Louvre to expand with branch in Abu Dhabi, angering some in art world
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – France’s storied Louvre museum, home to priceless art works such as the Mona Lisa, said Tuesday it will open a new Louvre in this Persian Gulf boomtown, prompting outcries from some who accuse the museum of shilling France’s patrimony for $1.3 billion in oil money. The 30-year agreement, signed by French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres and the head of Abu Dhabi’s tourism authority, Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, opens the way for the Louvre Abu Dhabi to display thousands of works from some of France’s best museums, such as the Louvre, the Georges Pompidou Center, the Musee d’Orsay and Versailles.




