NEW YORK (Reuters) – For award-winning chef Heinz Beck, who has earned three Michelin stars for his Italian restaurant La Pergola in Rome, there are no borders in the culinary world.

The German-born chef presides over arguably the top restaurant in the Italian capital, is married to a Sicilian woman, and has restaurants dotted around Europe, including Gusto by Heinz Beck, which opened recently in Portugal.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Michael Jackson was the ultimate entertainer, who oversaw all the details of his shows, from the slick choreography to the rhinestones and pearls carefully hand sewn onto his elaborate costumes, his longtime costume designer says.

As much as music and dance characterized the pop superstar, the late Jackson was also known for his style, from military outfits and regalia, to jewel-encrusted gloves, fedora hats and intricately beaded jackets.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A 1932 portrait by Pablo Picasso of his young lover and a pioneering 3-D Andy Warhol painting of the Statue of Liberty are expected to sell for at least $35 million each, but could fetch much more when they are auctioned next month.

The two works, Picasso’s “Nature morte aux tulipes,” and Warhol’s “Statue of Liberty” will be the highlights of New York autumn sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Pablo Picasso may be best known for his Blue and Rose Periods and Cubism but the Spanish artist also used black and white in his works, many of which will be shown in a new exhibition opening on Friday at New York’s Guggenheim Museum.

“Picasso Black and White,” which runs through January 23 and includes 118 paintings, sculptures and works on paper from 1904 to 1971, focuses on Picasso’s exploration of the use of the two colors.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A letter handwritten by physicist Albert Einstein a year before his death, expressing his views on religion, will be sold on eBay this month with an opening bid of $3 million, an auction agency said on Tuesday.

Known as the “God Letter,” the correspondence offers insights into the private thoughts about religion, God and tribalism of one of the world’s most brilliant minds.

NEW YORK, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Whether it was pencil skirts
paired with fitted jackets, tiered dresses in soft pastels or
bead-embroidered gowns, Oscar de la Renta’s Spring 2013
collection exuded sophisticated, feminine elegance.

The Dominican-born designer, who is among the most revered
names in haute couture and a favorite of first ladies and film
stars, was true to form in the late Tuesday show with twill
fringe suits for day and sumptuous evening gowns worthy of any
red carpet.

NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Soft, flowing dresses with
mid-calf hemlines in pastel shades of blue, sea foam and grays
dominated the runway on Monday as designer Carolina Herrera
showed her Spring 2013 collection at New York Fashion Week.

The look was feminine, subtle and light as models seemed to
float down the runway in wool-crepe long dresses, twill blouses
matched with crepe flounce shorts and elegant color-blocked silk
gowns with tulle overlays.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – London topped New York as the global fashion capital for the second consecutive year, according to a new ranking released on Thursday, the start of New York Fashion Week.

As designers, buyers, models, stylists and fashionistas converged on the Big Apple for the semi-annual event that attracts 116,000 people, New York placed second on the annual list the tracks interest on the Internet and in the media, followed by Barcelona, Paris and Madrid.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Seniors, some in their 90s, could soon be making new friends on Facebook thanks to New York libraries offering classes to help the elderly learn, or brush up their social network skills.

Carol White, 69, was already on Facebook when she enrolled in the “Facebook for Seniors” class at the Spuyten Duyvil Library in the Bronx. But she didn’t understand how it worked.

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – The death of author Gore Vidal at the age of 86 brought tributes from around the globe on Wednesday, as friends and fans mourned the passing of the man remembered as one of America’s literary giants.

Vidal, whose biting observations on politics, sex and American culture in novels, plays and essays made him one of the best-known authors of his generation, died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday of complications from pneumonia.