the stolen items have been recovered.

Another major new museum, another job for in-demand architect duo Herzog & de Meuron.

The pair, whose resume includes London's Tate Modern and Hong Kong's M+, have signed up to transform a former distribution center for footwear firm Birkenstock into a museum dedicated to the life and work of designers Ray and Charles Eames.

The wonderfully-named Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity said it hopes to attract around 200,000 visitors a year to the building in Novato, near San Francisco, and has paid $36 million for the 88.5 acre site and expects to pay even more for the building work.

Around 40,000 artifacts from the collection of the husband and wife, whose most famous design is the Eames chair, will be at the heart of the new museum which will also show work by contemporary designers.

Tributes have been paid to artist and theater director Robert Wilson who has died aged 83.

His death was confirmed by New York's Watermill arts center, which he founded, in a statement that said he had "touched, inspired and influenced generations of artists and audiences".

Wilson made his name working with Philip Glass on the opera, Einstein on the Beach, and went on to work with figures from Lady Gaga and Tilda Swinton to Allen Ginsberg.

He also made sculptures and designed furniture and was awarded the Golden Lion at the 1993 Venice Biennale for his sculptural work.

In 2013, Wilson was invited to be a guest artist by the Louvre, where he curated a multimedia exhibition featuring his pick of the collection.

1 - A new work by Conrad Shawcross has been commissioned by David Walsh's Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania, but will go on show in London first. The Nervous System (Umbilical) is a 10-meter-high machine with 40 interlocking arms randomly weaving shapes from rope. It will be exhibited at Here East from September 11 to November 2.

2 - A monumental sculpture by Rufino Tamayo was covered in graffiti during anti-gentrification protests in Mexico City. Protesters targeted the contemporary art museum of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, but did not get inside the building and no other artworks were damaged.

3 - British artist Shantell Martin has successfully sued Argentine winery Bodegas San Huberto for using her designs on more than 18,000 bottles of wine. But Martin, who is known for her distinctive black and white line drawings, was told by the UK High Court she may only get $13,100 in damages rather than the $197,000 she wanted.