Photos | Coverage ©Catherine Ryan
website: cryanaid.com
October 21, 2017
Will Pittsfield Museum Be The Pits? Last Ditch Attempts To Keep The Art In MA
by Catherine Ryan
October 31, 2017
Berkshire Museum Nailbiter – Healy Halts Sotheby’s… Some
by Catherine Ryan
November 2, 2017
Emergency Motion! Berkshire Museum Dramatic Courtroom Hearing
by Catherine Ryan
November 8, 2017
Bershire Museum Can Sell All Art. Judge John Agostini Okays Sotheby’s Auction
by Catherine Ryan
November 10, 2017
Attorney General Appeals Berkshire Museum Judge Agostini Decision, and Sotheby’s Sale is Halted
by Catherine Ryan
November 11, 2017
Return of the Magnificent 7: Healy Halts Sotheby’s From Selling Berkshire Museum Art
by Catherine Ryan
November 13, 2017
Sotheby’s Auction Tanked As Berkshire Museum Art Yanked and Paul Manship Sculpture Soared Past Estimate
by Catherine Ryan
November 20, 2017
Berkshire Museum on Hold, But James Prendergast Library A Go
by Catherine Ryan
November 21, 2017
Live: James Prendergast Library Only Sold 3 at Sotheby’s! Rockwell Fetches 6.2 Million
by Catherine Ryan
February 5, 2018
Breaking News: Joint Statement from Berkshire Museum and Office of the Attorney General. AGO Shuffling to Single Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court
by Catherine Ryan
February 9, 2018
Cy Pres and Money: Berkshire Museum #AGO Greenlight Sale and Cue Up Massachusetts SJO
by Catherine Ryan
March 12, 2018
What Will Justice Lowy Decide and The Room Where It Happens. Last Stop for Berkshire Museum Docket SJ-2018-065 at John Adams Courthouse #BostonMA Supreme Court
by Catherine Ryan
March 15, 2018
Breaking News: This Isn’t Just Another Lost Cause – Justice Lowy Has Scheduled A Hearing For Berkshire Museum Litigation
by Catherine Ryan
March 20, 2018
Doors Open For #BerkshireMuseum Case John Adams Courthouse
by Catherine Ryan
March 22, 2018
Justice Lowy to Berkshire Museum Attorney Lee at Massachusetts Supreme Court: “So In Other Words, I have To Tell You, I’m Watching Two Different Movies.”
“At high noon on March 20, 2018, in Courtroom 2 of the John Adams Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, Justice David Lowy presided over the ongoing Berkshire Museum deaccession litigation. Four attorneys, two for each side, were summoned before the Massachusetts Supreme Court to argue positions”
by Catherine Ryan
March 28, 2018
Update From Save The Art – Save The Museum
by Catherine Ryan
March 29, 2018
Berkshire Museum Art Case: Mass Supreme Court Justice Lowy Allows Third Amicus Brief
by Catherine Ryan
April 6, 2018
What A Low Blow: Justice Lowy Clears Contested Berkshire Museum Art For Auction
by Catherine Ryan
April 12, 2018
And The Mystery Buyer of Berkshire Museum Shuffleton’s Barbershop By Norman Rockwell Is… Lucas Musum of Narrative Art
by Catherine Ryan
April 8, 2019
Berkshire Eagle Receives 2019 JFK Commonwealth Award
by Catherine Ryan
November 27, 2018
Berkshire Museum Completes Controversial, Contested Art Sales, Netting $53.3 M.
by Andrew Russeth
June 28, 2018
Berkshire Museum Director Who Led Artwork Sell-Off Will Retire
by Andrew Russeth
June 25, 2018
Short of $55 M. Goal, Berkshire Museum Earmarks Nine More Works for Sale
by Andrew Russeth
May 25, 2018
Association of Art Museum Directors Sanctions Berkshire Museum, La Salle University Art Museum Over Art Sales
by Andrew Russeth
May 24, 2018
Berkshire Museum’s Frederic Church Painting Sells to Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
by Andrew Russeth
May 23, 2018
‘We Are Disappointed but Not Surprised’: After First Round of Sales, Berkshire Museum Pulls in $42 M., Below $55 M. Goal
by Andrew Russeth
May 16, 2018
Lucas Museum to Begin Loan of ‘Shuffleton’s Barbershop’—Painting at Center of Berkshire Museum Firestorm—to Norman Rockwell Museum in June
by Andrew Russeth
May 10, 2018
Group Opposed to Berkshire Museum Sell-Off Plans Sotheby’s Protest
by Andrew Russeth
April 10, 2018
With Legal Barriers Cleared, Berkshire Museum Marks 13 Works for Sale at Sotheby’s
by Andrew Russeth
April 5, 2018
Berkshire Museum Sell-Off Approved by Top Massachusetts Court, Ending Lengthy Legal Battle
by Andrew Russeth
March 15, 2018
Hearing Set on Berkshire Museum Sales in Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
by Andrew Russeth
February 9, 2018
Berkshire Museum Victory: Massachusetts Attorney General Agrees to Art Sales, With Rockwell Going to Public Institution, Some Conditions
by Andrew Russeth
January 29, 2018
Massachusetts Attorney General Nears Completion of Berkshire Museum Probe
by Andrew Russeth
December 13, 2017
As Attorney General’s Investigation Continues, Judge Extends Pause on Berkshire Museum Sale
by Andrew Russeth
November 20, 2017
Vision Quest: The Berkshire Museum Will Stop at Nothing to Sell Its Art, Including a Masterpiece by Norman Rockwell
by Andrew Russeth
November 10, 2017
Massachusetts Appeals Court Pauses Berkshire Museum Sale
by Andrew Russeth
November 7, 2017
Judge Denies Motion to Halt Berkshire Museum Sale at Sotheby’s
by Andrew Russeth
November 1, 2017
In Contentious Hearing, Lawyers Battle Over Berkshire Museum Sell-Off
by Andrew Russeth
October 31, 2017
Two Become One: Court Will Hear Both Challenges to Berkshire Museum Case on Wednesday
by Andrew Russeth
October 30, 2017
Citing ‘Significant Questions and Concerns,’ Massachusetts Attorney General Asks Court to Stop Berkshire Museum Sale for Further Study
by Andrew Russeth / The “unprecedented sale,” the AGO argues, “is tantamount to the Museum abandoning its essence, one of its principal activities of promoting art.”
October 26, 2017
Second Suit Against Berkshire Museum Aims to Stop ‘Liquidation Sale’
by Andrew Russeth
October 24, 2017
Berkshire Museum Director to Go on Medical Leave
by Andrew Russeth
October 23, 2017
Group Fighting Berkshire Museum Art Sale Plans Protest, Fundraiser
by Andrew Russeth
October 20, 2017
Norman Rockwell’s Sons Sue Berkshire Museum, Seeking Halt to Sotheby’s Sale
by Andrew Russeth
October 16, 2017
Aiming to Halt Berkshire Museum Sales, Rockwell Family Meets with Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
by Andrew Russeth
September 6, 2017
Sotheby’s Releases Prices for Controversial Sale of Works from Berkshire Museum, Rockwell Estimated at $20 M. to $30 M.
by Nate Freeman
July 25, 2017
Museum Alliance and Directors Group Issue Open Letter Criticizing Berkshire Museum’s Deaccession Plan by Alex Greenberger
April 1, 2021
Syracuse Musings: Words of Wisdom (or not) from Panelists at the Deaccession Symposium
March 26, 2021
Obtuse in Syracuse: How the University’s Deaccession Symposium Got Compromised by Conflicts of Interest
March 17, 2021
What Should Be on the Syracuse Symposium’s Agenda: The Urgent Need for Museum Deaccession Regulations
November 27, 2018
Vision Transfusion? Berkshire Museum Stops Hemorrhaging Art
May 31, 2018
Berkshire Museum’s Murky “Transparency”: Parsing the Half-Truths in Its “Open Letter”
June 28, 2018
What’d I Miss? News Flashes from the Berkshire Museum & Frick Collection
May 25, 2018
AAMD Sanctions Berkshire Museum and La Salle University Art Museum (& what it should do next)
May 24, 2018
“Shaftsbury” Shafted; Church Besmirched: The Berkshire Museum’s Lose-Lose Auctions
April 25, 2018
An Educated Guess: What Did the Lucas Museum Pay for Rockwell’s “Shuffleton’s Barbershop”?
April 11, 2018
Berkshire Blurbs: Lucas Museum Buys “Shuffleton’s”; Sotheby’s Lowers Some Estimates
April 10, 2018
Market Madness: Sotheby’s to Auction 13 Berkshire Museum Works this May
April 5, 2018
Deaccession Dejection: Court Allows Berkshire Museum Sales (UPDATED 5Xs)
March 21, 2018
Why Did the Attorney General Cave in Berkshire Museum Case? My Q&A with the Rockwells’ Lawyer
March 20, 2018
Berkshire Museum in Court: Pointed Questions, No Resolution (plus, a push for a deaccession law)
March 19, 2018
Court Hearing/Protest Demonstration: Crucial Week in Berkshire/La Salle Deaccession Deliberations
February 9, 2018
Berkshire Debacle: The Attorney General Caves
February 5, 2018
Berkshire Museum Saga: Proposed Agreement to Resolve Art-Sale Dispute Expected Soon in Court UPDATED
December 13, 2017
Time to Rethink: Court Extends Injunction Preventing Berkshire Museum Disposals
December 11, 2017
Deal Revealed: Berkshire Museum Makes Public Its Consignment Agreement with Sotheby’s UPDATED
December 7, 2017
Attorney General Asks to Extend Preliminary Injunction Preventing Berkshire Museum Sales
November 27, 2017
False Dichotomy: Boston Globe’s Deaccession-or-Die Editorial on the Berkshire Museum UPDATED
November 14, 2017
Strange Interlude: Al Jazeera Interviews Me About the Berkshire Museum (with video)
November 11, 2017
Berkshire Museum’s Deaccession Debacle: Reactions of the Protagonists & Antagonists
November 10, 2017
News Flash: Massachusetts Appeals Court Delays Berkshire Museum Sales
November 10, 2017
News Flash: Massachusetts Attorney General Files Appeals Court Motion to Enjoin Monday’s Berkshire Museum Sales
November 7, 2017
“Tepid Investigation” by the AG: Judge Permits Berkshire Museum Sales
November 2, 2017
Berkshire Bombshells: Revelations in the Attorney General’s Berkshire Museum Brief
November 1, 2017
After Inconclusive Hearing, Attorney General Steps In as Possible Plaintiff in Berkshire Museum Case
November 1, 2017
Deaccession Obsession: AG Enters the Fray; Compendium of My Berkshire Museum Commentary UPDATED
October 26, 2017
Parsing the Arguments: Second Lawsuit and Reply Brief Filed Today on Berkshire Museum’s Art Sales
October 24, 2017
News Flash: Berkshire Museum’s Head on Medical Leave; 21 of 40 Consignments Pulled from Sotheby’s Auctions
October 20, 2017
Berserk in the Berkshires: Lawsuit Filed Against Berkshire Museum Sales UPDATED TWICE
October 10, 2017
New Yorker’s Bad Role Model for Berkshire Museum: NY Historical Society’s “Responsible Sales
October 4, 2011
BlogBack: Timothy Cahill, Regional Art Writer, on Berkshire Museum’s Decline (& how it should regroup)
September 27, 2017
CultureGrrl Video: My Opinionated Tour of the Embattled Berkshire Museum
September 7, 2017
Berserk in the Berkshires: Museum’s Perverse Plan Underscores Need for Government Regulations
September 6, 2017
Breaking (& heartbreaking): Sotheby’s Releases Checklist & Price Estimates of Berkshire Museum Disposals UPDATED
September 6, 2017
How to Save the Berkshire Museum: A Roadmap Provided by the Endangered Danforth Art Museum
August 11, 2017
Save the Forsaken 40! Protest March Tomorrow by Opponents of Berkshire Museum’s Art Sales UPDATED
August 1, 2017
Memo to Berkshire Museum: Homeless National Academy Suspends Its School, Slashes Price for Its Posh Digs
July 25, 2017
“Deeply Opposed”: Joint Statement by AAMD & AAM Blasts Berkshire Museum’s Planned Art Sales UPDATED TWICE
July 24, 2017
Berkshire Museum Disposables: Bierstadts, Bouguereaus, Calders, Church, Inness, “George Washington”
July 21, 2017
“Public Trust” Bust: Berkshire Museum to Jettison 40 Works (including 2 artist-donated Rockwells) UPDATED
August 18, 2017
Berkshire Bumble: Director’s Letter Reveals Focus Groups Kept in the Dark About Planned Art Sales
January 31, 2019
Jeff Rogers Appointed Executive Director of the Berkshire Museum
October 1, 2018
Berkshire Museum to Auction More Works
July 3, 2018
Activists Continue to Protest Berkshire Museum Art Sales
June 28, 2018
Berkshire Museum’s Executive Director to Step Down
June 26, 2018
Berkshire Museum to Sell Nine More Works From Its Collection
May 25, 2018
Berkshire Museum and La Salle University Art Museum Face Sanctions for Selling Artworks
May 24, 2018
Berkshire Museum Falls Short of $55 Million Goal After First Round of Auctions
April 11, 2018
Lucas Museum Revealed As Buyer of Prized Norman Rockwell Painting
April 6, 2018
Berkshire Museum Wins Legal Battle Over Plan to Sell Artworks
February 9, 2018
Berkshire Museum Plans to Auction Artworks Approved by Massachusetts Attorney General
November 13, 2017
Massachusetts Appeals Court Issues Injunction Against Berkshire Museum’s Sale of Artworks
November 8, 2017
Massachusetts Court Rules in Favor of Berkshire Museum’s Deaccession of Artworks
October 31, 2017
Massachusetts Attorney General Attempts to Halt Berkshire Museum’s Sale of Artworks
October 17, 2017
Norman Rockwell’s Family Tries to Stop Berkshire Museum’s Sale of Artist’s Works
September 7, 2017
Berkshire Museum Severs Ties with Smithsonian Over Controversial Sale of Artworks
August 31, 2017
Massachusetts Reviews Berkshire Museum’s Plan to Sell Forty Artworks
August 30, 2017
Berkshire Museum Declines $1 Million Gift from Anonymous Donors
July 25, 2017
Berkshire Museum Faces Uproar Over Sale of Artworks From Collection
August 27, 2018
Opinion / The Gray Market: Why the Debate Over Deaccessioning Might Really Be a Debate About America (and Other Insights) – by Tim Schneider / Our columnist digs back through American history to ask whether public opinion about deaccessioning is just a stand-in for something bigger
May 25, 2018
Art and Law / Museum Directors’ Association to Impose Sanctions on the Berkshire Museum and La Salle University Art Museum
by Eileen Kinsella / The Berkshire Museum and La Salle University face sanction from the Association of Art Museum Directors
May 23, 2018
Auctions / Amid Protests, Berkshire Museum’s Deaccession Sales at Sotheby’s Fall Short of Expectations
by Caroline Goldstein & Eileen Kinsella / Norman Rockwell hits its mark,
but a $5 million Frederic Church fails to sell
April 11, 2018
Market / George Lucas’s Museum Has Bought Norman Rockwell’s Beloved ‘Shuffleton’s Barbershop’ From the Berkshire Museum / The painting likely sold for around $25 million
by Eileen Kinsella & Caroline Goldstein
April 5, 2018
Art World / The Berkshire Museum Gets the Final Green Light to Sell Works From Its Collection, Ending a Long-Running Saga
by Julia Halprin / Massachusetts’s highest court has approved a deal finalized in February
between the museum and the state’s attorney general
December 13, 2017
Opinion / Secret Documents Reveal How the Berkshire Museum Manipulated Its Board Into Liquidating Its Collection / The documents show how the museum’s leadership convinced the board to sell off 40 works—and made them think they had no choice in the matter
by Felix Salmon
October 30, 2017
Massachusetts Attorney General Calls for a Temporary Restraining Order to Halt Berkshire Museum Sale / A judge will make a final decision on November 1st – by Eileen Kinsella / She says evidence suggests that the museum “understood at the time Rockwell donated the art that the pieces were his favorite oil paintings” and that his gift was motivated, at least in part, by a hope that they would remain on view in the Berkshires.
October 13, 2017
Legal Threats Mount for Berkshire Museum as Deaccession Controversy Rages On / With only a month to go before the sale, the Massachusetts attorney general and community activists are stepping up
by Henri Neuendorf
November 19, 2018
Downright quirky appetite for American masters at Sotheby’s / A monumental painting of the American West by Emanuel Leutze breaks records while works by Rockwell and Hopper flop
by Brian Allen
June 25, 2018
The Berkshire Museum to sell nine more works from its collection / The institution failed to meet its $55m target at last month’s auctions
by Gabriella Angeleti
April 11, 2018
George Lucas gives Rockwell fans new hope with acquisition of Shuffleton’s Barbershop / The work will first goes on loan in Massachusetts and possibly elsewhere
by Helen Stoilas
April 5, 2018
Supreme Court Justice greenlights Berkshire Museum’s art sale / The institution can now go ahead with plans to auction works from its collection to raise up to $55m for a renovation
by Helen Stoilas
March 27, 2018
George Lucas tells a new story at the Museum of Narrative Art / Construction has launched on the $1bn non-profit project, built to be “the world’s most inclusive and accessible art museum”
by Victoria Stapley-Brown
March 9, 2018
The mirage of riches in museums’ vaults / Putting aside museum ethics, Martin Gammon looks at the financial viability of museums deaccessioning their collection as a quick fix for financial trouble
by Martin Gammon
February 9, 2018
Berkshire Museum and Massachusetts Attorney General reach deal to allow sale of works / If approved by the court, Rockwell’s Shuffleton’s Barbershop will be bought by an unnamed US museum, and the other works sold in stages
by James H. Miller
February 5, 2018
Auction houses must share the blame for university sell-offs / Christie’s sale of 46 works from La Salle collection will diminish the museum and its academic programme
by Brian Allen
January 30, 2018
Massachusetts Attorney General asks for short extension of injunction against Berkshire Museum sale / The state’s investigation into the board’s controversial deaccessioning plan could be wrapping up within a week
by James H. Miller
January 4, 2018
US university museum announces controversial sell-off / Christie’s sale of 46 works from La Salle collection, by artists such as Matisse and Degas, has angered arts professionals
by Gareth Harris
November 15, 2017
Quality as well as quantity in short supply at Sotheby’s sale of American art / Where a museum’s Rockwells had sparked interest in a flagging category, the removal of key lots from the sale dampened spirits
by Brian Allen
November 10, 2017
Massachusetts Appeals Court grants injunction to block Berkshire Museum sale / The successful Hail Mary pass came just before deaccessioned works, including two paintings by Norman Rockwell, were due to be auctioned at Sotheby’s on Monday
by James H. Miller and Helen Stoilas
November 8, 2017
Berkshire Museum art sale to go ahead / A judge in Massachusetts has denied two motions to block next week’s auctions of deaccessioned works
by Helen Stoilas
October 31, 2017
Massachusetts Attorney General supports request for restraining order against Berkshire Museum / A court will decide this week whether to temporarily halt the sale of 40 works at Sotheby’s
by Victoria Stapley-Brown
October 20, 2017
Norman Rockwell’s sons file temporary restraining order in Massachusetts court / Two works by their father are among 40 that were due to be sold by the Berkshire Museum
by Victoria Stapley-Brown
September 6, 2017
Sotheby’s releases sales dates and estimates of works from Berkshire Museum / The auction house will offer works from the Massachusetts museum, including two major Rockwell paintings, starting 13 November and running through next spring
by Gabriella Angeleti
July 24, 2017
Berkshire Museum courts censure from museums groups with plan to sell 40 works / Among the objects to be auctioned for the endowment and refurbishment are two paintings by Norman Rockwell
by Gabriella Angeleti, Helen Stoilas
August 2, 2018
The Deaccessioning Debate in Museums / Deaccessioning — the permanent removal of objects and art from a museum’s collection — has been at the forefront of many discussions around public and private collections of late.
by Bob Beatty
May 31, 2018
Amid Protests, Berkshire Museum Sales Bring Over $40M, and Trustees Want More / Sales of the most prized works from the museum’s collection netted over $40 million, but more will hit the auction block if the institution pursues its goal of making $55 million.
by Timothy Cahill
April 13, 2018
Stop Treating the Berkshire Museum as a Sacred Space for Masterpieces
/ Locals like me don’t visit the Berkshire Museum to look at famous paintings. Why did 40 artworks become the center of a national controversy?
by Christopher Marcisz
April 5, 2018
Court OKs Berkshire Museum Plan to Sell Art by Calder, Bierstadt, Picabia, and Others / Today’s ruling in the Supreme Judicial Court of Suffolk County clears the way for Sotheby’s to auction off over three dozen works from the museum’s collection.
by Benjamin Sutton
February 20, 2018
Berkshire Museum Resolves Dispute with Norman Rockwell’s Sons, But Legal Battle Rages On / Museum leaders and the Massachusetts Attorney General reached an agreement to keep Norman Rockwell’s “Shuffleton’s Barbershop” on public display, but opponents of the sale are petitioning the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
by Benjamin Sutton
November 13, 2017
Opponents of Berkshire Museum Sales Protest Sotheby’s / After a judge halted the sale of works from the museum’s collection, nearly a dozen protesters gathered in front of Sotheby’s to demand the return of the deaccessioned pieces.
by Benjamin Sutton
November 10, 2017
Last-Minute Appeal Tries to Halt Berkshire Museum Art Auction [UPDATED] / On Friday, the AG’s office filed an appeal seeking a last-minute injunction to stop Monday’s auction of works from the Berkshire Museum collection at Sotheby’s.
by Benjamin Sutton
November 7, 2017
Judge Green-Lights Berkshire Museum’s Sale of Most Valuable Works in Collection / Today, Berkshire Superior Court Judge John Agostini ruled that the museum could auction off many of the most valuable works in its collection.
by Benjamin Sutton
November 2, 2017
The Berserk Battle Over the Berkshire Museum and Its Art Collection / This week, the state’s attorney general called for a temporary restraining order to block Sotheby’s from selling works from the museum’s collection.
by Felix Salmon
October 4, 2017
The arrogant, unaccountable, and dishonest Berkshire Museum / So here’s a message to everybody who still remains on the board: It’s not too late. Stop this while you can. For the sake of the museum, for the sake of your community, and for the sake of all other museums, everywhere else in America
August 23, 2017
The Berkshire Museum’s operating deficits
August 21, 2017
The Berkshire Museum’s financials
August 2, 2017
Unsolicited advice for the Berkshire Museum / Shuffleton’s Barbershop is not, as has been stated, a redundant Rockwell, a footnote to the superb collection down the road at the Norman Rockwell Museum. It is, rather, a unique masterpiece and one of Rockwell’s very best paintings that he gifted to the Berkshire Museum and the people of Berkshire County for education and enjoyment
October 23, 2017
Deaccessioning: The good, the bad, and the illegal
July 18, 2017
Betraying Norman Rockwell
October 20, 2017
Rockwell Leads American Art at Sotheby’s, Berkshire Museum Holds Back Some Lots
by Marion Maneker
July 25, 2017
Berkshire Museum Looks to Raise Tens of Millions in Sale of Calder, Rockwell and Church Paintings
by Marion Maneker