QUICK TAKES - March 18, 2009

The family whose name adorns the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University has demanded that the facility remain a public art museum and that the school refrain from selling off its works.

Fifty members of the Rose family issued a statement protesting what they called the “plundering” of the museum, which houses about 7,000 objects of modern and contemporary art.

“The art has been put on the auction block. The museum has been put on the chopping block. We object,” said the statement, which was issued before a symposium on the issue held Monday night on the Brandeis campus in Waltham, Mass.

A news release from the school in January said it would “close the museum” and “publicly sell the art collection.” But university President Jehuda Reinharz later clarified the statement, saying that, while the Rose may no longer be a public museum, offering exhibits and paid admission to people who want to browse its galleries, it would remain open with a focus on serving the school’s educational needs, with more exhibits by students and faculty.

Brandeis Provost Marty Krauss said in a statement Monday night that the role of the museum would be determined by the recommendations of a committee established by the school’s board of trustees. The Rose Committee was scheduled to hold its first meeting Thursday.