The Brauer Museum of Art recently opened an exhibit close to museum director Jonathan Canning’s heart and one that inevitably will strike a chord with many people in the Valparaiso University community.
The Lowe Art Museum, UM’s on-campus museum, does not assign value to works in their possession other than for functional purposes. This decision to forgo monetary value may seem secretive to art world outsiders, but in reality, museums often conceal a work’s monetary value to emphasize and respect the intangible value of the art.
As controversy swirled on the Valparaiso University campus weeks after President Jose Padilla announced the private school was considering selling three cornerstone pieces from the Brauer Museum of Art to fund dorm renovations for first-year students, the university purchased The Market, formerly Strongbow Inn, for $2.2 million, according to Porter County records.