In a major setback for Fisk University, a Tennessee judge has barred the school from selling any or all of its priceless 101 piece Stieglitz Collection of art to raise money to support the financially troubled school.
The ruling late Friday by Judge Ellen Hobbs Lyle stunned university officials who have spent the last two years trying to unload key pieces of art in the collection by the late Georgia O’Keeffe and Marsden Hartley in hopes of quickly raising millions of dollars to help the school reverse its sagging fortunes.
Instead, the effort has turned into a costly legal quagmire for Fisk with the latest ruling raising the prospect the school could lose the whole collection to O’Keeffe’s heirs who have charged Fisk has not lived up to the terms imposed on it when it received the collection in 1949.
“We’re researching our options for appeal,” said Ken West, the Fisk spokesman, referring to Judge Lyle’s Friday ruling.
For sure, the judge’s ruling appears to put even more pressure on Fisk to pursue aggressive fundraising like many of its sister schools, something Fisk has not done effectively in years. Presently, it is trying to raise $4 million in unrestricted funds by June 30 to meet a challenge grant offer from the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the only national philanthropy to come to the school’s aid with substantial funds since Fisk declared last fall it was running out of operating capital.
Judge Lyle’s detailed memorandum and order also significantly narrowed the scope of a trial set for February 19 in Nashville at which Fisk had hoped to convince the judge the school has the sole authority to determine the future of the Stieglitz, a collection of paintings and photos given to Fisk by O’Keeffe with a number of covenants or conditions agreed to by the school. Among them was agreement the collection would be kept in tact for perpetuity and never sold or loaned.
