Save the Art to Host July 14th Rally Calling on Museum to Halt Further Sales of Art, Increase Transparency

Press Release – Save the Art
July 14, 2018

Save the Art – Save the Museum invites the public to a July 14th rally in front of the Berkshire Museum at 39 South Street, Pittsfield, MA, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The protest rally will call on the museum to halt further sales of its art, and to be more open and transparent in its planning for the future.

The rally marks the first anniversary of the Berkshire Museum’s announcement of its radical plan to sell its most important art, alter its historic building, and move away from its original mission as a multifaceted museum of art, natural sciences, and history.

The issue is still very much alive. Your presence at the rally will send a message to the museum’s board that it is vital to listen to the community, safeguard its art treasures, and respect the institution’s valuable long standing role as window to the world for adults and children.

The museum’s current effort to sell even more art cannot be justified after pushing through the first phase of its plan to sell up to 40 of its most important artworks. With $47 million now in the bank, the board cannot claim that it needs to further strip away the collection “to keep its doors open.” It should not sacrifice the important remaining works by great artists such as Bierstadt, Moran, and Calder just to reach an arbitrary $55 million goal with no specific plan.