O’Keeffe museum drops lawsuit over collection

THE Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in New Mexico has dropped its lawsuit to claim a 101-piece art collection from Fisk University in Nashville.

The Santa Fe, N.M., museum moved to withdraw its lawsuit Tuesday, one day after a judge denied a settlement agreement that would have sent a prominent O’Keeffe painting to the museum for $7.5 million.

The 1927 oil painting called “Radiator Building -- Night, New York” is part of the collection given to the historically black university in 1949 by the estate of O’Keeffe’s husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz.

The withdrawal opens the door to a $30-million offer made by the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Ark., late last month to share a 50% stake in the collection and display it half of the time. The judge Monday rejected the settlement pact, saying Crystal Bridges Museum’s offer provided better terms.

The Crystal Bridges Museum was founded by Alice Walton, the daughter of the late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, and is scheduled to open in 2009.

The New Mexico museum, which represents the late painter’s estate, had sued the school, claiming that Fisk was violating the conditions of the gift by trying to sell some of the paintings and by not displaying the collection. If Fisk had lost at trial, the entire collection could have been awarded to the museum.