What does the collapse of Lehman Brothers (and the buyout of Merrill Lynch) mean to the cultural institutions they support?
- Lehman Brothers is taking bids for Neuberger Berman, “one of the harbingers of the finance industry’s recent infatuation with emerging art,” according to Artnet. In 2004, Neuberger Berman organized a travelling show of some of its assets, including works by Andreas Gursky, Takashi Murakami, and Neo Rausch. Artnet speculates, “Whether the new owner keeps the art collection or would consider auctioning it off into the hot contemporary art market remains to be seen.”
- Lehman’s generous donations to museums worldwide* means that these cultural institutions will lose a significant source of support. According to the New York Sun, “Kathleen Fuld, the wife of the Lehman Brothers chairman and CEO, Richard Fuld, is a vice chairman [of its board]. Lehman Brothers has been a corporate member of the museum, and the Fulds have made significant donations of both money and art.” It is unclear whether these personal relationships to the MoMA will continue, or if any outstanding pledges are on the books.
- The performing arts are also losing benefactors: both Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch pledged $3 million each to New York’s Lincoln Center redevelopment project. The New York Sun spoke with a spokesman for Lincoln Center, who said that both institutions had been on time with their payments but did not disclose how much of their pledged gifts are still outstanding. “The president of Lincoln Center, Reynold Levy, said he didn’t know whether any outstanding portion of Lehman Brothers’ commitment would materialize.” Lehman has also supported the Apollo Theater Foundation and the School of American Ballet.
The recent economic turmoil affects many organizations and individuals, but its reach extends into communities less often linked with Wall Street; Philip Borhoff’s Bloomberg story has more examples of Lehman’s potential effect on the non-profit sector (Borhoff reports that Lehman spent $39 million in charitable giving budget last year). It’s unclear exactly how deeply the recent bankruptcy-buyout-bailout news will impact cultural institutions, but America’s community of privately supported arts and education organizations will be likely feeling the crunch. [thx to UnBeige for the heads-up]
*Here’s a sampling. In New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, Asia Society, International Center of Photography, Museum of Arts and Design. Elsewhere in the U.S.: Art Institute of Chicago, Dallas Museum of Art, Miami Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Philadelphia Museum of Art, San Francisco MoMA. In Europe: Tate Modern and Tate Britain, Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Academy of Art, Musée du Louvre.
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