NASHVILLE Tenn.
A financially faltering historically black university is seeking a quick ruling on whether it can sell a 50 percent stake in a 101-piece collection of artworks donated by Georgia O’Keeffe in 1949.
But first Fisk University will have to overcome the protests of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, N.M., which has tried to force Fisk to forfeit the entire collection to it.
Saul Cohen, president of the museum’s board, said Fisk has violated O’Keeffe’s wishes by not displaying the collection and by trying to sell off artworks.
“Since the conditions (of the bequest) have been breached, the gift should revert to the museum, which is standing in Georgia O’Keeffe’s shoes,” he said.
But Fisk and an O’Keeffe expert disagree with Cohen about whether the museum is entitled to speak on the late artist’s behalf.
“The Museum is not a credible arbiter of O’Keeffe’s intent,” Fisk’s lawyers said in a court filing Friday.
