The Brauer Museum of Art is being sued by its founding director and a major donor over its plan to dispose of three major works of art – the cream of its collection – to pay for improvements to the University’s freshman dormitories of Valaparaiso, of which it is a part. The institution had hoped to discharge Frederic E. Church’s 1865 mountain landscapeby Childe Hassam 1914 The silver veil and the golden gateand 1930 by Georgia O’Keeffe Rust red hillswhich together are valued at around $20 million, to outfit the dorms with what Valparaiso President Jose D. Padilla called “amenities and features that prospective students appreciate and expect.”
Richard Brauer, the first director of the Valparaiso University Museum of Art, since renamed in his honor, filed a lawsuit on April 24 in Porter County Superior Court, Indiana. Brauer said he wants his name removed from the museum if the sale goes through. Joining him in the lawsuit is Philipp Brockington, professor emeritus of law at Valparaiso and benefactor of the Brockington Reeve Endowment Fund, established to “acquire, restore and preserve” works of art for the Brauer Museum. The university, Padilla and Indiana State Attorney General Todd Rokita are named in the lawsuit. The arts journalwho broke the news with a detailed report on the matter, notes that Rokita is named not because he is affiliated with the potential sale or because he is accused of any wrongdoing, but because he is duty bound. of the State AG to ensure that charities and businesses comply with legal requirements and ensure that their assets are properly managed.
The church painting was part of a larger donation made by Percy H. Sloan in 1953, which contained a number of works by his father, Junius R. Sloan, while the other two works were purchased with money from a trust established by the younger. Sloane. By accepting the gift, the university agreed to display a number of works by Senior Sloan at any time. No provision has been made for disposal. The lawsuit accuses Padilla and the university of using the trust as “a mere ATM to be used regardless of the donor’s intent.”
The costume comes as museums across the country struggle with alienation, some in hopes of purchasing new works from a more diverse array of artists, others in an attempt to pay for the upkeep of their collections. Among the organizations that have publicly denounced this particular sale are the American Alliance of Museums, the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries, the Association of Art Museum Curators, and the Association of Art Museum Directors. Additionally, the school’s faculty senate voted last month to ask university officials to stop the sale on the grounds that it risked harming the school’s brand.
