Mass. AG Will Probe Brandeis Museum Sale

But university president insists that museum will have to close

(NEWSER) - In the face of universal shock and disapproval, Brandeis University has backpedaled on its plan to sell 6,000 works of modern art—but it will go ahead with its plan to close its museum. At a meeting with about 200 students, the university's president said that a sharp drop in Brandeis' endowment could be alleviated in the future if the economic picture brightened. "We have no particular mandate from the board of trustees as to when to sell, how to sell," he said. More»

Art world shocked as university closes renowned institution

(NEWSER) - Facing severe budget shortfalls, Brandeis University will close its well-regarded modern art museum and sell off the entire 6,000-work collection, reports the Boston Globe. The move has shocked the art world and drawn heavy criticism from museum and university professionals. "This is not a happy day in the history of Brandeis," the school's president admitted. More»

White House borrows 47 works of art from Washington museums

(NEWSER) - Barack and Michelle Obama, working with curators at the White House and DC museums, have borrowed 47 artworks for their walls, and their selections are far more modern and discerning than their predecessors', writes Blake Gopnik. The Washington Post critic is impressed by the "surprisingly sober, even dour" choices they made, including works by Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, and Mark Rothko. One Hirshhorn curator said they shot down several "conservative" choices she offered—the first couple wanted ambitious, aggressive works. More»

(NEWSER) - Herb and Dorothy Vogel had just modest incomes—he was a postal clerk, she a librarian—but over four decades they acquired more than 3,600 drawings, paintings, and collages from America's leading artists. They collected so much that they had to stuff works under their bed. But now the Vogels' one-bedroom apartment has been cleaned out, and their works have been scattered: 50 each to 50 museums across the country plus another 1,100 to the National Gallery in Washington. More»

Piano's addition for Art Institute called his best in a decade

(NEWSER) - This weekend the Art Institute of Chicago opens a mammoth new modern wing designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. Nicolai Ouroussof praises Piano's mix of "Modern and classical themes," and "towering glass-and-steel facade, with its floating roof and excruciatingly slender columns" straddling gritty railroad tracks. The New York Times' critic calls the building one of Piano's best, "the closest he has come in at least a decade to achieving his near-classical ideal." More»