My heart kipped a beat last night, when I saw this headline: "Brandeis to sell school's art collection" on The Boston Globe's Boston.com, written by Geoff Edgers and Peter Schworm on January 26, 2009.
Quoting from the beginning of the article:
"Rocked by a budget crisis, Brandeis University will close its Rose Art Museum and sell off a 6,000-object collection that includes work by such contemporary masters as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and Nam June Paik.
The move shocked local arts leaders and drew harsh criticism from the Association of College and University Museums and Galleries. ..." Read more.
There was another article in the Boston Globe this morning: "Ailing Brandeis will shut museum, sell treasured art. No other choice, says president," by Geoff Edgers on January 27, 2009.
Read more in The LA Times, Big Red & Shiny's blog, HubArts.com, and The New England Journal of Aesthetic Research. As I find more info, I'll post more links.
It's a 20 minute drive from my house to Brandeis, and I visit the Rose Art Museum as often as I can. A few years ago, I was able to go on a tour, and see the art work that's in storage in their collection, and it was a moving experience.
Brandeis University is near and dear to my heart. A family member is going to school there now (not studying art), quite a few other family members have received degrees since the school first opened 50 plus years ago, and I know a few other young people who have recently graduated (and one was an art major).
The current US financial crisis, and Bernard Madoff's alleged Ponzi-scheme indirectly, have hit Brandeis. Hearing that the Museum will close, and sell it's collection, breaks my heart.
