Australian officials have launched a misconduct investigation into two executives of the yet-to-open Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.

New South Wales arts minister John Graham told fellow politicians a local law firm had been engaged to investigate what he said were allegations of a "serious nature".

He spoke out less than a week after it was announced the chief executive of the $656 million museum, Lisa Havilah, was stepping aside less than three months before its planned opening.

The institution, due to open on November 7 with work by the likes of Es Devlin and James Turrell on show, has been hit in recent months with stories of lavish spending and concerns over appointments and procurement practices.

It turns out the Smithsonian can play a little politics just like some of its most vociferous critics.

The US institution has managed to bypass some of the attacks it could face over its plans for the National Museum of the American Latino by putting it in its second-oldest building.

The $1 billion plan, which will see the Arts and Industries Building on the National Mall in Washington DC house the museum, means it does not need congressional approval of a new site and will not have to listen to critical members of congress lining up to have their say.

The Smithsonian and its leader Lonnie Bunch have been regular targets for the White House and its allies accusing it of political extremism and peddling a distorted view of American history.

Pace Gallery may have downsized recently, but if New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art is anything to go by the influence of its founder Arne Glimcher is as powerful as ever.

He was among the most vocal critics of the decision by the Costume Institute to put on a John Galliano show with his objections being made public only days before the event was cancelled.

Glimcher went so far as to warn curator David Breslin that he and his wife were "seriously reconsidering" decisions they had made about leaving the Max Hollein-led museum works in their wills, according to the New York Times.

He has previously given works by the likes of Julian Schnabel, Agnes Martin and Mark Rothko to the museum over the years.

The Met announced yesterday its planned 2027 Galliano show would "not proceed as planned" with the British fashion designer again apologizing for several anti-semitic and racist tirades he made more than a decade ago.

He said he did not want "the debate surrounding me to place The Met in a difficult position" and said he recognized "an exhibition honoring my work would be painful for some".

1 - The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, has acquired its first 17th-century bronze. The two-feet-tall 1624 sculpture Samson and Two Philistines by Stefano Maderno will go on show in its Louis I. Kahn Building.

2 - Vienna's Actionism Museum (WAM) has been criticized for its planned show dedicated to Otto Muehl. The painter, who died in 2013, was jailed for sexual offenses against children and his work is known for its graphic nudity and violence, but museum director Klaus Albrecht Schroder said audiences will be able "to form their own judgments regarding Otto Muehl’s art".

3 - Sweden's Nationalmuseum in Stockholm has acquired a previously unknown painting by Italian Renaissance artist Lavinia Fontana. The altarpiece depicting the mystical marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria has been in a private Italian collection since the late 19th century.

4 - Robert Indiana's Star of Hope Foundation has gone against his wishes and put his home on the island of Vinalhaven in Maine up for sale for $1.4 million. The New York Times reported his will stated the building should be "open to the public for visits, classes and lectures" but the foundation's managing director Carole Martin told the newspaper the sale would allow them to "convert" the properties it inherited into "philanthropic capital".