Lee Rosenbaum's cultural commentary

What's that new addition to the Metropolitan Museum's old masters galleries, catty-cornered with the museum's iconic Vermeer, "Woman with a Water Pitcher"?Let's approach for a closer look:Vermeer, "Young Woman Seated at a Virginal," Private CollectionWait a minute, I know that lady with the vacuous expression and the awkward arms. I last gawked at the gawky girl when she was … [Read more...] about Virginal Vermeer: Sold by Wynn, Now at the Met UPDATED

Super Cooper: Tennessee Attorney General Robert CooperLawyers for Fisk University, the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and the Tennessee Attorney General's office got another chance to rumble at yesterday's hearing in Tennessee Court of Appeals, where the university is seeking a reversal of a lower court decision that prevented the Nashville university from selling a $30-million … [Read more...] about Tennessee AG’s Brief Suggests Opposition to Walton-Fisk Deal

There was something ineffably sad about visiting the Metropolitan Museum a couple of days ago (as I did) and sensing that it's still just as Philippe de Montebello had left it, but he's no longer there. (Or maybe he was, packing up the last few mementos and belongings.) He will be greatly missed.Still, it's now out with the old, in with the new, and Philippe's not the only Met … [Read more...] about The Met’s New Star: Tom Campbell’s YouTube Moment

Fisk exhibition traveling to Crystal Bridges' Massey outpostNo, this is not a report on this morning's court hearing.It turns out that while Fisk is working hard in court to effectuate a $30-million collection-sharing agreement with Alice Walton, they've put together a print exhibition that opens Feb. 13 at the Massey outpost of the Wal-Mart heiress' in-construction Crystal … [Read more...] about Walton and Fisk: Together at Last

Fisk University President Hazel O'LearyFisk University just won't give up trying to do that $30-million deal with Alice Walton to monetize its Stieglitz Collection, which was given to it by artist Georgia O'Keeffe.Back in court everyone goes later today (Wednesday), including representatives from the office of Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper, who has not publicly taken … [Read more...] about The Case Continues: Fisk Back in Court Today to Argue for Walton Deal

Tobias Meyer, Sotheby's head of contemporary artA video recently posted on Sotheby's website, Contemporary Art Market: A Candid Look from the Inside, features a cast of five---the auction house's contemporary art team---looking chastened as they candidly discuss the disastrous November sales but try to calm market jitters by assuring sellers that "despite a worsening economic … [Read more...] about Auctioneers’ Nightmare: Sotheby’s Combined November/December Sales Down 54% From Previous Year’s

I know this blog has got to stop being "all National Academy, all the time." But first, I feel compelled to relay this timely job posting:Date posted: 12/18/2008Application deadline: 1/15/2009 The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts seeks a development assistant to join the National Academy's development team.Development team? I thought director Carmine Branagan had … [Read more...] about Help Wanted (and desperately needed) at National Academy: Development Assistant

Graham W.J. Beal, director, Detroit Institute of ArtsJim Zarroli, a business and economics reporter for National Public Radio (he's their Madoff man), did a segment today on museums' financial difficulties, with an emphasis on the National Academy situation. You can both listen to the audio and read the summary text for "Museums Exhibit Signs Of Economic Distress," here.The … [Read more...] about NPR’s Report on the National Academy Sales

The National AcademyI've been getting many thoughtful responses to my revelations about the sales of art by the National Academy, the subsequent fallout, and my analysis of lessons to be learned from this sorry episode.Here are four reactions from CultureGrrl readers:Michael Botwinick, director of the Hudson River Museum, writes: You have broken an incredibly important story. … [Read more...] about BlogBacks: Readers Speak Out on National Academy Deaccessions

And now, after a whole month of National Academy deaccessions, LA MOCA rescue plans, and reckless New Year's frivolity...we finally return to our regular programming:You may remember that a couple of weeks ago, when we perused the Getty Trust's 2008 financials, we discovered that, unlike the statements for prior years, this year's account omitted both the amount of the deficit … [Read more...] about Budget Fudgit: Being the Getty Means Never Having to Say You Ran a Deficit

Laura Iris Blau, "The Female Eunuch"Feeling growing revulsion against the excesses associated with the economic bubble that has burst, some collectors are looking at the work of emerging artists in a new way---not as a speculative opportunity for making a killing by getting in early on the next new thing, but as a way to acquire affordable works of quality, for rewards that are … [Read more...] about Laura Iris Blau: An Emerging Artist I’ve Known from (literally) Day One

Here's my more-naughty-than-nice list of what some artworld boldface names have vowed to do in the New Year. Few have fulfilled their 2008 Resolutions, but hope springs eternal.Tom Campbell: As the Met's new director, I will institute casual Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, but I will designate Fridays as "Dress Like Philippe Day." I will also aspire to implement … [Read more...] about Artworld Luminaries’ 2009 Resolutions

A Toast to My ReadersIt's that time of year again, art-lings, when we ring out the old stories and ring in the new. (The CultureGrrl Countdowns for 2006 and 2007 are here and here.) I'd first like to take this opportunity to thank you for your encouragement---in your intelligent written responses to what I've written, in your very tasty news tips, and in this blog's steadily … [Read more...] about The Year in CultureGrrl: 2008

Neil MacGregorCan you imagine a U.S. newspaper's ever naming a museum director as its American of the Year?Culture must be king in Great Britain.The London Times has just designated the British Museum's director, Neil MacGregor, as its "Briton of the Year." Barack Obama was the Times' Person of the Year. This is the first time that the Times has bestowed such honors.Rachel … [Read more...] about Neil MacGregor of British Museum is London Times’ “Briton of the Year”

TOP: The important Frederic Church painting sold by the National Academy, "Scene on the Magdalene," 1854 BOTTOM: The lesser Church retained by the Academy, "Scene Among the Andes," 1854 At the end of my Q&A (posted yesterday) with the National Academy's embattled director, Carmine Branagan, she summed up her institution's rationale for selling two important … [Read more...] about National Academy Lessons: The Fallacy of Deaccession-or-Die UPDATED