Hundreds seek ways to keep public access to Brandeis museum

Call it 'sacred spot' for community

Nearly 300 art lovers packed a room at Brandeis University's Rose Art Museum to discuss how to protect its vast collection of notable art and make it available to the public after the school announced plans to close the museum because of financial problems.

The 90-minute town meeting was hosted by the museum's director, Michael Rush. The audience included Brandeis students, professors, and members of the surrounding community, and featured a surprise appearance by Waltham's mayor, Jeanette McCarthy.

Last week Jehuda Reinharz, president of Brandeis, apologized for the abrupt way in which the school administration decided to close the museum and sell some of its celebrated holdings to raise funds for the ailing university.

Among the nearly 7,000 works at the Rose are paintings by Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns, Henri Matisse, and Andy Warhol.

Reinharz said the Rose will remain open for academic purposes, although eventually it will not be a public museum. He also said only a small number of artworks would be sold, if necessary.

Participants last night discussed improving the Rose's finances, including a suggestion to use the Internet for fund-raising. Attendees also expressed hope that publicizing the plight of the museum would create a larger constituency for saving it.

Ramie Targoff, a professor of English at Brandeis, said "everyone in this room will see that it is a sacred spot for many people in our community."

McCarthy spoke about how important the museum was to the city of Waltham, saying that "art is a priority" and that "it would be terrible for it to go."

Also attending was Marty Wyngaarden Krauss, Brandeis provost, who said the meeting served as an important opportunity for Rose supporters to express their feelings about the museum.

"I benefited from hearing the various opinions and appreciated the sincerity and honesty of the comments," said Kraus. "It was impressive that the mayor of Waltham appeared and spoke about priorities needing to be articulated when all public and private institutions are facing severe economic challenges."