Cleveland Museum of Art Sends 32 Paintings to the Auction Block

In three sessions over two days starting Jan. 27, the Cleveland Museum of Art will offer more than two dozen European old master paintings in the largest sell-off from its collection in more than a half-century. The 30 lots from Cleveland, with 32 works overall, will be part of an auction of "Important Old Master Paintings" at Sotheby's in New York.

"These are pictures that probably don't have a place in the Cleveland Museum of Art context, but could have a happy life elsewhere," C. Griffith Mann, the museum's chief curator, said of the works to be sold.

Some of the hottest recent controversies in the art world have involved cash-strapped institutions selling artworks to pay operating or other expenses. But the Cleveland sale is unlikely to cause a ruckus. Most of the individual works to be sold are by minor masters; few have been exhibited in recent years.

Sotheby's estimates the total value of the Cleveland works to range from $706,000 to $1,022,000. The auction could attract bargain hunters; out of the 30 lots, 21 are priced with low-end estimates of $10,000 or less.

For more about the this sale and the CMA collection, see The Plain Dealer.

International Scholar, David Franklin Appointed Eighth Director of the Cleveland Museum of Art

David Franklin, an internationally respected scholar of Italian Renaissance and baroque art, was named the next director of the Cleveland Museum of Art in a unanimous vote by the museum's board of trustees. Franklin's selection marks a new generation of leadership for the museum, known for the quality and breadth of its collection and its historic role as a leading American museum.

The 49-year-old Franklin, currently the deputy director of the National Gallery of Canada, will assume his duties in Cleveland on Sept. 20. Franklin brings to the position deep experience in exhibitions and acquisitions, as well as an international perspective as a result of having lived and worked in Canada, London, Oxford and Rome. He arrives at a key moment for the Cleveland Museum of Art, which in the next three years will complete a $350 million renovation and expansion project designed to improve the installation and interpretation of the museum's collection and enhance the experience of its visitors.

"As an international scholar who has curated many successful exhibitions and has substantial leadership experience at a large and complex museum, David possesses a rare combination of managerial and curatorial skills, making him the perfect fit for the Cleveland Museum of Art," said Alfred M. Rankin Jr., president of the museum's board of trustees and chairman, president and chief executive officer of NACCO Industries Inc. "This appointment gives us the opportunity to tap a talented professional to join an emerging group of innovative, new directors at the nation's top art museums."

As deputy director and chief curator of the National Gallery of Canada, Franklin is responsible for the core work of that museum, including its curatorial departments, art acquisitions, conservation, library and archives, and education division, which together comprise approximately one quarter of the institution's total staff of 290 and total annual operating budget of $58 million. Franklin has held the position since 2001.

"I have long admired the Cleveland Museum of Art's commitment to quality, which has given the institution a reputation for possessing among the world's finest encyclopedic holdings," said Franklin. "It is with great enthusiasm that I join the talented Cleveland staff in leading this museum into its next 100 years. I want to build upon the museum's strong traditions while increasing its focus on outreach and diversity to identify new ways to bring the collection to life and engage the regional and global audiences that the museum serves."

The museum is now finishing the final planning for its building project, which remains on budget and on schedule for completion in 2013. In June, the museum's board of trustees demonstrated once again its strong commitment to the project by voting unanimously to fund and complete this final phase.

"The new Rafael Viñoly building will act as a magnet for curious audiences, making this the moment to have a greater impact on more people than ever through Cleveland's collection and intelligent presentation of art," said Franklin. "I'm looking forward to taking an active role in Cleveland and to making the museum even more meaningful and relevant within its community."

At the National Gallery, Franklin has balanced significant leadership responsibilities with an active scholarly agenda. He is one of the museum's most visible spokespeople, representing the organization in its outreach across Canada and initiating fundraising that has secured individual and corporate support at an institution that previously had been accustomed to relying almost entirely on government funding. During his tenure, Franklin's successes have ranged from increasing art donations from individuals across Canada to securing more than $2 million for a curatorial research fund and playing a central role in a fundraising event that raised nearly $2 million for the museum in one night.

At the same time, he has curated several of the National Gallery's noteworthy special exhibitions, including Italian Drawings from the National Gallery of Canada (2001), Parmigianino (2003) and Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and the Renaissance in Florence (2005). Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture (2008), organized in partnership with the J. Paul Getty Museum, was the first major exhibition of Bernini's work in North America and the first comprehensive exhibition of the artist's portrait busts. From Raphael to Carracci: The Art of Papal Rome (2009) featured more than 150 works by artists including Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian and El Greco from lenders including the Vatican Museums, British Museum, Galleria degli Uffizi, J. Paul Getty Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Louvre, Morgan Library & Museum and National Gallery in London. Franklin is currently organizing the exhibition Caravaggio and His Circle in Rome, scheduled to debut at the National Gallery of Canada in the summer of 2011 before traveling to the United States.

"David is an individual with extraordinary ability and reputation in the field of international art scholarship," said Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum. "In the current environment, where institutions are building a growing international presence beyond bricks and mortar and across borders, David has shown a real strength in his rare ability to mount complex projects."

"David's work in organizing ambitious exhibitions is impressive, and he has demonstrated appreciation for sharing with museum visitors not only his own area of specialty but also many others, including contemporary art," said Michael J. Horvitz, chairman of the museum's board of trustees and of counsel to the law firm Jones Day.

Franklin has earned honors in Canada and abroad, including the 1995 Eric Mitchell Prize, one of the most prestigious awards given to art historians, for his publication Rosso in Italy: The Italian Career of Rosso Fiorentino. This volume also was awarded the Yale University Press Governors' Award for the most outstanding book published by an author under the age of 40. In 2009, the Italian government took note of his research, honoring Franklin with its Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Stella della Solidarieta Italiana (Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity), the country's highest honor for non-Italians, awarded to those who demonstrate exceptional service that furthers Italian culture.

"In a very strong field of candidates, David quickly distinguished himself as our top choice," said R. Steven Kestner, chair of the museum's search committee and national executive partner of Baker & Hostetler LLP. "He brings an international outlook that will allow the museum to continue broadening its reach in the areas of research, exhibitions and publications. We're thrilled to welcome David and his family to Cleveland."

Franklin, a native of Québec, earned his Bachelor of Arts in art history from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He received both his master's and doctorate degrees in European Renaissance art from the Courtauld Institute of Art at the University of London. He also was awarded an honorary Master of Arts by the University of Oxford.

He has held fellowships at Oxford's Lincoln College and All Souls College, spent four years researching and teaching Italian Renaissance art at Oxford and served as a visiting scholar at the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities in Los Angeles and the Hertziana Library in Rome.

Franklin first joined the National Gallery of Canada in 1998 as the curator of prints and drawings and within two years was promoted to deputy director. The National Gallery possesses a collection and staff similar in size to that of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Created in 1880, it is among the oldest of Canada's national cultural institutions. The museum's collection - which spans all periods of Canadian art and is particularly notable for strong holdings in prints and drawings, photography, Inuit art, modern American art and contemporary art - includes approximately 38,000 works, in addition to 161,700 images held within the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography. Annually, the museum attracts approximately 400,000 visitors to its modern, downtown Ottawa building and adds an average of 300 works of art to its collections.

"David has made outstanding contributions to our institution," said Marc Mayer, director of the National Gallery of Canada. "While we will miss him greatly, I truly believe this is his moment to take the helm of an internationally renowned museum and make optimal use of his ideas, energies and talents there."

Franklin and his wife Antonia Reiner, who holds a degree in modern languages from Oxford and is a freelance translator and fiber artist, are currently in the process of relocating to the Cleveland area with their two children. In the coming months, Franklin will work closely with Deborah Gribbon, who has served for the past year as the interim director of the Cleveland Museum of Art, to ensure a smooth transition of leadership.

Franklin's selection follows a 12-month international search that began in September 2009. The museum worked with the executive search firm of Phillips Oppenheim.

You can find a recent story about the CMA appointment here.

My Review of CMA Mabel Hewit Show

For the last few years, I've enjoyed a sense of pride as the Cleveland Museum of Art continues to unveil their massive renovations. Last weekend I got a chance to see the ancient galleries in the 1916 Building and was again awed by the lighting, displays, and the works that I know so well from previous visits.

During my visit I also got a chance to see the newly inaugurated prints an drawings galleries. Here, the CMA is featuring a little-known Cleveland print maker in Midwest Modern: The Color Woodcuts of Mabel Hewit. I am very excited about the decision to choose a local artist to open the new galleries. However, my sincere interests in Hewit's work rests on my growing love of cityscapes, scenes from everyday life, and local histories, I've developed since moving from NE Ohio to Cincinnati.

You will find my review of the show in Aeqai.

Seventeen New Antiquities Galleries at Cleveland Museum of Art Open June 26

After a five-year hiatus, the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collections from the ancient Near East, Greece, Rome, and Egypt, as well as works from late antiquity, the Byzantine Empire, the European Middle Ages, and Africa, will return to public view on June 26.

The new galleries, located in the first level of the 1916 building, follow the evolution of visual and cultural traditions at the roots of Western civilization. Visitors can discover the ritual, social, and historical contexts within which these works of art were produced and, at the same time, explore connections to art from other periods on view throughout the museum.

Approximately 900 works of art will return to display when the new galleries open. In addition, dedicated prints and drawings galleries will be inaugurated with Midwest Modern: The Color Woodcuts of Mabel Hewit, which features the work of a relatively unknown Cleveland artist.

Events all summer long will celebrate the new galleries and range from special lectures to hands-on family activities. The free Going Global Family Day on Sunday, June 27, will feature storytelling, art making, music, and dance from 12:30 to 4:00 p.m.

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Cleveland Museum of Art Launches New Website

The CMA has launched their new website and I cannot stop visiting it. There are so many features, including an ability to personalize your profile. Presumably, this feature allows you to customize the website to your specific art interests. Because I've chosen all areas of interest (periods in art and the complete listing of programs), the website presents me a full spectrum of information. As an art lover, I'll never comprehend customizing one's profile for less information, so cannot see how this as a celebrated feature.

But there are a number of features on the new website that will keep me engaged for hours. Besides the ease with which to peruse the website, the online collection is easily a favorite. I recently learned the museum's goal to make every item in the museum collection available online. Cincinnati-based LUCRUM is currently working on the development of the online catalog. This will take some time yet, but right now you can already see the wonderful accessibility of the online collection. One exciting feature of the developing database is the inclusion of multiple views and details of many of the art works. This is especially noted with the sculptural works in the collection, but some of the paintings as well.

A second feature of the online collection includes the ability to make comments on any of the items in the collection. I've not yet seen more than a single comment, usually a description of the artwork, but similar to a blog feature, adding a comment to the collection is an exciting feature. I do see a potential for the online collection to continuously evolve through an online discussion of works from the Cleveland Museum of Art.

So please, take a look at it, create a profile and share your thoughts about art.

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Timothy Rub Resigns as Cleveland Museum of Art Director

Former Cincinnati Art Museum Director, Timothy Rub, who has since led the Cleveland Museum of Art since 2006 and who just finished guiding construction of the museum's gleaming new East Wing, has decided to leave his post in September to direct the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has the story here.

The CMA to Celebrate Dr. Sherman E. Lee

The Cleveland Museum of Art will celebrate its former Director, the late Dr. Sherman E. Lee in an exhibition, Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The exhibition will include 50 masterworks acquired by the CMA during Lee's tenure.

The exhibition will run from June 27 to August 23, 2009.

Cleveland Museum of Art to return Italian ancient art

AP reports that the director of The Cleveland Museum of Art says museum officials are prepared to hand over 14 art works to Italian authorities.

Timothy Rub says the transfer of the art, which includes ancient pieces looted or smuggled out of Italy, will take place Wednesday.

Rub and the Italian arts minister agreed to the handover in November. It was unclear which Italian agency would carry the objects back home.

As part of the agreement, Italy has promised to lend 13 objects comparable in quality to the returned antiquities and to cooperate on future exhibitions.

Rub says those works will go on view in Cleveland in 2010, when the museum reopens galleries devoted to ancient art after the completion of a $350 million expansion and renovation.

A Weekend with Family and Friedlander

While visiting my family in Lorain, Ohio over the weekend, my 87 year old Aunt Mary made a rare and much anticipated visit with her photo albums in tow. Aunt Mary has happily assumed the role of the family historian though has never written anything down. The pictures are her record. We often hear about families suffering with Alzheimer’s disease, so while my family has not yet been touched by this memory crippling disease, I was still amazed as Aunt Mary seemed to be able to recall a story or two from each of the pages of the albums.

Who was married to whom and who was in the wedding, where everyone lived and worked between Italy, Pennsylvania, and finally Ohio, who owned what car, and family pets animated this oral history. Aunt Mary remembered everything. I suspected there were even a few details she left out, like her time working at a nightclub. Aunt Mary insists she was not a dancer in the club though a picture of her in a leotard seems to suggest otherwise. But this was her history more than mine last weekend. I asked her how she is able to remember all of these details. She said, “When I feel a bit depressed, I look through my pictures and remember how wonderful my family is and much fun my life has been.”

My visit to see family included the requisite stop to the Cleveland Museum of Art. This time I stopped to see the Friedlander show. Lee Friedlander has always been one of my favorite photographers. No doubt it’s the wonderfully entertaining puns found throughout much of his oeuvre that entertain me. Many of his photographs I hold especially dear because his work was perhaps most easily recognizable during slide identification exams in both History of Photography classes I took. Each time one of his pictures projected onto the screen during an exam, I let out an audible sigh of relief. Many of these images are included in this exhibition.

Friedlander’s photographs and books are displayed in chronological order within various categories making it easy to see simultaneously a breadth and depth of his career of five decades. Not only did I recognize many of these photographs, but some of the subjects too. I’ve visited or lived in many of the cities in which he shot, including Boston, Los Angeles, and Albuquerque, NM. I also met at least a couple of his subjects, like Maya Lin and John Szarkowski. With such familiarity of the work combined with walking through the show with my sister, I couldn’t help but recognize the Friedlander show as a wonderful complement to my Aunt Mary’s photographs. As a photographer of “the American social landscape,” Friedlander captures the wonder and wit American life.