As I mentioned below, I got a chance, thanks to Friend of the Barnes Evelyn Yaari, to see The Art of the Steal last night at the New York Film Festival. I was pretty disappointed. It's basically a piece of agit-prop; it makes no effort to provide any sort of balance. (I guess I should have been tipped off by the title. No matter what you think of the decision, in what sense were the Barnes works "stolen"? The movie keeps emphasizing that they are moving less than five miles away. Shouldn't it have been called The Art of the Move a Few Miles Up the Road?) I'm sure there will be lots to say about this as it goes out into wider distribution, but for now some initial thoughts:
1. As I've mentioned before, to my mind one of the overarching lessons of the story is the perils of anti-deaccessioning absolutism. The movie mentions that the Barnes art is worth between $25-30 billion. Whether you think the financial troubles at the Barnes were (a) the cause or (b) the pretext for the move (or, if you prefer, theft), those troubles could have been forever solved by the sale of a tiny fraction of the works (without ever going anywhere near the core masterpieces of the collection). Now, if you're going to stick to your position that museums can never sell art (except to buy more art), then you've got to at least accept the possibility that something worse might happen as a result. That's exactly what happened here. Would you rather have 99.whatever percent of the collection in its original location? Or 100% of the collection in a new location?
2. The movie never really grapples with the public-private issue. A number of the talking heads, including Julian Bond, emphasize that it was Dr. Barnes's work so he could do whatever he wanted with it (including limiting the number of days the collection was open to the public, and the number of permitted visitors). But aren't we always told that great works like these are "held in the public trust"? Doesn't it matter at all that many more people will get to see the works in their new location? I'm not saying that the public interest necessarily trumps Dr. Barnes's intent, but it's a difficult question which, as I say, the film just glides over.
3. There's another tension that I think undermines the whole narrative of the film (and all other Barnes-related conspiracy theories). On the one hand, we're told that the Philadelphia Establishment (cue Darth Vader music, boo, hiss) made no bones about its desire to get its hands on the Barnes Collection from just about the moment it opened. But then, any time any objective evidence of that desire is discovered (whether it's a line item in the city budget in 2002, or a reference in a tax filing by the Pew Charitable Trust, or a conversation involving Governor Rendell in the mid-90s), we're supposed to see it as establishing some kind of secret conspiracy to snatch the collection. We know the powers-that-be wanted to move the Barnes to Philadelphia because they succeeded in moving it. So why bother with all the conspiracy theories? (But see again point 1 above. If it weren't for the Barnes's constant financial troubles, their evil plot to bring the collection to a wider audience could not have succeeded.) I discussed the "secret" budget-appropriation and Pew tax-filing points a couple of years ago here.
I'll stop there for now, and also recommend Richard Lacayo's five-part series on the subject (start here) and Julia Klein's piece in the Wall Street Journal yesterday.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Charitable Deductions Update
The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that the Baucus bill includes a 35 percent cap on charitable deductions by wealthy taxpayers (defined as individuals earning $200,000 and families earning $250,000):
"That is less drastic than the 28-percent limit proposed by President Obama. But a coalition of nonprofit leaders this week sent a letter to Mr. Baucus opposing the amendments, saying they would create a disincentive for charity’s biggest donors during a 'tough charitable giving environment.'
"'Charitable organizations are dealing with enormous financial challenges stemming from the economic downturn,' says the September 21 letter, which was signed by representatives of 14 groups including the American Association of Museums ...."
"That is less drastic than the 28-percent limit proposed by President Obama. But a coalition of nonprofit leaders this week sent a letter to Mr. Baucus opposing the amendments, saying they would create a disincentive for charity’s biggest donors during a 'tough charitable giving environment.'
"'Charitable organizations are dealing with enormous financial challenges stemming from the economic downturn,' says the September 21 letter, which was signed by representatives of 14 groups including the American Association of Museums ...."
Fake Kahlos?
The New York Times had more yesterday on the group of disputed Frida Kahlo works mentioned earlier here:
"Last week the Mexican government trust that controls the copyright to Kahlo’s work filed a criminal complaint against [the works' owner], a measure aimed at investigating the works. The trust is also investigating legal recourse in the United States to halt sale of [a book published by Princeton Architectural Press about the works]."
David Nishimura says: "Just from reading the article, it's obvious that the 'discovery' is an audacious but incompetent exercise is fakery -- yet the writeup is pitched as if there is a real debate about the material's authenticity."
"Last week the Mexican government trust that controls the copyright to Kahlo’s work filed a criminal complaint against [the works' owner], a measure aimed at investigating the works. The trust is also investigating legal recourse in the United States to halt sale of [a book published by Princeton Architectural Press about the works]."
David Nishimura says: "Just from reading the article, it's obvious that the 'discovery' is an audacious but incompetent exercise is fakery -- yet the writeup is pitched as if there is a real debate about the material's authenticity."
"What Cha-gall!"
That's the lede to this New York Post story on a state court lawsuit by collector Joy Glass against art dealer Lyn Segal:
"The painting came with a certificate of authenticity from the Comité Chagall -- a French group recognized as the ultimate authority on Chagall's works. But in January 2009, the group told Glass that both the painting and certificate were fake, the suit said."
"The painting came with a certificate of authenticity from the Comité Chagall -- a French group recognized as the ultimate authority on Chagall's works. But in January 2009, the group told Glass that both the painting and certificate were fake, the suit said."
Joyce Settlement
Law.com reports that "the estate of author James Joyce has agreed to pay $240,000 in legal costs incurred by a Stanford University scholar following a fair use legal battle." Aided by the Stanford Law School Fair Use Project, the scholar -- Carol Shloss -- had brought an unusual "copyright misuse" action against the estate, which settled, but she then was awarded $326,000 in legal fees as the prevailing party.
The Fair Use Project's Anthony Falzone reacts here.
The Fair Use Project's Anthony Falzone reacts here.
Another Art Theft
I mentioned the $27 million Pebble Beach art theft below. The Edmonton Sun reports on a much smaller, and less complicated, theft from a Toronto gallery:
"The art rustlers threw a rock through the front window of Gallery Gevik just after 1:30 a.m., picked up the three paintings -- worth as much as $60,000 -- and fled the ritzy downtown neighbourhood before the cavalry arrived in response to the security alarm that was set off."
Mark Durney: "Because this theft appears to be so basic, it would not surprise me to find that an individual from the Toronto area stole the paintings to simply pay for his own 'fix.'"
"The art rustlers threw a rock through the front window of Gallery Gevik just after 1:30 a.m., picked up the three paintings -- worth as much as $60,000 -- and fled the ritzy downtown neighbourhood before the cavalry arrived in response to the security alarm that was set off."
Mark Durney: "Because this theft appears to be so basic, it would not surprise me to find that an individual from the Toronto area stole the paintings to simply pay for his own 'fix.'"
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