The Hometown Newspaper Coverage
The Berkshire Eagle

December 7, 2019
Newly flush Berkshire Museum seeks public help
by Larry Parnass

December 7, 2019
A glance at Berkshire Museum’s final report to AG on art sale proceeds
by Larry Parnass

May 7, 2019
New leader seeks dialogue to bridge Berkshire Museum’s past, future
by Haven Orecchio-Egresitz

December 26, 2018
Top Stories of 2018: No. 5: Berkshire Museum rewrites its financial narrative
by Larry Parnass

December 8, 2018
Filing details Shields’ severance package from Berkshire Museum
by Larry Parnass

December 1, 2018
Museum controversy didn’t sap AG Healey’s support in Berkshires
by Larry Parnass

November 29, 2018
It’s homecoming time for 16 Berkshire Museum works
by Larry Parnass

November 27, 2018
Berkshire Museum won’t pursue further art sales, Crane Room renovation
by Larry Parnass

November 16, 2018
Last of listed Berkshire Museum works sell for less than expected
by Larry Parnass

November 14, 2018
Who paid Berkshire Museum’s legal bills? Clues point in one direction
by Larry Parnass

November 11, 2018
No mention of ‘New Vision’ as Berkshire Museum recruits new chief
by Larry Parnass

November 3, 2018
Foes of museum art sales win ‘Champion of Artists’ award
by Larry Parnass

October 4, 2018
Berkshire Museum elects five new trustees

October 2, 2018
Court: 3 from Lenox don’t have right to challenge museum board’s conduct
by Haven Orecchio-Egresitz

September 27, 2018
Two unsold Berkshire Museum works slated for November auction
by Larry Parnass

September 24, 2018
Berkshire Museum recharges with five new trustees
by Larry Parnass

June 30, 2018
‘Giant Redwood Trees’ will fall at Berkshire Museum despite interpretive value
by Larry Parnass

April 5, 2018
SJC ruling clears Berkshire Museum to sell artworks
by Larry Parnass

March 15, 2018
SJC sets Tuesday hearing on Berkshire Museum art sale
by Larry Parnass

March 16, 2018
Martin Gammon: A New Vision plan: Museum, circa 1937
by Martin Gammon / founder and president of Pergamon Art Group and the author of the forthcoming history of deaccessions at museums, “Deaccessioning and its Discontents: a Critical History” (MIT Press, May 2018)

March 15, 2018
SJC sets Tuesday hearing on Berkshire Museum art sale
by Larry Parnass

March 6, 2018
Berkshire Museum, AG respond to art sale opponents in SJC filings by Larry Parnass

March 3, 2018
Berkshire Museum, AG to rebut ‘friend of court’ briefs in art sale case
by Larry Parnass

February 27, 2018
‘Special master’ urged to oversee Berkshire Museum finances, changes
by Larry Parnass

February 15, 2018
Rockwell sons drop Berkshire Museum suit; other plaintiffs file with SJC
by Larry Parnass

February 12, 2018
Lynn Villency Cohen: Assessing AG-museum accord
by Lynn Villency Cohen,
art historian and writer.

February 12, 2018
AG’s legal options limited in Berkshire Museum case; art sale opponents regroup
by Larry Parnass

January 27, 2018
When Berkshire Museum injunction ends, private art sale could follow, attorney cautions
by Larry Parnass

January 26, 2018
Nina Simon | Berkshire Museum Debate: Instead of selling objects, build public trust
Nina Simon is the executive director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History in California. She is author of “The Participatory Museum” (2010) and “The Art of Relevance” (2016), and she writes the popular Museum 2.0 blog where a version of this commentary first appeared.

January 17, 2018
Legal Bills: Who’s paying the freight for the Berkshire Museum?
by Larry Parnass

January 16, 2018
Carole Owens: Finding preservation/growth balance
A Berkshire writer and historian, Carole Owens is a regular Eagle contributor.

January 9, 2018
Lynn Villency Cohen: What’s next for Berkshire Museum?
Lynn Villency Cohen is an art historian and writer.

January 4, 2018
Attorney General’s report reasserts opposition to Berkshire Museum art sale
by Larry Parnass / In a legal brief filed this week, the Attorney General’s Office assails not only the Berkshire Museum’s plan to sell artworks, but also a related plan by trustees to shift the museum’s focus to science and nature

January 3, 2018
Attorney General on track to wrap up Berkshire Museum inquiry
by Larry Parnass / The Berkshire Museum has provided an additional 500 documents sought by the state Attorney General’s Office in its investigation of a plan to sell off artworks. But the office is still seeking to interview key employees and board members, as well as Executive Director Van Shields

December 30, 2017
Clarence Fanto: Making book on Berkshires stories to watch in 2018
An essential question in the eyes of the author: Who really “owns” the Berkshire Museum and its collection – the people of Berkshire County or the board of trustees and executive director?

December 30, 2017
Top Stories of 2017: Berkshire Museum’s planned art sale draws national attention
by Larry Parnass

December 27, 2017
Van Shields returns part time to Berkshire Museum after medical leave
by Larry Parnass

December 25, 2017
Eric Rudd: A compromise proposal to save art, and museum
Eric Rudd is an artist and founder of the Berkshire Art Museum in North Adams.

December 19, 2017
No lower court resolution in sight for Berkshire Museum litigation
by Larry Parnass

December 15, 2017
Legislation next agenda item for Save the Art group
by Larry Parnass / Sara Clement, right, and Linda Kaye-Moses, beside Clement and also holding a sign, speak at the Save the Art-Save the Museum sidewalk rally in Cambridge on Friday.

December 13, 2017
Appeals Court justice extends injunction on Berkshire Museum art sale
by Larry Parnass

December 12, 2017
Sotheby’s contract waives withdrawal fee if AG disputes Berkshire Museum art sale
by Larry Parnass / *Link provided to view Sotheby’s “Consignment Agreement” with museum

December 12, 2017
Berkshire Museum reached for ‘silver’ solution through arts sales
by Larry Parnass / Trustees of the Berkshire Museum last year considered several options to overcome financial problems and enhance the institution’s value to the community, according to documents released on Tuesday.

December 11, 2017
Berkshire Museum releases impounded court documents / Meanwhile, museum says AG refused offer on injunction
by Larry Parnass

December 10, 2017
Ruth Bass: Hurrying or dragging? Happy medium can be the best tempo – Ruth Bass has served on boards for a bank, a town, a land trust and a health group.

December 9, 2017
Berkshire Museum assails Attorney General’s probe as ‘one-sided’
by Larry Parnass

December 7, 2017
Attorney General seeks more time for Berkshire Museum art sale probe – by Larry Parnass / The Attorney General’s Office says it needs until the end of January to complete its investigation into the Berkshire Museum’s planned art sale – if the museum provides all the requested documentation

December 4, 2017
Berkshire Museum pushes for speedy appeal, citing ‘precarious condition’
by Larry Parnass / Attorneys representing the Berkshire Museum argued in Monday’s filing that the state Attorney General’s Office failed to obtain a judge’s authorization for it to conduct the investigation now underway on the planned deaccession and sale of 40 art works

December 4, 2017
Connecticut College museum studies students debate Berkshire Museum art sale
by Larry Parnass

December 2, 2017
No quick result expected in Berkshire Museum litigation
by Larry Parnass

December 1, 2017
Museum’s lawyer asks Eagle to address ‘potential conflicts of interest’
by Larry Parnass /An attorney representing the Berkshire Museum has asked The Berkshire Eagle to provide information about a group of anonymous donors that offered a $1 million gift to the museum on the condition that it pause its planned art sale and allow an independent financial review.

November 30, 2017
Rockwell art values continue rise in recent auctions
by Larry Parnass

November 29, 2017
Judge denies Eagle request to release documents in Berkshire Museum case
by Larry Parnass

November 27, 2017
The Eagle asks Appeals Court to unseal documents in Berkshire Museum litigation
by Larry Parnass

Sotheby’s Nov. 13, 2017, American Art catalog

November 21, 2017
Berkshire Museum loses bid to keep art auction case in Pittsfield court
by Larry Parnass / “Ongoing litigation continues to take the Berkshire Museum and the community down a path that will be divisive no matter the outcome.”
State Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield

November 20th
3 Lenox residents appeal local judge’s ruling in Berkshire Museum art sale
by Larry Parnass

November 12, 2017
Dispute over Berkshire Museum art sale moves to next stage
by Larry Parnass

November 10, 2017
Appeals court justice stops Berkshire Museum art sale / Grants AG’s eleventh-hour request for injunction – by Larry Parnass

November 10, 2017
Pittsfield: Save the Art staging protests

November 9, 2017
Highlights of AG’s argument to block Berkshire Museum art sale
by Larry Parnass

November 8, 2017
Berkshire Museum art sale opponents pin hopes on Attorney General Pittsfield artist Tom Patti, a plaintiff in a bid to stop the Berkshire Museum from selling artworks. said he believes the sale would set a bad precedent in the museum world. “Anybody following this is going to reconsider a handshake as the last word,” Patti said, referring to what he views as trust between the late artist Norman Rockwell and Stuart Henry, a close friend of Rockwell’s who served as the museum’s director when Rockwell gave “Shuffleton’s Barbershop” to the museum in 1958 and “Shaftsbury Blacksmith Shop” in 1966.
by Larry Parnass

November 7, 2017
Berkshire Museum cleared to sell artworks at NYC auction
In a victory for the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, a judge ruled on Tuesday that it could go ahead with plans to sell off artworks, including two Norman Rockwell paintings, as part of a plan to fund its “New Vision.” – by Larry Parnass

November 4, 2017
Rockwell paintings draw visitors to Sotheby’s, elicit public displays of affection
by Larry Parnass

November 3, 2017
As Berkshire Museum art sale nears, Attorney General’s Office gains ground – but takes a hit
by Larry Parnass

November 3, 2017
In 2013, ‘Shuffleton’s Barbershop’ inspired Hallmark movie
by Larry Parnass

November 2, 2017
Parties await ruling in Berkshire Museum art sale motions
by Larry Parnass

November 1, 2017
Attorney General’s Office files emergency motion in Berkshire Museum suit – by Larry Parnass / Attorney Michael Keating, representing Norman Rockwell’s three sons and other plaintiffs, makes his case in Berkshire Superior Court on Wednesday in an effort to halt the Berkshire Museum’s planned art sale.

November 1, 2017
Illustrator shapes ‘massacre’ parody of Rockwell’s ‘Shuffleton’s Barbershop’ – by Larry Parnass / Illustrator Leonardo Quiles of Dalton created “Shaftsbury Text Battle” as a commentary related to plans by the Berkshire Museum to sell the work that inspired it – “Shaftsbury Blacksmith Shop” – at auction.

October 31, 2017
10 artful questions: A primer on Berkshire Museum’s legal issues
by Larry Parnass

October 31, 2017
Gilles Heno-Coe: Region’s cultural heritage is threatened by art sale – A Williamstown native and Williams College alumnus. Gilles Heno-Coe is a Ph.D student in art history and a graduate research assistant The University of Texas.

October 31, 2017
The day Norman Rockwell saw a teen with talent
by Larry Parnass / Tom Patti had a close relationship with Norman Rockwell and says his influence helped him to become an artist. He is is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit to stop the sale of art at the Berkshire Museum.

October 30, 2017
Attorney General joins call for Berkshire Museum to halt art sale / The state attorney general’s office has joined members of the Rockwell family in calling for a halt to the Berkshire Museum’s plan to sell artworks beginning next month – by Larry Parnass / “Any sale of the art in question in violation of the law would result in irreparable harm to the public interest,” according to the response filed by Healey’s office.

October 29, 2017
At protest, some in community stand behind Berkshire Museum’s planned art sale – by Haven Orecchio-Egresitz / McGraw said that it “saddens” her that there are people who are upset with the museum, but that she is excited about a “kind of cutting-edge” plan to make the museum more interactive and educational. 

October 28, 2017
Financial concerns expressed should Berkshire Museum art sale be delayed – by Larry Parnass / The Eagle has learned that, to secure the museum’s business in an earlier deaccession, Sotheby’s made an upfront gift to the museum of $500,000.

October 27, 2017
Berkshire Museum art sale dilemma isn’t new to former AG Coakley by Larry Parnass / In her firm’s case, three sons of artist Norman Rockwell maintain that their father would not have wanted to see his gifts sent to auction. Offspring can speak to the intent of a parent, she said.

October 27, 2017
Barbara Palmer: Thoughts on the Berkshire Museum tragedy
Barbara Palmer is the former executive director of the Bidwell House Museum in Monterey and a member of The Eagle’s advisory board.

October 26, 2017
Second lawsuit seeks to halt Berkshire Museum art sale – by Larry Parnass / Members of the family met this month with lawyers in the office of the attorney general, which is reviewing the legality of the museum’s planned sales. They shared a 1958 letter to Norman Rockwell from a former museum director saying the painting would join the “permanent” collection.

October 24, 2017
Berkshire Museum chief Van Shields on medical leave through 2017 by Larry Parnass /”In his absence, trustees and the Museum’s dedicated and experienced management team, led by Nina and Craig, are well-prepared to keep the museum on course with its current operations and New Vision plan,” McGraw said. 

October 23, 2017
Berkshire Museum cuts Nov. 13 Sotheby’s auction list by half
by Larry Parnass

October 22, 2017
Ruth Bass: From houses to objects, Berkshire treasures its treasures
Ruth Bass recently enchanted Chicago relatives with The Mount. 

October 20, 2017
Lawsuit aims to halt Berkshire Museum sale of artwork
by Larry Parnass / On the issue of donor intent, Keating noted the existence of a Sept. 23, 1958, letter that former museum director Stuart Henry sent to Norman Rockwell. The letter thanks the artist for “Shuffleton’s Barber Shop,” saying, “We are delighted to have it for our permanent collection.”

October 17, 2017
Francis Moriarty: Art, local identity and civics
Francis Moriarty is a regular Eagle contribution on local and international issues.

October 16, 2017
Berkshire Museum halts financial talk with Massachusetts Cultural Council
by Larry Parnass

October 15, 2017
Berkshire Museum plan spurs New England Museum Association think tank on ‘deaccessioning dilemma’ – by Amanda Drane

October 15, 2017
E.J. Johnson: Faulty reasoning behind museum’s new vision
E. J. Johnson is the Amos Lawrence Professor of Art, emeritus, at Williams College.

October 14, 2017
Berkshire Museum: Art auction legal issues draw focus
by Larry Parnass and Amanda Drane / “We believe that no formal action is required to be taken by the Office of the Attorney General,” Mark S. Gold, the museum’s attorney, wrote to the office June 22, shortly before his client announced plans to shore up its finances by selling art.

October 14, 2017
Milestones in Berkshire Museum’s legal history
by Stephanie Zollshan

October 14, 2017
Rockwells: Berkshire Museum vowed to make gift ‘permanent’
by Larry Parnass / Margaret Rockwell said that in an effort to understand the terms of the artist’s gifts, she wrote a letter this summer to Van Shields, the Berkshire Museum’s executive director, asking for access to curatorial documents for the two paintings. She said she followed that up with an email, but did not hear back. 

September 29, 2017
Linda Kaye-Moses: Still time for museum to avert a tragedy
Linda Kaye-Moses is an occasional Eagle contributor.

September 29, 2017
Timothy Cahill: An ‘alternate vision’ for Berkshire Museum
Timothy Cahill is a critic and writer who has covered art in the Berkshires for 35 years.

September 22, 2017
Rep. Farley-Bouvier backs Berkshire Museum board, calls for civil debate
by Larry Parnass

September 16, 2017
Planned sale of Berkshire Museum artworks echoes past history
by Jennifer Huberdeau / Bragg resigned from the museum in 1939, returning to Charleston, S.C., where she had been director of the Charleston Museum prior to her move to Pittsfield. She was replaced by Stuart Henry, the curator she had hired in 1931. 

September 16, 2017
Lynn Villency Cohen: Museum ethically upends deaccessioning process – Lynn Villency Cohen chairs the Collections Committee at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center where she has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2002.

September 9, 2017
Van W. Shields’ South Carolina museum quest foundered / His drive to create a $60 million institution came up short amid accusations of mismanagement – by Larry Parnass /As head of a South Carolina museum prior to his current job, Shields pushed a $60 million plan that failed amid allegations of bad management, inadequate fundraising and loose spending, among others.

September 5, 2017
Berkshire Museum’s Smithsonian ties severed over art sale plan
by Amanda Drane

September 1, 2017
Berkshire Museum: ‘Emergency overstated,’ nonprofit expert says
by Carrie Saldo /Last month, the museum turned down a $1 million offer by an anonymous group seeking to delay the controversial deaccession so experts could offer a second opinion. The Eagle also reported last week that at least two other groups floated proposals to the museum; one was rejected and the other was apparently ignored.

August 27, 2017
Ruth Bass: Transparency provides the vitamin for building mutual trust – Ruth Bass has enjoyed the Berkshire Museum’s smorgasbord of art, science and history for decades.

August 25, 2017
Donors offer Berkshire Museum $1 million to delay, study art sale; board president turns it down by Larry Parnass / Eagle reporter Carrie Saldo contributed to this report.

August 18, 2017
Elizabeth McGraw: Museum’s tough decision assures survival, growth – Elizabeth McGraw is president, Board of Trustees, Berkshire Museum.

August 17, 2017
Berkshire Museum art auction not discussed in focus groups
by Carrie Saldo / “We asked these people to help us shape our plans, not to endorse them — although many have, publicly,” board of trustees President Elizabeth “Buzz” McGraw wrote Thursday.

August 14, 2017
Artist needles critics of Berkshire Museum plan to sell artworks
by Carrie Saldo / Editor’s note: This article was updated on Aug. 14, 2017, to clarify Laurie Norton Moffatt’s position on the proposed auction. That is what graphic designer Mark Tomasi has called the controversy surrounding Berkshire Museum’s plan to sell 40 works of art as part of its $60 million “reinvention plan.”

August 12, 2017
Protesters to Berkshire Museum: Art is ‘Not For Sale
by Derek Gentile

August 11, 2017
Chartock: Time for Berkshire Museum to revisit a bad call
Alan Chartock, a Great Barrington resident, is president and CEO of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and a professor emeritus of communications at SUNY-Albany.

August 10, 2017
Save the Art: Protest of Berkshire Museum art auction on Saturday
by Carrie Saldo / Editor’s note: This article was modified on Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, to clarify that the museum’s most recent fundraising campaign was launched last month. 

August 10, 2017
Berkshire Museum Auction: Sotheby’s to exhibit 40 pieces before sale – by Carrie Saldo / Editor’s note: This article was modified on Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, to the correct percentage of artwork being sold from the museum’s fine art collection.

August 5, 2017
A friendship framed by art: Planned sale of paintings strains bond between Berkshire Museum and Norman Rockwell’s world
by Carrie Saldo / Jeannie Maschino, Berkshire Eagle community news coordinator and librarian, conducted research for this report.

August 3, 2017
Rockwell sons oppose art sale: Want paintings to remain in public hands
by Carrie Saldo

August 3, 2017
Rinaldo Del Gallo, III: Museum’s judgment is bottom line
Rinaldo Del Gallo, III is a local attorney and columnist.

August 2, 2017
Most Berkshire Museum artworks set for auction now at Sotheby’s
by Carrie Saldo

August 1, 2017
Museum bravely confronts reality by Catharine B. Deely, Catherine B. Deely is former board chair, Berkshire Creative; former board member of 1Berkshire; former trustee of Norman Rockwell Museum (10 years); former board chair, Los Angeles Arts Loan Fund; former marketing director, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Elected to the Berkshire Museum Board of Trustees on September 24, 2018

July 31, 2017
Berkshire Museum brings in new PR staff amid expansion plan outcry
– by Carrie Saldo / Editor’s note: This article was updated on July 31, 2017, to clarify that when the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute worked with Resnicow-Schroeder, of which Fred Schroeder was a partner. Schroeder now runs his own firm, Schroeder Arts Consulting LLC

July 31, 2017
Timothy Cahill: Right the ship, boot the reboot, soldier on
Timothy Cahill is a freelance writer who has written about the Berkshire art scene for nearly 40 years.

July 30, 2017
Ruth Bass: No way Norman Rockwell envisioned his gifts being auctioned – Ruth Bass is a former Sunday editor of The Eagle.

July 30, 2017
Mark Richard Leach: Museum is poised to violate public trust
Mark Richard Leach is a museum consultant, arts writer and curator.

July 30, 2017
Douglas Crane: What would Zenas say?
Douglas Crane is a member of the Berkshire Museum’s Board of Trustees.

July 29, 2017
Association of Art Museum Curators decries Berkshire Museum plan to sell art
by Carrie Saldo

July 29, 2017
After two weeks, Berkshire Museum plan to sell art has supporters and detractors
by Carrie Saldo /A1 teaser: Were you one of the 400 people the Berkshire Museum chatted with to formulate its plans? We want to hear from you. Email csaldo@berkshireeagle.com

July 28, 2017
Joseph Thompson: A case for the Berkshire Museum’s decision to sell art
Joseph Thompson is the director of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams.

July 27, 2017
Derek Gentile: Berkshire Museum decision to sell art was not reached lightly
The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of The Berkshire Eagle.

July 27, 2017
Reflecting Rockwell: Berkshire Museum paintings depict artist’s local lifestyle
by Carrie Saldo

July 25, 2017
National museum associations bristle at Berkshire Museum art sell-off plan
by Carrie Saldo

July 25, 2017
Locals react to Berkshire Museum art auction list
by Carrie Saldo

July 24, 2017
Eric Rudd: Berkshire Museum art sell-off no solution
Eric Rudd is an artist and founder of the Berkshire Art Museum in North Adams.

July 24, 2017
In letter to Berkshire Museum, artists group asks them to reconsider selling off works
by Carrie Saldo

July 24, 2017
Berkshire Museum to sell works by Calder, Church and Durrie
by Carrie Saldo (the museum disclosed list of 40 artworks to be auctioned by Sotheby’s)

July 21, 2017
Art for sale to be ID’d, proceeds to pay for Berkshire Museum improvements
by Carrie Saldo

July 21, 2017
Leanne Hayden: An argument against the Berkshire Museum’s planned sell-off
Leanne Hayden is the collections manager for the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine.

July 20, 2017
What is a painting worth? Rockwell director cool to Berkshire Museum’s planned art sale
by Carrie Saldo

July 20, 2017
Laurie Norton Moffatt: Inviting a pause on sales of art
Laurie Norton Moffatt is the director/CEO of the Norman Rockwell Museum.

July 12, 2017
Community input drives ‘reinvention plan’ for The Berkshire Museum
by Carrie Saldo

July 12, 2017
Two Rockwells headed to auction to fund new vision for The Berkshire Museum
by Carrie Saldo