Fisk University Board of Trustees Approves Sale and Joint Ownership Agreement of Alfred Stieglitz Collection to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
September 25, 2007 – 8:26 am
Unprecedented Agreement Keeps Stieglitz Collection Intact, Includes $1 Million Pledge from Alice Walton for Gallery Renovation, Crystal Bridges Establishes Internship Program for Fisk Students
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 25, 2007 — The Fisk University board of trustees has approved the sale to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art of a 50 percent undivided interest in its Alfred Stieglitz Collection for $30 million. As part of the sale, the two institutions will participate in a joint ownership agreement that will allow for mutual care and management of the collection as well as the right to publicly display the collection on an equal basis.
Crystal Bridges Founder Alice L. Walton has also personally pledged $1 million toward the renovation, improvement and maintenance of the Carl Van Vechten Gallery at Fisk. The donation will enable the university to exhibit or house the Stieglitz Collection in accordance with the highest standards and best practices of the art museum industry.
Crystal Bridges and Fisk also announced the establishment of an internship program, funded by Crystal Bridges, which will allow Fisk students to participate in an on-site training experience at Crystal Bridges with a focus on the study and significance of the Stieglitz Collection.
Fisk will seek approval from the Davidson County Chancery Court through a motion requesting relief from its prior orders under the Cy Pres doctrine.
“Fisk is an international cultural and academic treasure. This settlement represents a great opportunity for Fisk to emerge from this lengthy and complicated process on the strongest financial footing that we have been on in decades,” said Reynaldo P. Glover, Chairman of Fisk’s Board of Trustees. He continued, “Throughout the lengthy process that has brought us to this point, we have been in regular contact with Attorney General Robert Cooper. We appreciate his role to date and his ongoing willingness to listen and work toward a responsible solution of this matter.”
President Hazel R. O’Leary stated that “The people of the state of Tennessee stand to benefit form this arrangement, as does the city of Nashville. But most importantly, those talented students from all over the world who have chosen Fisk’s rich academic environment as a place to cultivate their minds, hearts, and hands will have an alma mater that will do more to help them achieve their dreams. Our board of trustees and alumni have remained a remarkable source of strength and wisdom throughout this case and remain committed to a constructive outcome for Fisk.”
Crystal Bridges is envisioned as a premier national art institution dedicated to American art and artists. A major focus for the museum will be creating greater access to art and interpreting art’s significance and meaning through engaging educational programming. “We are honored to partner with Fisk in the ownership and care of this significant collection,” said Walton. “From the beginning, we sought to create an innovative arrangement with Fisk that would accomplish three important goals: keep the collection intact, ensure the collection would remain on public display, and enable Fisk to continue to achieve its historic education mission. We believe the interests of each institution and the Alfred Stieglitz Collection itself are well served through these agreements.”
The Alfred Stieglitz Collection includes a total of 101 works of art. In 1949, 97 of those works were given to Fisk University by the Estate of Alfred Stieglitz. At a later date, four were given by Georgia O’Keeffe. The collection includes paintings by O’Keeffe, photos taken by Stieglitz and a wide variety of works in different media by well known artists from the 20th century.
Fisk University
In addition to the Stieglitz Collection, Fisk holds more than 4,000 works of art from artists and includes the Black Masters Collection with works from Aaron Douglas, Henry O. Tanner, and Romare Bearden. The university also possesses the Liff African Art Collection.
Fisk’s alumni figure prominently throughout the annals of history. The 140-year-old institution is known as the alma mater of internationally renowned historian and author John Hope Franklin, social scientist W.E.B. DuBois, poet and essayist Nikki Giovanni, Congressmen John Lewis and Alcee Hastings, as well as its current President Hazel R. O’Leary, the first African-American and woman to be Secretary of Energy.
Recently the school was named as the top Historically Black University by Newsweek/Kaplan and ranked fifth of 300 schools in terms of student volunteerism and graduation rate. This year, Princeton Review selected Fisk as one of the top 15 percent of American colleges and universities for the sixteenth consecutive year. Fisk University holds the distinction of being the first Historically Black University to induct members into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa national honor society. According to a recent National Science Foundation study, Fisk produces more African Americans who go on to earn doctoral degrees in the natural sciences than any school in the nation.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Under construction in Bentonville, Ark., the Crystal Bridges complex will encompass approximately 100,000 square feet of gallery, library, meeting, and office space, a 250-seat indoor auditorium, areas for outdoor concerts and public events, as well as sculpture gardens and walking trails.
Crystal Bridges takes its name from a natural spring on the museum’s wooded site as well as the unique glass-and-wood building design created by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. The 100-acre site of the museum complex and cultural center is located within walking distance of the Bentonville town square. The project is scheduled to open in 2009. For more information about Crystal Bridges, visit www.crystalbridges.org.
For more information please contact: Ken West, for Fisk University 615-329-8767 or Elise Mitchell for Crystal Bridges 479-443-4673.
