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The Battle Over NYC's Folk Art Museum, Now Lost to MoMA

Wednesday, August 13, 2014, by Sam Grinberg

Artist and animator Sam Grinberg revisits the fight over the future of the American Folk Art Museum.

· Culture and Chaos: A Comic History of the Hotel Chelsea [Curbed NY]
· American Folk Art Museum coverage [Curbed NY]

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COMMENTS (5 EXTANT)

Captain Cranky Pants 1646

tl;dr

#1. 08/13/14 01:30 PM Follow @UltimateTroll

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Manhattan momma 128

great curbed cartoons just like the New Yorker!
love it

#2. 08/13/14 02:19 PM

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BklynScribe 372

The cartoon is clever and makes a good point. What it does not mention is the fact that the Folk Art Museum had totally unrealistic expectations for the new building. The dramatic increase in attendance and membership the Trustees expected -- which was supposed to repay the loans taken out to build it.-- never materialized. The Museum eventually defaulted on its loans and lost the building. MoMA was able to buy the property at, in effect, a foreclosure sale.

This history does not justify the destruction of the Williams/Tsien building, though it is a cautionary tale about investing millions in a single-use trophy building.

#3. 08/14/14 12:54 AM

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Skipbroadway 48

I so remember how hard it was to have MoMA pay me for
some of my artwork a curator wished to add to their collection
with the cry baby,cry of "no money".
I guess by not paying artists they can purchase a lot of real estate
for expansion... that would be my cartoon and yes it's
true I actually was paid for my work that became part of the
permanent collection, a rather unique title in it self open to debate if not jest.

#4. 08/29/14 04:05 PM

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sweetalina 16

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#5. 12/19/14 11:33 PM

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