More Criticism of Plan to Close Brandeis Art Museum (BYT) {Madoff fallout}

[eppur_se_muova]

Three prominent museum-world figures who are Brandeis University graduates spoke out vigorously on Tuesday against the school’s plans to close its Rose Art Museum and sell off artworks to raise money. In an open letter posted at the Rose’s Web site, Adam D. Weinberg, director of the Whitney Museum of American Art; Gary Tinterow, chairman of the department of 19th-century, modern and contemporary art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Kimerly Rorschach, director of Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, wrote that Brandeis had “shaken confidence in its educational mission, threatened a covenant established with thousands of donors, and set a sad and troubling example to other institutions.’’ They said of the Rose: “This was where an extraordinary collection kindled our passion for art and art history. This was where we decided to devote our professional lives to studying art, and to helping others feel the excitement we had discovered in these galleries.’’ The three added: “We can only hope that Brandeis will now revisit its decision. If not, we all stand to lose.’’

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/more-criticism-of-plan-to-close-brandeis-art-museum/?hp


Outcry Over a Plan to Sell Museum’s Holdings

By RANDY KENNEDY and CAROL VOGEL
Published: January 27, 2009

The Massachusetts attorney general’s office said on Tuesday that it planned to conduct a detailed review of Brandeis University’s surprise decision to sell off the entire holdings of its Rose Art Museum, one of the most important collections of postwar art in New England.

The decision to close the 48-year-old museum in Waltham, Mass., and disperse the collection as a way to shore up the university’s struggling finances was denounced by the museum’s board, its director and a wide range of art experts, who warned that the university was cannibalizing its cultural heritage to pay its bills.

“This is one of the artistic and cultural legacies of American Jewry,” said Jonathan Lee, the chairman of the museum’s board of overseers, who said that “nobody at the museum — neither the director nor myself nor anyone else — was informed of this or had any idea what was going on.”

Jehuda Reinharz, the university’s president, said in a statement that the decision, made on Monday by the university’s trustees, was agonizing but necessary as Brandeis faces a deepening financial crisis, with its endowment, once $700 million, significantly diminished. “Choosing between and among important and valued university assets is terrible, but our priority in the face of hard choices will always be the university’s core teaching and research mission,” he wrote.
***
Like other universities around the country, Brandeis depends on income from its endowment to cover much of its operating expenses. And like most such college endowments, Brandeis’s fund has been seriously eroded by the economic downturn, although officials on Tuesday declined to give a figure on the extent of the drop. Several of the university’s large donors have been hit particularly hard by losses connected to Bernard L. Madoff, the disgraced financier accused of operating a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
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more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/arts/design/28rose.html?_r=1

[MNDemNY]

1. The outcry should...

be with the board of directors that had all of their endowment eggs in one basket. That was very irresponsible, and the board should pony up, personally. They had a responsibility, and their desire for a quick buck got the best of them. no pity. Non profits who have been responsible with their charge, are having a hard time these days with out the Madoff mess.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. It amazed me to learn of people who invested EVERYTHING with Madoff.

I think this was on CBS News ... one couple had invested $4 million, their entire retirement fund, with Madoff. Now they have nothing, and are selling their home and all their posessions. Apparently, a lot of Jewish charities did similarly. There was apparently a certain 'snob appeal' in investing w/Madoff -- it showed you were sucessful.

Found some info here: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/02/08/a1b_foundations_0209.html

"At the end of January, the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Foundation - which lost $145 million, about half its assets - announced it would not give any more money this year, except to fulfill prior commitments."

Shapiro was one of Brandeis' big supporters, according to an NPR report I heard.