Bruce Jackson’s article on the Albright-Knox deaccessioning issue of 2007 was very enlightening. I vaguely remember seeing brief blurbs of the controversy on the local news and, if memory serves, a small segment on 60 Minutes where the image of Artemis and the Stag, specifically, stand out in my mind. I have to admit that at the time the story ran on television I wondered why the gallery would choose to sell off parts of their collection? Of course, being a member of the general public, how was I to know if this practice was right or wrong? All I knew was that the slant of the story seemed to imply the local constituency was not happy about the decision and there was trouble brewing for the gallery. However, after reading Jackson’s piece my eyes and mind were opened to the fact that there was more to the hullabaloo than the media had let on.
It is true, indeed, that at the crux of the storm of accusations and innuendos were Tom Freudenheim, Carl Dennis and their Buffalo Art Keepers entourage. It seems as though a well meaning knee jerk reaction to preserve hometown treasures got the best of all them because, as the article illustrates so well, none of them did their homework. One by one Jackson dismantles each weak allegation with solid fact and sets the record straight by exposing the entire fiasco from its impetus…Freudenheims’s Wall Street Journal article. Blow by blow the saga of misinformed-good-intentions-that-snowballed-out-of-control is told in riveting detail making it blatantly clear that the gallery was simply doing its job and there was no wrong doing on their part. More importantly, however, after clearing the air, Jackson goes on to point out that the entire ordeal did more harm than good to BAK’s supposed beloved gallery. I am all for keeping gems in Buffalo but hoarding for the sake of hoarding is unacceptable, not to mention, tacky. Hopefully the next time BAK, or anyone else for that matter, wants to go on a rant they’ll get their facts straight and not waste everyone's time and money.
Thank you for your responses!
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