State of Tennessee Appeals Fisk Art Sale Judgment
Written by HBCU Digest, Posted in Finance, Fisk University, Headlines, Tennessee
The State of Tennessee yesterday appealed a judgment clearing the way for Fisk University to sell a stake in a bequeathed art collection. Now headed to the state Supreme Court, Fisk asserts that sale of the Georgia O’Keefe collection, valued at more than $30 million, will bring needed revenue to the school and help avoid closure.
The state, in its appeal to the state Supreme Court, said donors need assurance that their gifts will not be sold by a cash-strapped recipient.
The collection of 101 pieces of artworks includes O’Keeffe’s own 1927 oil painting “Radiator Building — Night, New York.” The gift was made because Fisk educated blacks as a time when the South was segregated.
Fisk has argued that it cannot afford even the $131,000 it currently spends to display the collection each year. (Associated Press)
