More on the Smithsonian and MoMA Compensation Contretemps
The Washington Post published an editorial on Thursday, taking Lawrence Small to task for his unauthorized expenses as top official of the Smithsonian Institution and criticizing him for refusing to discuss the controversy. (Similarly, the Museum of Modern Art's director, Glenn Lowry, has declined to speak on the record about his unorthodox compensation by a private foundation).
The Post opined:
As distressing as Mr. Small's actions were, the real problem lies with a board that opted to be more lap dog than watchdog.
The Post's editorial raises what, for me, is a more interesting question: Why hasn't the NY Times followed up on the Glenn Lowry compensation controversy (which broke Feb. 16 on its own front page), the way the Post has pursued Small's small-potato transgressions (which involved only thousands, not millions, of dollars)?
There's been no Times editorial, nor any follow-up reporting or commentary by the news or arts staffs. On Saturday, however, the Times did publish a letter to the editor defending Lowry and the manner of his compensation, signed by MoMA's chairman and president, Robert Menschel and Marie-Josée Kravis.
Their letter states:
All payments and compensation were reported on tax forms filed by the [New York Fine Arts Support] Trust, the museum and Mr. Lowry, who paid personal income tax on compensation he received.
However, the museum's own tax returns, available for inspection online, make no mention of the Trust, even though they do list other exempt organizations to which the museum is related "through common...trustee officers." The Additional Compensation Information page provided by MoMA on Jan. 5, 2007 in response to requests by the NY State Attorney General's Office specifically states that the yearly dollar amounts of compensation to Lowry from the New York Fine Arts Support Trust are "information in addition to that set forth in its IRS Form 990s [emphasis added]." And this supplementary page only reports such compensation back to 1999, although payments began in 1995. My attempts to get the full list of payments from the museum have thus far been unsuccessful.
Perhaps the trustees' letter to the Times should have stated that payments and compensation from the Trust were reported on tax forms filed by the Trust and Lowry but NOT by the museum.
UPDATE: Modern Art Notes piles on.
Categories:
Blogroll
About Last Night
Art History Newsletter
Art History Today (U.K.)
Art Law Blog
Art Observed
Art To Go (Seattle)
Artblog.net
Articulations (Smithsonian)
Artopia
Auction Blog (Men's Vogue)
Design Observer
A Don's Life
Edward Lifson (Chicago)
Exhibitionist (Boston)
Eye Level (SAAM)
Foot in Mouth (dance)
Illicit Cultural Property
LA Observed (Los Angeles)
Looking Around (Time)
Looting Matters
Modern Kicks
NewYorkology--Architecture
NewYorkology--Museums
NYC Opera Fanatic
Opera Chic
Slog (Seattle)
Tropolism
Walker
AJ Ads
AJ Blogs
AJBlogCentral | rssculture
Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City
Andrew Taylor on the business of arts & culture
rock culture approximately
Rebuilding Gulf Culture after Katrina
Douglas McLennan's blog
Art from the American Outback
John Rockwell on the arts
Jan Herman - arts, media & culture with 'tude
dance
Apollinaire Scherr talks about dance
Tobi Tobias on dance et al...
media
Jeff Weinstein's Cultural Mixology
Martha Bayles on Film...
music
Greg Sandow performs a book-in-progress
Howard Mandel's freelance Urban Improvisation
Focus on New Orleans. Jazz and Other Sounds
Exploring Orchestras w/ Henry Fogel
Kyle Gann on music after the fact
Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...
Greg Sandow on the future of Classical Music
Norman Lebrecht on Shifting Sound Worlds
publishing
Jerome Weeks on Books
Scott McLemee on books, ideas & trash-culture ephemera
visual
Public Art, Public Space
John Perreault's art diary
Lee Rosenbaum's Cultural Commentary
Tyler Green's modern & contemporary art blog

Leave a comment