Rose Art Museum collection to be leased through Sotheby's

11 July 2010 - by ArtfixDaily Staff

click to enlarge

Rose Art Museum Collection Catalogue (2009).

The sordid situation which took shape in early 2009 around the collection of Brandeis University's Rose Art Museum, a leading repository of modern and contemporary art, took a new twist recently.

A contract has been signed between the debt-plagued university, located in Waltham, Mass., and auctioneer Sotheby's to lease some of the Rose's art, valued at upwards of $350 million .

Out-going university president Jehuda Reinharz, 66, who led the controversial Trustees decision to sell part the Rose collection to raise funds, will be replaced by Frederick M. Lawrence, as announced last week.

The university's $700 million endowment shrank dramatically with the recession. Brandeis says it needs to cover $10 million to $15 million in structural debt as well as operating deficits.

Supporters say the leadership of a new president and the possible revenue from an art leasing plan are a sign of hope for the university which has taken a hit to its reputation due to the controversy.

There are also skeptics of the leasing idea such as Jonathan Lee, chairman of the Rose Board of Overseers, who filed suit on July 27, 2009, to block the initial sell-off plan. He told the Boston Herald, “...it seems a little wacky to have a sales agent do this for you. The kind of revenue expected for lending art is quite small.”

Read more in the Boston Herald. Order the Rose Art Museum collection catalog here.

More News Feed Headlines

Julien Hudson, 1811-1844 American. Creole Boy With A Moth, 1835, oil on canvas, courtesy of a private collection; photo courtesy of Fodera Fine Art Conservation, Ltd.

First Retrospective of Early African American Artist Julien Hudson at Worcester Art Museum

A groundbreaking exhibition opened Dec. 9 at the Worcester Art Museum entitled “In Search of Julien Hudson: Free Artist of Color in Pre-Civil War New Orleans.” Julien Hudson (1811-1844) is the second-earliest documented portrait painter of African descent to work in the United States. Little-known today, Hudson died an untimely, somewhat mysterious death, and only fragments of his oeuvre survive to tell his story.

'May,' by Alexander Motyl, $25/month to rent ($550 to buy), artsicle.com.

Virtual Art Buying Gets a Boost From New Websites

A bevy of new online ventures are helping to streamline the process of buying art for both beginners and established collectors, facilitating keyboard-click access to information and galleries.

An installation view of the new Tuscaloosa Museum of Art: Home of the Westervelt Collection.

New Tuscaloosa Museum of Art to Showcase Important American Art

Last week, the Tuscaloosa Museum of Art opened its doors, finally giving a home to the art collection assembled by Jack Warner. Earlier this year, the Jack Warner Foundation and Westervelt Company separated, leaving the fate undetermined as to where their respective collections would be housed. Several key works were sold by the Westervelt Co. at auction and privately. Now, more than 800 pieces...

Portrait of a Man and Woman in an Interior, painted about 1666, by Eglon van der Neer (Dutch, 1634–1703). Oil on panel. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Seth K. Sweetser Fund.

Museum Curator as Art Detective

At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Victoria Reed is the first and only endowed curator of provenance at an American museum. Since 2010, her role has been to research objects in the museum's collections, and new acquisitions, in order to determine the right of ownership. At times, Reed's findings have led to restitution...