The artworks in the Art Museum of my youth are being auctioned to provide dollars for a proposed expansion, as well as to cover a supposed operating expenses shortfall, neither of which were the intentions of e donors. This move has been opposed strongly by members of the community and of the art world.
below is my letter to the local newspaper, the Berkshire Eagle:
To the Editor of the
Berkshire Eagle:
I was saddened and then
appalled when I first heard about the sale of the 40 works of art from the
Berkshire Museum.
I was raised in Pittsfield,
and still think of Museums as places of worship. One important gift upon moving to New York
City in my twenties (to pursue a career in art and design) was the number and
variety of museums. I have visited many
if not most of the art museums, which the time spent at my hometown museum
taught me to value.
But no matter the type of
museum, the elimination of assets without the participation of museum members
and ignoring the interests of the community is a travesty and shows disdain for
the idea of the public trust, a concept being chipped away at an increasing
rate recently. Many of these artworks were gifted with the expectation, for some
contractual, that they would be viewable by the County community.
The so-called "compromise"
by the Attorney General of sending some works for display in a city 300 miles
away and to which Berkshire County residents are offered free admission is no
compromise.
Living less than a mile from
Sotheby's, I will stand proudly in front at the next sale, as a Berkshire County
native, protesting the insult and sellout of the community by the Museum board.
Massachusetts should take the word "common" out of Commonwealth.
More letters:
Feb. 9, 2018: Museum Board "transparency", in opinion of a museum and arts professional:
Berkshire Eagle stories:
