Brandeis University to Close Rose Art Museum and Sell Collection

The Boston Globe is reporting that Brandeis University plans on closing the schools Rose Art Museum and sell the 6,000 item collection. The museum has been part of Brandeis University for nearly 50 years and has a main focus on contemporary art. The school is facing some extreme financial hardships, and is also looking at reducing faculty by 10% and even the potential of requiring students to attend a summer session.

Regarding the collection that includes pieces by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Paik, the Globe reports The move shocked local arts leaders and drew harsh criticism from the Association of College and University Museums and Galleries. Rose Art Museum director Michael Rush declined comment this evening, saying he had just learned of the decision.

The report continues “Clearly, what’s happening with Brandeis now is that they decided the easiest way is to look around the campus and find things that can be capitalized,” said David Robertson, a Northwestern University professor who is president of the Association of College and University Museums and Galleries. “It’s always art that goes first.”

But there is no precedent for selling an art collection of the Rose's stature. Internationally recognized, the collection is strong in American art of the 1960s and 1970s and includes works by Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Morris Louis, and Helen Frankenthaler.

As the article states, which are having difficult times surviving in this economy are looking for ways to raise substantial amounts of capital to survive. If there is an art collection involved with sufficient value, as disappointing as it is, we are finding the collections are becoming more and more a tool to be used to raise capital as opposed to a benefit to the public.

Bloomberg also reports on the closing of the Rose. It states many foundations which supported Brandeis University were effected by the Madof Ponzi scheme. Bloomberg reports the collection was last appraised in 2007 and valued at $350 million.

The New York Times states the Massachusetts Attorney General is going to look at the situation. The NY Times article states Emily LaGrassa, director of communications for the state attorney general, Martha Coakley, said that Brandeis had informed the office on Monday of its decision, but had not consulted with the attorney general in advance. The attorney general has approval powers over certain actions of nonprofit institutions in the state.

Ms. LaGrassa said that in the case of Brandeis, the attorney general would review wills and agreements made between the museum and the estates of donors to determine if selling artworks violated the terms of donations. “We have not yet offered any opinion on any aspect of the proposed sales,” she said, adding, “We do expect this to be a lengthy process.”

To read the Boston Globe article click HERE, to read the Bloomberg article, click HERE, to read the NY Times article, click HERE. As the reports surface, the mainstream press is really picking up on this story. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out.

I was in Chicago for a few very cold days, and at the airport I am reading US Today. I really hate spreading the negativism, but it is so hard to avoid. The economy is just in shambles, and it is reaching into and effecting almost every area of daily life, not only the fine and decorative arts.

The article was dealing with upcoming profit reports, and the layoffs and companies like Home Depot (closingnExpo design center), Caterpillar, and Sprint (around 35,000 job losses). Many economic experts predict that 2009 will be a very difficult year with many more reductions. I certainly hope something positive comes along, or we will be reading more and more about institutional survival, and not just in the arts.