Brandeis art museum closure sparks outcry

Brandeis University students have called for a sit-in today to protest the school’s decision to close a museum and sell 6,000 art pieces.

The protest will begin at 1 p.m. on the campus in Waltham, Mass., said Rebecca Ulm, a sophomore and art history major. “It’s a terrible shock and tragedy,” she said. “They made a decision without consulting the student body and the faculty.”

Brandeis, anticipating a budget deficit of more than $10 million over five years, said Monday that it would close the 48-year-old Rose Art Museum and sell the holdings, including works by Andy Warhol and Willem de Kooning. The decision by the trustees has drawn objections from the separate museum board, attracted legal scrutiny from the state’s attorney general and now is stirring students to publicly object.

The university should explore other options before closing the museum and selling the art, said Jonathan Lee, chairman of the museum’s board of overseers. The board learned of the university’s decision Monday, he said.

Brandeis, by selling the art, would jeopardize its ability to raise donations, Lee said. He also said the timing of the art sales didn’t make sense. Because of the recession, he said, any art sold now would fetch less than what he believes it is worth.