The Founders: Bertha and Edward Rose
The Rose Family is now contending that closing or repurposing Brandeis University’s Rose Art Museum would violate the terms of the will of their forebear, Edward Rose, founding donor of the museum.
Alana Abramson of the student newspaper, The Justice, reports:
Meryl Rose [a Rose Museum board member] said that she does not believe the University’s
actions, despite its expressed intentions to keep the Rose open as a
public museum, have been in accordance with the will.
Here is the relevant excerpt from the Edward Rose‘s Dec. 12, 1974 will, sent to me by Fred Hopengarten, an attorney and Rose Family member:
My said wife and I understand that Brandeis has agreed that the Rose Art Museum will be maintained in perpetuity as the only art museum at Brandeis [emphasis added]; and that Brandeis’ permanent collection of works of art by major artists will be housed and exhibited in the Rose Art Museum; but Brandeis reserves the right to build and establish subsidiary or ancillary structures for its teaching facilities in the fine arts and for temporary exhibits of contemporary or experimental paintings, sculpture or other works of art, it being understood that none of these ancillary structures shall be designated as art museums.
The latest of Brandeis’ ever-changing plans for the museum building call for it to close temporarily after its current exhibitions end, and re-open on July 22, while deliberations about its future continue.
About this, Meryl Rose commented to The Justice:
Up until this latest notice that went out, the University was going to
turn it into a student art center. When it became apparent that they
couldn’t do that, now they are trying to turn it into a museum. But,
you know, there are certain things inherent to running a museum that
they are not doing….This is all about selling art, so they are
removing the people [including director Michael Rush] protective of this collection.
The family has been consulting with lawyers.