Fisk attorney John Branham of Bone McAllester Norton law firm, Nashville
If the Nashville Tennessean were issuing the court decision that’s expected tomorrow, Fisk University would not be permitted to sell a half-share in its Stieglitz Collection to Alice Walton‘s Crystal Bridges Museum for $30 million.
In its Tuesday editorial, the newspaper declared:
Let’s hope that Chancellor [Ellen Hobbs] Lyle’s decision will be to keep the
Stieglitz Collection at Fisk, and that the university gets on with
the business of raising funds from all around, to keep the school
open, well-managed, and thriving.
So ordered.
During this week’s testimony, Fisk President Hazel O’Leary asserted that the university would “bleed to death” without the $30-million infusion but declined to say how the money would be used. (The above links are from the coverage in the Nashville Tennesean.) The Attorney General argued (according to the Associated Press report) that violating the wishes of one donor, Georgia O’Keeffe, would have a chilling effect on future benefactors.
All of these arguments were expected. The trial’s shocker, though, was supplied by Fisk’s attorney, John Branham, who (as reported by the Tennessean) argued that the works in Fisk’s celebrated Stieglitz Collection were “ugly” and “didn’t move people.”
Then it got uglier. As reported by Travis Loller of the Associated Press, Branham went on to deliver this astonishingly reverse-racist rant:
Branham…downplayed the importance of the collection to the historically black university, displaying two large color reproductions of abstract paintings from the Stieglitz Collection and saying the works by “Caucasian” artists had “nothing to do with Fisk.”
He juxtaposed them with a more realistic religious painting by Henry Tanner called “The Three Marys,” saying, “This is a real prize. This is a prize by a black artist. This is a prize that really needs to be kept in Nashville, in the South, in this community.” Branham claimed the painting would be “auctioned off to pay for toilet paper” if Fisk were to shut down.
These objectionable arguments should be flushed down with the toilet paper. Is Fisk’s attorney suggesting that Alice Walton is a fool to shell out $30 million for such “ugly” art? With friends like Branham, Fisk doesn’t need enemies.
The bit of trial coverage that most appealed to me was the commentary published Tuesday by Tennessean columnist Gail Kerr, who detailed the discussions between Fisk and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts:
[Frist Center] Board member Tommy Frist testified that, in a meeting with Fisk, he
had the idea to form a new sort of partnership with the university. The
Frist Center would display the collection in a gallery at the center and
pay for its upkeep and security. Fisk officials flatly refused.
Wouldn’t even discuss it. They wanted a buyer or nothing.
Fisk lost a tremendous opportunity.
The
Frist Center, in the restored art deco post office on Broadway, is
magnificent. People there know what they are doing—Fisk’s collection
would have been better presented and marketed than has ever been
attempted. Fisk could have taken advantage of crowds who come to see
other splashy exhibits to draw attention to the university. It could
have raised money—Frist officials are masterful at holding large,
after-hour events to showcase exhibits.The
Frist Center gift shop could have sold all manner of O’Keeffe and
Stieglitz merchandise, with a portion of the money going to Fisk. Think
donation boxes. Tour groups. And, most importantly, using the collection
as Georgia O’Keeffe wanted: to teach.
If Fisk’s $30-million deal is disallowed, maybe it’s still not too late for the Fisk/Frist “marriage made in heaven” (as Kerr—and CultureGrrl—call it) to be consummated.
One ominous note: If you click the link for “Alfred Stieglitz Collection List” at the bottom of the university’s Collections webpage, you get this message:
We’re sorry but the page you requested could not be found. It might have
been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable…
…like the Stieglitz Collection itself could be, if it leaves Nashville, half time, for Bentonville.