Legal News

Court: School Can Sell Georgia O?Keeffe Collection, Dismaying Museum

By Chris Herring

Seemingly one question — What Would Georgia O’Keeffe Do? — has guided a museum in its longstanding legal battle with Fisk University. The school wants to sell the late artist’s valuable works. The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, looking to uphold the artist’s wishes that her work not be sold upon her death, disagrees.

Yesterday, though, the Tennessee Court of Appeals sided with the school, ruling that Fisk owns O’Keeffe’s work at this point (including the painting to the left) and therefore is free to do what it wants with its 101-piece, $60-million collection. Click here to read the Associated Press story and here to read the story in The Tennessean newspaper.

The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, in Santa Fe, N.M., has tried its best since 2005 to stop the school from selling half of its collection. The museum, which controls the estate of the famous artists (a skull from her Ghost Ranch, N.M., home is shown here), argues that while she willed the artwork collection to the school prior to her death, she didn’t want her work sold. Because Fisk officials are looking to sell, museum executives say, the school should be barred from making such transactions.

Fisk says it needs to be able to sell some of O’Keeffe’s paintings because the school is in danger of folding. As recently as last year, the university’s president said the school could run out of money without selling some of the artwork. The school is looking to bag about $30 million from a potential sale.

The museum, which had no comment on the ruling, has 60 days to file an appeal in the back-and-forth case.

Originally, when Fisk announced its intent to sell the artwork in 2005, the school caught heat from the Tennessee attorney general, who questioned Fisk’s legal authority to do so. Then, after the AG gave Fisk his blessing to sell the stake, he changed his mind. That change of heart prompted the O’Keeffe museum to challenge Fisk and eventually sue.

Photos: AP

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on July 16, 2009 (boomark / email).