Cashing in on Culture: Betraying the Trust at the Rose Art Museum

Facing a lengthening recession and massive budget shortfalls, what does a university do with its $350 million art museum?Cashing in on Culture, by Francine Koslow Miller, is a firsthand account of Brandeis University s attempt to close down its famed Rose Art Museum and sell off major pieces from the museum s collection to close budget gaps in other areas of the university. The ill-considered plan caused an uproar in the art community and on campus when it was first proposed in January 2009. The controversy continued for two and a half years, until ongoing protests and a lawsuit by a number of the Rose s overseers brought a stop to the university s plan--at least for the time being--and reaffirmed the Rose as one of the nation s top university art museums. Miller is an alumnus of Brandeis and a respected Boston-area art critic and journalist. Tracking this story was a labor of love and the resulting book tells a very local story with very national implications.