FISK UNIVERSITY PLAN TO SELL O’KEEFFE WORKS TAKES A MAJOR HIT
As the battle over Georgia O’Keeffe’s legacy to Fisk University moves to what could be its final legal hurdle, the state attorney general is casting doubt on whether a sale could move forward as easily as Fisk officials had initially hoped, reports The Tennessean.
Attorney General Bob Cooper weighed in yesterday with a statement saying that neither the university nor O’Keeffe’s estate in New Mexico should be allowed to move the collection. Furthermore, the Tennessee Supreme Court declined to hear the case on Monday, and the long-running legal battle will likely now move to Chancery Court, where the fate of the 101 paintings would be decided in a few months.
Fisk had hoped to sell part ownership of the paintings to replenish its depleted trust fund, working out a deal with an Arkansas art museum that offered thirty million dollars for a half share in the collection.
