ARTnews magazine was editor and publisher Milton Esterow's labor of love for 41 years. It's with sadness that I report his family's sale of the magazine to Skate Capital Corp., described in the official announcement of the transaction as "a private art and media industry investment vehicle of Sergey Skaterschikov." The above-linked announcement describes some of Skate's … [Read more...] about News Flash: ARTnews Magazine Sold to Skate’s UPDATED
BlogBack: David Ross Argues Against Deaccession Legislation
David Ross, chair of MFA Art Practice at New York’s School of Visual Arts (and former director of the Whitney Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Boston ICA), responds to Delaware Art Museum’s Deaccession Debacle: The Impotence of AAMD. Once again, I still think you are wrong about bringing more government into the art museum world. State attorneys general already … [Read more...] about BlogBack: David Ross Argues Against Deaccession Legislation
Delaware Art Museum’s Deaccession Debacle: The Impotence of AAMD
I've said it before and I'll say it again: The time has come for the passage of legislation to bar museums from monetizing important collection objects that are in the public domain and should stay there. The recent examples of the sale of art from Randolph College's Maier Museum and planned sales from the Delaware Art Museum demonstrate, once again, that censures and … [Read more...] about Delaware Art Museum’s Deaccession Debacle: The Impotence of AAMD
Delaware Art Museum’s Deaccession Debacle: My Q&A with Its Former Director, Danielle Rice
While the Delaware Art Museum has been the target of considerable criticism among museum professionals for its decision to sell art to repay debts and enhance the endowment, no one has been more distressed by this development than the museum's own former director, Danielle Rice, who left at the end of August to direct a program in museum leadership at Drexel University. In a … [Read more...] about Delaware Art Museum’s Deaccession Debacle: My Q&A with Its Former Director, Danielle Rice
Stepping Up: Judith Dolkart Leaves Barnes Foundation for Addison Gallery Directorship
The Barnes Foundation, less than two years after it opened its new Philadelphia facility, is not only without a director, but is also about to lose its deputy director/chief curator. When I learned that Derek Gillman was leaving the Barnes, effective last Jan. 1, to become distinguished visiting professor at Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, I … [Read more...] about Stepping Up: Judith Dolkart Leaves Barnes Foundation for Addison Gallery Directorship
Abu Boo-Boo: Max Anderson Gets Punked (and so did ArtsJournal)
As you probably know by now, ArtsJournal and its blogs got knocked out for a couple of days by a massive bot attack, which slammed the site with traffic. Did someone not like something we published? (Probably my fault!) Another kind of online mischief was recently directed against the Guggenheim, which has recently been the target of protest demonstrations inside its New … [Read more...] about Abu Boo-Boo: Max Anderson Gets Punked (and so did ArtsJournal)
AAM Condemns Delaware Art Museum’s Deaccessions
More on this here and here. The American Alliance of Museums, in which the Delaware Art Museum is a member, has issued this forceful statement condemning its debt-driven deaccesssions. But the statement fell short of expelling the museum from AAM membership: The Delaware Art Museum’s announcement that it will sell four works from the collection in order to pay its debts and … [Read more...] about AAM Condemns Delaware Art Museum’s Deaccessions
AAMD Condemns Delaware Art Museum’s Deaccessions
More on this here and here. The Association of Art Museum Directors has now seconded the American Alliance of Museums' condemnation of the Delaware Art Museum's debt-driven deaccession. Like AAM, it falls short of taking punitive action, but makes it clear that if the Delaware museum goes ahead with its plan, it will subject itself to possible censure and/or sanction. (The … [Read more...] about AAMD Condemns Delaware Art Museum’s Deaccessions
Delaware Art Museum’s Game Plan: Pay Debts with Art, Then Search for New Director
More on this here, here and here. Are the floodgates opening? Close upon Randolph College’s sale of its Maier Museum’s “Men of the Docks” to bolster its endowment, the Delaware Art Museum has announced its plan to sell up to four artworks from its collection to “repay the full balance of the museum’s $19.8-million bond debt and replenish the museum’s endowment.” It hopes to … [Read more...] about Delaware Art Museum’s Game Plan: Pay Debts with Art, Then Search for New Director
Supportin’ Skorton: Cornell’s Sad Loss is Smithsonian’s Big Gain (with video)
If you followed my Twitter feed last week, you already know how I feel about the upcoming ascension of my alma mater's 12th president, David Skorton, to the top spot at the Smithsonian Institution. A cardiologist who has spent more than seven years in his current post (after a three-year stint as president of the University of Iowa), Skorton has been the least controversial … [Read more...] about Supportin’ Skorton: Cornell’s Sad Loss is Smithsonian’s Big Gain (with video)
AAMD’s Maier Museum Sanction: Punishing the Victim, Hurting Themselves
Two days ago, I relayed to you, in haste, the news about the Association of Art Museum Directors' sanction against Randolph College's Maier Museum for selling its signature Bellows painting to beef up its endowment. I was then preparing to return home from a workation, for which my flight was mercifully(?) delayed, leaving me more time to write. What I didn't tell you then … [Read more...] about AAMD’s Maier Museum Sanction: Punishing the Victim, Hurting Themselves
More on AAMD’s Maier Museum Sanction: Timothy Rub’s Letter to Members
Timothy Rub, director, Philadelphia Museum of Art and president, AAMD I've obtained a copy of the letter sent to the members of the Association of Art Museum Directors by its president, Timothy Rub, director of the Philadelphia Museum, shortly before the public announcement today of AAMD's sanctions against Randolph College's Maier Museum. (All of this is going on while I'm … [Read more...] about More on AAMD’s Maier Museum Sanction: Timothy Rub’s Letter to Members
AAMD Sanctions Randolph College’s Maier Museum for its $25.5-Million Bellows Disposal
More on this here The Association of Art Museum Directors today announced sanctions against Randolph College's Maier Museum, Lynchburg, VA, for selling George Bellows’ "Men of the Docks" for $25.5 million "to use the proceeds to support the College’s operating budget," in violation of professional museum standards. You can read the full, forceful statement here. AAMD has … [Read more...] about AAMD Sanctions Randolph College’s Maier Museum for its $25.5-Million Bellows Disposal
Whitney Twitter Bits: My 140 X 11 Review of the Biennial UPDATED
As you may have noticed, I've more or less discontinued the "irreverent photo essay" posts on my blog, in favor of tweeting (with images) my fleeting, flitting impressions of certain shows and events. I find the punchy, pointed Twitter format particularly suited to quick takes on the vast agglomerations of unrelated material encountered at art fairs and biennials. For the … [Read more...] about Whitney Twitter Bits: My 140 X 11 Review of the Biennial UPDATED
Corcoran Dissolution: Whither the Art-Sale Proceeds?
Poised to terminate its status as an art museum, the Corcoran Gallery, Washington, is sitting on a pile of money that it accumulated by selling objects from its collection. The museum's Annual Report (posted on its website) pegs the amount "receivable from sales of collections items" at the end of fiscal 2013 at $39.9 million. In accordance with museums' professional standards, … [Read more...] about Corcoran Dissolution: Whither the Art-Sale Proceeds?