works of the old Dutch masters. According to principal Maxwell Oersted, the problems of past years, including student apathy and a high truancy rate during the scheduled trip, have disappeared. "I think these students have found a whole new appreciation of the arts," Oersted commented Thursday.
Museum personnel reported finding students, most too poor to afford a Museum trip with their parents, enthusiastically wandering the halls, engaged in spirited conversation regarding the merits of various schools of art. "The students seemed fascinated by the value our society places on fine arts today," one tour guide reported. "Some of the youngsters even expressed an interest in one day owning paintings or sculptures themselves!" Abraham Lorentz, the Museum's director, stated that the Museum was always ready to welcome the artistically inclined. Lorentz also commented that the Museum was considering assembling a slide show concerning the opportunities a career in the arts can offer, since so many students seemed interested in the financial intricacies of maintaining a museum.
Several teachers have reportedly noticed an increased interest among students. "It's incredible," art teacher Robert Alfven confided. "Art history has never been too popular at a school like this, but now my students love the subject so much that some of them are doing outside research on their own. One boy even presented a report on the latest art auction at Christie's, and the entire class took notes." Alfen also commented that the class will soon explore the world's attitudes on priceless art with a mock-auction, for which some students have already purchased high-quality copies of famous paintings and sculptures. "They're really getting into it," Alfven smiled.
Community leaders report this week that even the adults around Central High are getting into the spirit. At a recent PTA meeting, a number of members expressed joy at their children's newfound interest in the world of art. Several parents were happy to relate that their children had saved up lunch money or allowances to purchase "...very realistic renditions of the old masters, painted with oil on wood and everything," as one parent put it. Even community members are getting into the act, with local pawn shops and art resellers reporting an amazing influx in priceless art. Unidentified students apparently found several Renoirs and a sculpture by Rodin in their attics and sold the pieces in order to return them to the community.
The pawn shop owners involved in the sudden resurgence of artistic popularity have offered to sell the art to the City Museum, which has recently misplaced dozens of masterworks valued at several million dollars. Luckily, the pieces didn't go missing until after the students toured the museum. "Society has deprived them of so many other things. Thank God we didn't have to deprive them of the joy of viewing beautiful art as well," Curator Lorentz stated, adding that officials expect to locate nearly all of the missing artwork just as soon as they find time to search the basement. "I imagine we'll find the missing overnight staff as well."
