Lee Rosenbaum's cultural commentary

In his well-intentioned but flawed Oct. 4 New Yorker article, The Lost Masterpieces of Norman Rockwell Country, Felix Salmon demonstrates more understanding of museum ethics than the leaders of the embattled Berkshire Museum possess. But that's not quite enough. When a conscientious journalist doesn't quite "get it," those who do---including the Association of Art Museum … [Read more...] about New Yorker’s Bad Role Model for Berkshire Museum: NY Historical Society’s “Responsible” Sales

Timothy Cahill, a veteran journalist and critic focused on the Berkshire art scene, responds to CultureGrrl Video: My Opinionated Tour of the Embattled Berkshire Museum: I watched the video of the your visit to the Berkshire Museum with mixed feelings. I'm glad you made it up here and grateful you keep training your light on what's happening with the misguided sale. But it … [Read more...] about BlogBack: Timothy Cahill, Regional Art Writer, on Berkshire Museum’s Decline (& how it should regroup)

The short answer to my headline is: by realizing in advance that works predicated upon artist-inflicted cruelty to animals are morally repugnant and have no place in a museum display. Such was the case with the three pieces withdrawn from the Guggenheim's upcoming Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World (Oct. 6-Jan. 7), organized by senior curator Alexandra … [Read more...] about How Might the Guggenheim Museum Have Dodged the Pit-Bull Onslaught?

Having written extensively and critically (four links) about the Berkshire Museum's deaccession plans, I thought I ought to revisit that embattled institution in person. I'd been there twice before, decades ago, before my skiing knees gave out. It seemed to me largely frozen in time (save for the solar panel): At the end of this post is my CultureGrrl Video of what I saw … [Read more...] about CultureGrrl Video: My Opinionated Tour of the Embattled Berkshire Museum

Now that we know what the Metropolitan Museum wants in its next director, I'm going to allow myself an I-told-you-so moment about its last director, responding to Roberta Smith's recent autopsy of Tom Campbell's trouble-plagued tenure. Her negative appraisal of his "financial mismanagement and overreach" and her recommendations for the Met's future (a female director; no … [Read more...] about Smith Smites: Tom Campbell’s Precipitous Fall from Favor (plus, my I-told-you-so)

This just in---the memo sent today to the Metropolitan Museum's staff by president and CEO Dan Weiss, followed by the text of the job description for the new director. Here are excerpts from Dan's memo: Dear Colleagues, I want to provide an update on the Director search, specifically to share the position description (attached) that has been developed over the past … [Read more...] about Breaking: Metropolitan Museum’s Job Description for Its Next Director (contrasted with its last one)

The sad saga of the Berkshire Museum's descent into madness---its wrongheaded, self-destructive obsession with solving its financial problems by selling off the best works in its collection---reaffirms my long-held conviction that strict laws and/or ironclad government regulations (such as those enacted in 2011 in New York) are urgently needed to protect the public's patrimony … [Read more...] about Berserk in the Berkshires: Museum’s Perverse Plan Underscores Need for Government Regulations

Read 'em and weep. Sotheby's has just released the checklist (with presale estimates and sale dates) for the Berkshire Museum 40. Apparently the seller and its agent don't believe that the Massachusetts Attorney General's interest in the deaccessions will pose any impediment. The two top lots (no surprise) are the Rockwells, to be sold along with 12 other Berkshire Museum … [Read more...] about Breaking (& heartbreaking): Sotheby’s Releases Checklist & Price Estimates of Berkshire Museum Disposals UPDATED

Could Williams College come to the rescue of the foundering Berkshire Museum and its endangered collection? The financially challenged Danforth Art Museum\School has shown how this might be done, with its director's announcement of a yet-to-be-finalized "thoughtful and mutually beneficial" merger agreement with Framingham State University (FSU). The Danforth solution is … [Read more...] about How to Save the Berkshire Museum: A Roadmap Provided by the Endangered Danforth Art Museum

Updates to my previous post on the effects of Hurricane Harvey on two of Houston's premier art museums: ---The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, which stood up well to the hurricane, reopens to the public on Tuesday, Sept. 5, with regular hours. Admission, usually $18 for non-senior adults, will be free through Sept. 7, giving hard-hit residents a welcome respite from coping … [Read more...] about In Harvey’s Wake: An Update on Houston MFA and the Menil Collection

UPDATED again here. This just in from Gary Tinterow, director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in response to my query about how his institution has been weathering the Hurricane Harvey maelstrom: We did not have to evacuate any art out of our buildings. Our main campus facilities and our art storage building are in good shape. We do not yet know when we will … [Read more...] about Hurricane Harvey & Museums: Houston MFA, Menil Collection in Relatively Good Shape UPDATED TWICE

In the sell-job for its New Vision, the Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA, has made much of the fact that "approximately 400 people have participated in the community consultation process" during the planning phase. But a letter (text obtained by CultureGrrl and posted below), sent this week by director Van Shields to members of the museum's community focus groups, reveals … [Read more...] about Berkshire Bumble: Director’s Letter Reveals Focus Groups Kept in the Dark About Planned Art Sales

If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention. ---the late Heather Heyer Like most of you, I've been "paying attention" all week---upset and obsessed with the Charlottesville explosion and its toxic fallout. I've finally emerged from my apartment complex's fallout shelter. I haven't felt up to tweeting, let along posting, on my usual subject---the artworld---since … [Read more...] about Resistance Insistence: Museums (& CultureGrrl) Grapple with Political Turmoil UPDATED

Opponents of the Berkshire Museum's planned sale of 40 artworks from its collection plan to stage a protest march tomorrow (Saturday), 9 a.m.-noon, on the sidewalk in front of the Berkshire Museum, South Street, Pittsfield, MA. Yesterday evening, Leslie Ferrin of Ferrin Contemporary (a gallery for contemporary ceramics) told me this about the plan: We hope to engage the … [Read more...] about Save the Forsaken 40! Protest March Tomorrow by Opponents of Berkshire Museum’s Art Sales UPDATED

When the Pink Star---a 59.60-carat, oval, internally flawless diamond---fetched $71.2 million (including buyers premium) at Sotheby's Hong Kong on Apr. 4, it was touted by the auction house as setting a "New World Auction Record for Any Diamond or Jewel." That amount was considerably less, however, than the aborted $83-million Sotheby's sale of that the same gem in 2013---a … [Read more...] about Pink Jinx? Sotheby’s Still Awaits Payment for Record-Setting $71.2-Million “Pink Star” Diamond