Email: Stop the sale, save the art at the Berkshire Museum

Peter Dudek, a sculptor who divides his time between Brooklyn and the Berkshires,�sent an urgent note this week�asking for Two Coats readers to help stop�the Berkshire Museum from selling artwork�from�its collection:

Dear Sharon,

As widely reported, the attempted auction of the Berkshire Museum�s most important works from their collection has been temporarily paused. The art to be sold at Sotheby�s New York facility on Monday�have been removed because an injunction filed by the Massachusetts Attorney General was granted.

The attempt by the museum to gut its collection is being closely watched as it could open the floodgates for other institutions to sell whatever art they have for whatever reason they want, instead of maintaining and protecting the cultural heritage entrusted to them. The grass roots organization Save the Art-Save the Museum in their efforts to garner support to Stop the Sale has created a website where readers can sign the�petition and more.

Please go to https://artberkshires.org/ in order to:

• Sign the change.org petition to permanently Stop the Sale. Over 2,000 signatures already.
• See the list and images of works to be auctioned.
• Read articles covering the fiasco.
• Read an Archive of Letters To the Editor.
• Read the Lawsuits that have been filed.
• Read about the alternatives visions being offered.

In the months since the July 12th announcement of the museum�s planned sale a groundswell of public opinion has risen against the sale. The twists and turns in this story have all been worthy of a documentary film. And from the�NYTimes: �This abortive sale represents a cautionary moment for auction houses that contract with museums who have not cleared such a sale with local communities and regulators.�� But Sotheby�s continues to believe, as does the museum, that the work will eventually be sold.

So for now:

Stop the Sale.
Save the Art.
Save the Museum.

Thanks for sharing this information with Two Coats readers.

Peter

——

Related posts:
Peter Dudek returns from the Berkshires
Peter Dudek on Presentational Sculpture*
Peter Dudek: Challenging murals in North Adams