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Letter to Mayor Jay Dermer 10/3/69 .~c...- Ji-./ ';;'(.--..,.' .../ ?;--/ ?'_oL-"'- ,. ,; - -77- .-.:; ';-6.' -..~L-;;:;':-.-~-'~ //(~k~-t.t,/.'c.../ ",-' C7 , . "- ~DI~~ead FLORIDA 33139 "V ACATIONLAND U. S. A." OF'F'ICE OF' CITY MANAGER CLIFFORD W. O'KEY CITY MANAGER CITY HAL.L. 1130 WASHINGTON AVENUE TELEPHONE: 534--7511 October 3, 1969 .r-' FROM: Mayor Jay Dermer and Members of C;ty Council Cl iff~'.:tI)/9'~Y City Managet- " TO: SUBJECT: BASS MUSEUM I have reviewed the background of this city's acceptance of the art works and art objects from Mr. and Mrs. John Bass. I have also reviewed the circumstances of the acceptance and the docu- mentation of this city's commitments concerning same. From my understanding of the terms of the acceptance, it would appear that this act on the part of Mr. and Mrs. Bass cannot be interpreted as a "gift." This city acts more in the role of a trustee whose contractual obligation is to house, display, protect and properly maintain these works of art. After discussing this matter with the City Attorney, I conclude that the art objects being questioned as to authenticity are not in fact possessions of this city in the sense that we have an option as to their display. Inasmuch as some questions have been raised as to authenticity claims of the works displayed and reiterate similar statements made at the time the City assumed its trustee role in preserving, protecting and displaying the works, that to guard this cit~'s government from accusations questioning our community's credibility in presenting works of art as authentic that two courses of action should be taken: ~~ 1) The City Council by resolution should direct the Bass Museum Board of Trustees to move immediately to retain the services of a recognized art authority to draw a properly documentated catalog of identification for all objects of art displayed in our museum, leaving to the judgment of such recognized art expert the degree of investigation he feels is needed to satisfy himself as to the veracity of the owners' claims and the legitimacy of the questions that have been raised concerning such works. ' (continued) . To: Mayor Jay Dermer and Members of City Council October 3, 1969 -2- 2) That we direct the Bass Museum Board to consider some modi- fication of the display to make it abundantly clear to all viewers of the controversial art works that some question has been raised as to the authenticity of the claims as to the attribution. It is my reconvnendation that City Council, as a matter of policy, indicate its support for maintenance of a museum of art and that the questions concerning the credibility of the claims of the donor are being investigated. Upon an indication from you gentlemen of your support for this course of action. J will assume the prerogative of calling a meeting of the Bass Museum Board to consider the directions set forth in Council's resolution. CWO'K:FG "'-.. '-.#.-... ':'f ~["VP1 " _I ..~ il., /,' ~_,-.~A.L\.~ CV z- /.'; . 'oJ HAY 17 AHlO 56 . ; I " ~lANAGu(S UFFICE. 667 MADISON AVENUE . NEW YORK, N. Y. 1002 May 16,1973 838.682( Mr. Frank Spence City Manager 1130 Washington Boulevard Miami Beach, Florida 33157 j2R: pI? 55 /Ylv:/ Ct.J~ Dear Mr. Spence: Thank you for your time last week. I felt the discussion was fruitful. I have given the museum project quite a bit of thought during the past week and herein I've taken the liberty of putting down some of our ideas and expanding upon them. It is my'strong feeling that the name of the museum must be changed. There are two primary reasons: 1) The name is not respected and 2) it is extraordinarily difficult to raise funds from the private sec- tor for a museum with another man's name attached. Additionally the museum must have the freedom to display any picture, at any time, anywhere in the museum. It is understandable that a donor would want his oictures shown together. however if the museum should acquire an object which fits into the scope of a collection it should be placed in proximity to assure continuity. As you probably know the price of art has skyrocketed during the last year or two and quality master paintings are practically im- possible to obtain. However, the collection will have to be upgraded. ........,. primarily through private donations and loans. There are two major areas to be worked on: 1) Seeking pictures to supplement the existing collection through loans. gifts and purchases and 2) loans of small collections in other areas such as, Oriental porcelain, African primi- tives, pre-Columbian etc. The size of the museum is not ~ ;e.ty ~gv/; -2- important as the quality of the material shown. In the future only works of the highest quality should be exhibited in the museum. The board of trustees of the museum should be kept as small and as professional as possible. There should be a maximum of five to ten members some of whom should be city officials but the majority of whom should be private citizens (community leaders). The Association of Art Museum Directors published a pamphlet called Professional Practices in Art Museums and I have requested that five copies be sent to you for distribution. In this pamphlet there are clear guide lines for the relationship of the trustees to the director and the director to the staff. Policy and implementation of same are discussed. Guide lines are given for the care and feeding of the collection including acquisitions by purchase and gift, disposals, cataloging, preservation, display and loans. The city should plan to find adequate funds for maintenance and staff and seed money for the funding of exhibition programs, membership department and a 'museum shop. The museum shop and the membership department can be revenue producing, in fact, profitable. Exhibition programs should be funded by the city, however as the membership and fund raising programs become active and successful those funds can be matched from the private sector. If the city feels it advisable to-'~~ improve the quality and stature of the museum quickly it must provide the funds necessary. It should be kept in mind that the museum can be a valuable teaching aid for the schools. This should be carefully considered and the museum should probably take two or three traveling exhibitions a year. In addition the director and his staff should organize one or two shows a year which would then circulate from the museum. Federal funds are often available for this purpose. The key -3- to all these programs is the director and his staff. The director should be a man of integrity who knows his way around the art world and is respected by his colleagues. Just as important will be this man's ability to develop support for the museum in the community. In the past the museum has closed itself off from the art world and has not encouraged the public. Immediate steps should be taken to establish relationships with national organizations such as the Association of Art Museum Directors, the American Association of Museums, the College Art Association and the Art Dealers Association. There are also certain other institutions such as the American Fed- eration of Arts. the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York which regularly circulate exhibitions for short term loan for reasonable fees. The museum has done little to involve the public. A clear program or policy of purposes and goals is necessary. Community relations are important. Membership and fund raising programs are vital to supplementing the finances of the museum. Building a strong member- ship is paramount to the fund raising efforts. The survival of the museum depends on its funding. I am enclosing the financial statement of an important mid-Western art center. The size of this institution and the community make the figures a valuable guide line for the Miami Beach Museum of Art. In this case the community support has been built over a long period, however in my opinion, the citizens of Greater Miami have the wherewithal to support this museum and after a proper period of time and education will do so. In the meantime funding can only come from the city. The city should even consider acquiring one major picture a year since there is no endowment to draw upon. You will note in the sample budget a profit in excess of $70,000 from the membership ~ -4- department. Although the educational department was also profit- able I don't think the Miami Beach Museum should get into classes and teaching at this time, there seems to be a general trend away from this in other museums and the facilities are not available. It is important though to have a series of guest lecturers as well as a resident lecturer or chief docent. The museum shop is not only a valuable source of revenue but also a valuable educational tool in that. through the sale of books and authentic reproductions. culture and knowledge are spread in the community. Even though there is a library contiguous to the museum it must have a small library of its own for regular in-house research. Although it would be nice to build an endowment for the museum, the funds initially raised from the private sector will have to go for im- proving the collection and exhibitions. In time, when the flow of funds exceeds the daily demand, a certain percentage should be placed in an endowment fund. It is also logical to assume that certain matching funds will come from state and national funds, primarily National Endowment. There are several dates on which I will be available to meet with you in the near future. May I suggest the 23rd or 24th of May, the 29th or 30th of May, or any other date that we can mutually ~ agree upon. Thank you. C rles Cowles Publisher CC:jf