Carol Vogel has a very good piece in tomorrow's New York Times on The Gross Clinic saga.
She says the city has raised "substantially" more than the $23 million that had reportedly been pledged as of Nov. 29. (Local institutions have until Dec. 26 to match the $68 million offer for the painting.) She also discusses the historic designation process that's now underway (and which I posted about most recently here):
"Mayor John Street proposed last month that the painting be designated a 'historic object' under the city’s historic preservation ordinance. That designation would put 'The Gross Clinic' under the jurisdiction of the Philadelphia Historical Commission and could prevent its removal from the city. It might also mean that if Philadelphia is unable to raise the money, the sale to the National Gallery and Crystal Bridges could be tied up in court for years. Jefferson University officials ... responded to the mayor’s proposal in a terse statement calling it 'not appropriate' and 'inconsistent with applicable law.' The university asserted that it would mandate an 'artificially low sale price' for the work and 'restrict the university’s control over its own property.'"
NPR's All Things Considered had a piece on the sale today, which made no mention of the historic designation procedures.
