NASHVILLE Tenn.
A lawyer for Fisk University said Tuesday that the historically black school could run out of money by Dec. 15 if it’s unable to sell its stake in an art collection donated by Georgia O’Keeffe.
Attorney Stacey Garrett told the judge that Fisk wouldn’t be able to pay its bills or meet payroll without selling the collection. Even with new revenue from next semester’s student tuition, the school wouldn’t be able to operate beyond February, she said.
Fisk asked Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle to set a trial date before the end of year to determine whether the school will be allowed to sell a 50 percent share of the 101-piece collection to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art for $30 million.
Under the proposed arrangement, the collection would travel between Nashville and the Bentonville, Ark., museum founded by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton.
Lawyers for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, N.M. which represents the late artist’s estate and opposes the Crystal Bridges deal said they could be ready for trial in February.
Officials at the O’Keeffe museum say Fisk has violated the terms of O’Keeffe’s gift to the school, which mandated that the artworks not be sold and that they be put on public display.
