Letter to ARC

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Letter to ARC

From

Published before 2005

I've been reading through the Goodart posts about the press coverage of the MIA debacle, and I know some people like to focus on the "positive" aspects of the press coverage. However, my own opinion is that the press coverage has been extremely sloppy. I'm just stunned that no journalist has picked up on the blatant deceptions which have been perpetuated by MIA representatives regarding The Bohemian. Namely:
  1. That the painting is inferior becausee it was "skinned" during a cleaning, when Mr. Ross examined the painting personally at Christie's and found it in excellent condition.
  2. An MIA rep telling you that the painting was "on tour," when in fact it was warehoused in a storeroom. Why hasn't anyone asked the MIA painting curator, point-blank, why a painting valued at upwards of $700,000 hasn't been available for public view for at least five years? Further, I would think that if a painting were, indeed, "on tour," that would demonstrate a public demand for it. If it were, indeed, "on tour," why were people in other parts of the country allowed to see it, when the people of Minneapolis were not? Was it on tour, or not?
  3. That the museum doesn't need to own two Bouguereau paintings. How many multiple works by other artists does the MIA currently own? Does the board plan to deaccession until MIA owns only one work by each artist represented in the collection?
I agree that Kate Williams has done a fine job organizing the media coverage, but I was a journalist for 20 years, and I know that Kate and ARC shouldn't have had to do journalists' jobs for them. That's shameful.

Sorry for the rant. The whole thing sort of burns me up.

Have an excellent Sunday,
Melody
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