Lee Rosenbaum's cultural commentary

Rubens, "Samson and Delilah," ca. 1609-10, National Gallery, LondonPurchased in 1980 under Sir Michael Levey's directorshipSir Michael Levey, respected director of the National Gallery, London, from 1973-1987, died yesterday at 81. In his appreciation for tomorrow's Guardian newspaper, Terence Mullaly writes: It was while he was at the National that Levey brought in … [Read more...] about Sir Michael Levey, Former Director of London’s National Gallery, Dies

Marc MayerI've been quite late getting around to mentioning the Dec. 9 appointment of Marc Mayer, director of Montreal's Museum of Contemporary Art (and before that, deputy director of the Brooklyn Museum), as the new director of the conflict-ravaged National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, where Mayer hopes to restore peace and harmony after assuming his post on Jan. 19. (Since the … [Read more...] about National Gallery of Canada’s New Director to Hopes to Dispel Curatorial Turmoil

Too important to sell from the Suydam Collection:John Frederick Kensett, "The Bash Bish," 1855, National Academy Museum  Below are key excerpts from my conversation on Dec. 4 with Carmine Branagan, then interim director (now director) of the National Academy, in which she patiently and candidly addressed my questions on the National Academy's secret deaccessions of … [Read more...] about My Q&A with Carmine Branagan, Director of the National Academy

Jori FinkelWhile you're waiting for my promised "deaccession-or-die" opinion piece (a companion post to yesterday's screed against AAMD's harsh punishment of the National Academy), today's required reading is Whose Rules Are These, Anyway? from tomorrow's NY Times "Arts & Leisure" section (online today). The estimable Jori Lee Finkel (who should use her middle name) hits … [Read more...] about Deaccessions 101: Jori Finkel’s NY Times Survey of National Academy, Fisk, Maier, Albright-Knox, etc.

National Academy's spiral staircaseTo this point, I've been covering the National Academy deaccessions as a straight news story, keeping my opinions largely in check. (CultureGrrl readers are well aware that I customarily modify the noun "deaccession" with the adjective "deplorable.") Even Carmine Branagan, who was the Academy's interim director when I first talked to her on … [Read more...] about A Lose-Lose: National Academy Agony and AAMD Retaliation

Thomas Eakins, "Wrestlers," 1899, Los Angeles County Museum of ArtSold in the 1970s from collection of the National Academy, New YorkBoth the NY Times and LA Times followed up yesterday on my National Academy deaccession story, revealing more details about the dysfunctionality of this institutional hybrid---a combination museum, school and artists' organization. The NY Times's … [Read more...] about National Academy’;s Dysfunctionality: More Details in NY Times, LA Times CORRECTED

You could call it, "The Graying of LA MOCA.I've got nothing against the Fifties and Sixties Generations, who are now (or are fast becoming) the Over-60 Generation. (I'm not so far from that ripe age myself.) But there's something weirdly disconcerting about restructuring a cutting-edge contemporary art museum by putting it under the supervision of a cadre of codgers (or … [Read more...] about LA MOCA Makeover: Parsing the Details of the Rescue Agreement

Here's LA MOCA's official announcement of its acceptance of Eli Broad's largess and of its planned reorganization. Here's the separate press release about the resignation of director Jeremy Strick.At last, the (ex-)director Strick Speaks! (via the press release):It has been an honor leading MOCA for nearly a decade. During that time, we demonstrated MOCA's international … [Read more...] about MOCA Announcements of Reorganization and Strick Resignation

Charles Young, new MOCA CEODiane Haithman of the LA TIMES reports today that LA MOCA's has a new CEO and an Eli Broad bailout.Charles Young, UCLA's chancellor emeritus and professor at its School of Public Affairs, is MOCA's new CEO. He was chancellor of UCLA from 1968-1997; president of the University of Florida from 1999-2004. Jeremy Strick is out. His replacement as … [Read more...] about LA Times Reports Terms of the MOCA Bailout and Reorganization

Eli Broad, MOCA rescuerThis press release just hit my inbox at 10:49 p.m., sent to me by Karen Denne, chief communications officer for the Broad Foundation: MOCA to Announce Financial Improvement Plan, New Management WHO: Tom Unterman (MOCA Board Co-Chair ), David Johnson (MOCA Board Co-Chair ), Eli Broad (Founder of The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation), Mayor Antonio … [Read more...] about News Flash: MOCA and Eli Broad Today Announce New CEO and “Financial lmprovement Plan”

Just when galleries are thinking about shutting down, NY dealer Ed Winkleman has announced [via] his forthcoming book, How to Start and Run a Commercial Art Gallery.It is scheduled to be offered in July by Allworth Press, a publisher of many nuts-and-bolts artworld books that was founded by art-law veteran and artists' rights advocate Tad Crawford. The original 1977 version of … [Read more...] about Department of Bad Timing: Forthcoming Book by Ed Winkleman on Gallery Start-Ups

Sorry London, Moscow and Paris.Women's Wear Daily reported that Chanel is cutting short at midpoint its planned six-city "Mobile Art"  tour of the futuristic pod designed by Zaha Hadid to display Chanel-commissioned art that was "inspired by Chanel's classic...quilted-style chain handbag" (above). Even Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld apparently regarded the "inspired" art … [Read more...] about Bye-Bye Zaha: Hadid/Chanel “Mobile Art” Tour Demobilized

Robert Anderson's portrait of President Bush, National Portrait GalleryAt least he still has his sense of humor:"I suspected there would be a good-size crowd once the word got out about my hanging," President Bush told some 500 people who attended today's private ceremony to unveil his and his wife Laura's portraits, which will go on public view tomorrow in the permanent … [Read more...] about The Hanging of President Bush (at the National Portrait Gallery)

Watch Out for Those Claws! Michael Govan behind the LACMA Lobster at the opening of Broad Contemporary Art MuseumAs I mentioned in my previous post, Michael Govan, CEO and director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, wants to emphasize that merger talks between his institution and the financially moribund LA MOCA occurred because "MOCA came to us." Trying to counter … [Read more...] about More From Michael About MOCA: Govan Optimism vs. Broad Cash

Michael Govan, CEO and director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, who has taken a lot of heat for his rescue plan that others (including me) have criticized as an inappropriate takeover bid, called me yesterday to explain his side of things.In a wide-ranging interview, he emphasized that MOCA had approached him for a proposal, not the other way around. He added that he … [Read more...] about Michael Govan: MOCA-Style Financial Meltdown “Would Never Happen” at LACMA