Monday, July 17, 2006

The Fisk University O'Keeffes

The Tennessean had a weekend story on Fisk University's plan to sell an iconic Georgia O'Keeffe painting in order to raise money for its sinking endowment. The O'Keeffe Foundation is challenging the sale, saying it was a condition of the gift of the so-called "Stieglitz Collection" that the collection not be broken up. The issue is still before the Davidson County Chancery Court. You can listen to an NPR story on the matter from last December here. Tyler Green, a "a near-absolutist on the evils of deaccessioning at art museums," wrestles with this particular case here. An image of the painting can be seen here. My previous post on the Barnes Foundation's move to Philadelphia, which raised conceptually similar issues of when a donor's intent may be overridden, is here.