I haven't exactly been paying a lot of attention to the uproar over the sale of The Gross Clinic, Thomas Eakins' masterpiece that hangs in the Alumni Hall at Thomas Jefferson University. As I skimmed the news, the sale of a painting by a private institution to another private institution just didn't strike me as something that had a lot to do with the race for mayor in 2007. Afterall, now that the crime issue has reared its ugly head about 60 vertical feet from the actual office of the mayor, it would seem that crime has vaulted back into the lead for biggest issue. Add to that the major developments in funding for mass transit and the hearings for the new casinos and you have enough of a news storm to sweep away any considerations of some picture that 90% of Philadelphians haven't even heard of.
Don't get me wrong. I believe what it says in the title of this blog post. A great city does need great art. A great society needs great art. I'm all about the mayor's idea to float a bond to provide funding for neighborhood arts and cultural institutions and I fully buy into the evidence provided by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance's 2006 Portfolio that the arts generate something like a gazillion dollars in economic activity for the region. I also don't think it sets a good precedent for us to be letting any priceless (ok, not exactly priceless, apparently $68 million is the price) work of art leave Philadelphia and take up residence in the cultural hotbed of Bentonville, Arkansas. No, I've never been to Bentonville. I'm just using the opportunity to take a cheapshot at midwestern town in order to make my point, which is, to quote Indiana Jones, it belongs in a museum, preferably the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
What we have here is the chance for this mayor to exercise the kind of leadership that could bring together people from the philanthropic, corporate, non-profit and academic sectors of this city to strive for an achieveable and very measurable goal of raising the funding necessary to keep this acclaimed piece of art in this city.
A little while ago I wrote a blog post about situation almost exactly like this one. To sum up, the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, upon the death of Coretta Scott King, sought to auction off his letters, for which they would have received millions. Not only would it have been a travesty for the collection to have been broken up but it would have also denied the people of Atlanta, and everyone else, from getting a chance to see and study those letters in a museum or academic setting. No single academic or philanthropic institution could come up with the $32 million asking price that would have kept the collection, which includes handwritten versions of King's ''Letter from a Birmingham Jail,'' his famous ''I Have a Dream'' speech, delivered at the 1963 March on Washington, and his acceptance speech for the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, in tact.
In stepped Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin. Already known as one of the 5 best mayors in the country, Mayor Franklin was able to cobble together a group of over 50 corporate, government and private donors to purchase the collection, keep it in tact and donate it to Dr. King's alma mater, Morehouse College. As a result, the people of Atlanta will be able to view pieces of the collection at the Atlanta History Center as part of the Martin Luther King Day celebration.
Now, the question is, can someone in this city step up and provide the leadership necessary to keep one of the city's art treasures - albeit a pretty low profile one - from being crated up and carted off to the Walmart museum. Will The Gross Clinic be hanging in the Art Museum - one of the greatest museums in the country - or next to that smiley face guy that rolls back prices? Who will step up?
Do we care?
Comments (3)
"Will The Gross Clinic be hanging in the Art Museum - one of the greatest museums in the country - or next to that smiley face guy that rolls back prices? Who will step up?
Do we care?"
Well, if you put it that way... :-)
On a serious note, yes, of course I care. I can't help but wonder if maybe, given a more vibrant corporate culture, Philadelphia could secure more private funding for the arts, which would allow it to deal with short notice "emergencies" like this one.
Posted by Dave | November 14, 2006 6:08 PM
Dan, you know I agree with you on many things, but when it comes to rallying the troops...that strategy must be reserved for defending or promoting the good of all.
In other words, rally the troops for museums. For dance companies. For funding sources for both! But for individual works? Almost never.
For great works of public policy, such as creating a real worker-training movement, yes. For luring individual companies, no.
The exception is when the one individual painting, company, etc. is a symbol of the larger whole.
This ain't that.
Posted by Wendy | November 14, 2006 8:11 PM
I kind of consider all those other things to be part of the usual job description. It almost goes without saying that a mayor should be getting those things done (ie worker training, luring business, etc.)
The controversy over this painting, which I think is just as important a work to Philadelphia as Dr. King's papers are to Atlanta, is a chance for a true leader - one who is already doing all of those other jobs - to step up. I throw it out there as something to consider when judging the leadership qualities of elected officials past and present.
Posted by Dan | November 15, 2006 10:02 AM