The Clark & Glueck: An obvious NYT conflict

Why is New York Times art critic Grace Glueck on the board of trustees of an art museum, the Clark Art Institute? Glueck's role at the Clark seems to be a direct violation of the Times' own ethics policies.

"[Times staff] may not join boards of trustees, advisory committees or similar groups except those serving journalistic organizations or otherwise promoting journalism education," the Times' own ethics handbook says. It adds that it doesn't matter that Glueck, who has 62 bylines so far this year, is technically a free-lancer: "Freelance contributors to the Times, while not its employees, will be held to the same standards as staff members when they are on Times assignments."

The Glueck conflict is obvious and embarrassing, and should not be dismissed as one of those things that is for some reason permissible at the culture desk. Would the Times allow its labor reporter to serve on the board of a labor union? Or could a Times science reporter sit on the board of the American Lung Association? What about its religion columnist: Would it allow him to serve on the board of a church, even if, say, he didn't write about that church? (Glueck last wrote about the Clark in 1991.) The answer is to all of those questions is: No. It should not be OK for a Times art critic to be a trustee of an art museum.

Sadly, Glueck's unethical fence-straddling raises questions about the Times' coverage of the Clark:

• Did Glueck's role at the museum in any way influence this past Sunday's Times story on the Clark?
• In June, 2005, the Times reviewed a Jacques-Louis David show at the Clark instead of at the originating institution, the J. Paul Getty Museum. Did the Times skip the Getty presentation in deference to a colleague's institution? The Times ran two stories on David at the Clark -- and none on David at the Getty.
• Why are there so many more stories in the NYT's arts section about the Clark than about virtually any other museum outside New York City that has a comparable (~$11 million per year) budget?

In none of the Times' recent stories about the Clark did the paper reveal the relationship between a Times critic and the museum. Nor is Glueck's relationship with the Clark mentioned in any of her writing. How do we know that the artist that Glueck is reviewing this Friday hasn't been chosen for a Clark installation or show?

There are plenty of other less obvious ways in which Glueck's relationship with the Clark raises questions. Think about what trustees do: One of their primary responsibilities is to raise money to fund organizations. Has Glueck raised money from people the Times covers, either inside or outside the arts? Might they be motivated to donate in the hopes that Glueck might advocate for them inside the Times? (You bet.)

Might Glueck's Clark-related ties impact the Times' non-Clark coverage, too? The director of the Art Institute of Chicago, for example, sits with Glueck on the Clark board. And what about the future: Will Glueck's dual role impact the Times' coverage of the Clark's Tadao Ando-designed expansion?

The Times and Glueck shouldn't be in a position to have these questions asked. Glueck's trusteeship of the Clark creates an easily avoidable appearance of conflict, the kind of thing that newspapers almost always work hard to avoid.

This isn't the Clark's problem. This is a Glueck-Times problem. One of two relationships should end immediately: Glueck's with the Times, or Glueck's with the Clark. (And if Glueck leaves the Clark but stays at the Times, NYT readers deserve an explanation as to why the paper put up with the conflict for so many years.)

Related: Gawker says, "This could be a problem — and these sticky ethical missteps really do make one cringe." Also picked up by Romenesko. Edward Winkleman, a gallerist, thought about whether he wanted to say anything about this given that the Times reviews shows at his gallery... and then blogged in agreement with my post. The Stranger's excellent blog chimes in: "As if the Times needs another Jayson Blair/Judith Miller."