LITTLE ROCK — A decision on a proposed $30 million art agreement between Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn., and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art won't come before January or early February, an attorney representing the university said Tuesday.
Tennessee judge Ellen Lyle is expected to file an order that outlines court dates to consider the agreement today, said attorney Tim Norton, who represents the university.
Another Fisk attorney, Stacey Garrett, told the judge that Fisk could run out of money by Dec. 15 unless it sells a share in the collection. All of the university's buildings have been mortgaged, and all other loan options have been exhausted, Garrett told the judge.
If approved, the universitywould share ownership of the 101-piece Alfred Stieglitz Collection with Bentonville's Crystal Bridges Museum.
Georgia O'Keeffe, Stieglitz's widow and a renowned painter, donated the collection to the university in 1949. She stipulated that the collection remain intact, never be sold and always be on display.
Fisk officials have said they are financially unable to meet O'Keeffe's requests and that a deal with Crystal Bridges will help the university meet many of her stipulations.
Tennessee law requires a judge's approval of any changes in the conditions of a public gift, which the art collection is considered to be, said Tim Norton, an attorney representing the university.
Fisk, a private, historically black college, first sought to sell the collection's two premier paintings - Georgia O'Keeffe'sRadiator Building - Night, New York and Marsden Hartley's Painting No. 3 - in 2005.
The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, N.M., which claims to be the successor to O'Keeffe's estate, has challenged Fisk's efforts since early 2006, when it filed a complaint against the sale of any part of the Stieglitz Collection. In a counterclaim, the museum argued the entire collection should be removed from Fisk's control and sent to New Mexico.
On Sept. 10, Lyle rejected a settlement between Fisk and the O'Keeffe museum, which would have allowed the Santa Fe museum to purchase Radiator Building for $7.5 million, citing the proposed offer by Crystal Bridges founder and Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton as a better deal.
Days later, the museum dropped its counterclaim,though it has up to a year to refile.
On Sept. 28, Fisk filed a request to split its ownership of the collection with Crystal Bridges.
Court dates leading to an early 2008 decision will be expedited, Norton said. The university, which officials have said could lose its accreditation if the court rejects the deal with Crystal Bridges, can't wait much longer for a decision, he said.
"Fisk is running out of money rapidly," Norton said.
Part of the litigation will determine whether the O'Keeffe museum can be considered the successor to the late painter's estate, Norton said. The museum is challenging the sharing agreement with Crystal Bridges, based on previous rulings by the court.
A message left with O'Keeffe museum President Saul Cohenwas not returned Tuesday.
Included in documents filed by Fisk on Sept. 28 was a contract for the shared agreement, signed by university President Hazel O'Leary and Crystal Bridges Director Bob Workman.
Under the agreement, Crystal Bridges would assume all financial responsibility for transporting the collection to and from Nashville and to any other third party.
A collection committee composed of five members, including the chief curators of Crystal Bridges and Fisk University Galleries, will be formed at a later date to oversee the agreement. Committee members will be responsible for creating a rotating schedule for the art works and will oversee any loans to other museums.
The contract stipulates that the entire 101-piece collection be at Fisk when its renovated museum space reopens sometime in 2008, and that the complete collection be displayed at the opening of Crystal Bridges, scheduled for 2009.
Besides O'Keeffe and Stieglitz, the collection given to Fisk includes works by Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, George Grosz, Arthur Dove and John Marin, among others, and consists of sculpture, paintings, drawings, photographs and lithographs.
Information for this article was contributed by Erik Schelzig of the Associated Press.
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 10/24/2007