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The Newark Museum is putting Thomas Cole s The Arch of Nero (1846) on the auction block at Sotheby s, carrying an estimate of $500,000-$700,000
An open letter signed by more than 50 art historians, curators and researchers was submitted today to the Newark Museum of Art protesting its plan to sell works from its collection, most prominently Thomas Cole’s 1846 painting
The Arch of Nero, organisers say.
The letter, addressed to Linda Harrison, director and chief executive of the museum, denounces the sales, known as deaccessioning, as a “senseless monetisation” of the art. Among the works being offered by the institution are examples by Albert Bierstadt, Mary Cassatt, Burgoyne Diller, Thomas Eakins, Marsden Hartley, Childe Hassam, Thomas Moran, Georgia O Keeffe, Frederic Remington and Charles Sheeler.
On Feb.14, 2021, urban planner Danicia Monet posted a link to an open letter on her Facebook page, with its primary demand that Newfields CEO and president Charles Venable step down from the position he had occupied at the museum since 2012. That he ultimately did step down was certainly a dramatic development, but it may also be part of a broader shift occurring in arts institutions across the country and around the world.
Monetâs letter quickly gained 2219 signatures.Â
Those who signed the letter insisted Venable step down because of a Newfields job posting that sought a museum director who would be responsible for attracting a âbroader and more diverse audience while maintaining the museumâs âtraditional, core, white audience.â The job posting was widely perceived as insensitive and racist and generated national attention inside and outside the museum community.