Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper is requiring Fisk University to delay by 30 days its proposed sale of two of the financially troubled university's prized Stieglitz Collection paintings.

The attorney general said he wants to give the public an opportunity to propose alternative financing that would keep the two major works of American art at Fisk.

In a letter to representatives of Fisk University and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, General Cooper has directed Fisk to publicize the proposed sale of O'Keeffe's "Radiator Building-Night, New York" and "Painting No. 3" by Marsden Hartley in the local and national press. He said his purpose is to provide the community an opportunity to propose financing that would "allow one or both paintings to remain on display with the remainder of the Stieglitz Collection."

If, by the end of the 30-day period, General Cooper determines that sufficient funds have not been committed to preserve the collection, he will give final approval to an agreement between Fisk and the Museum. That agreement will send the O'Keeffe painting to the Museum's facility in Sante Fe, New Mexico, in return for $7 million and will clear the way for Fisk to sell the Hartley on the art market with certain conditions.

In his letter, General Cooper stated that he is requiring the 30-day solicitation period in order to allow the community "to act and preserve a local artistic treasure." He said, "The importance and significance of the Stieglitz Collection to Nashville's art community and to historically black colleges and universities cannot be overstated. He also said, "It is no exaggeration to say that if it sells these paintings, Fisk will lose the artistic heart of the Stieglitz Collection."

General Cooper noted "the current and historic importance of Fisk University to Nashville and the nation" and also acknowledged that Fisk University faces extreme financial problems that must be addressed.

Accordingly, if Fisk cannot procure alternative financing, General Cooper concluded that "the preservation of the collection is not worth the risk of financially crippling one of the preeminent historically black colleges and universities in the nation" and will allow the sale of the paintings to go forward.

By law, the Attorney General has supervisory duties of any charitable gift to Tennesseans. Renowned American artist Georgia O'Keeffe gave Fisk the Stieglitz Collection in 1949 as a gift from the estate of her famed photographer husband Alfred Stieglitz. The Collection includes paintings by O'Keeffe and other prominent early 20th Century American artists, prints by Renoir and Cezanne as well as Stieglitz photographs. New York's Christie's Appraisals, Inc. estimated the potential value of each of the two paintings in question at $8.5 million.

Fisk asked the Attorney General's Office to approve the sale before filing a petition in Chancery Court. The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum through its predecessor entity, the Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation, intervened, citing certain conditions O'Keeffe apparently placed on the gift. Those conditions allegedly include that the Collection be exhibited to the public and a prohibition against loaning or selling any of the art. The Museum asserted in its intervention that if any part of the Collection is sold, the gift would be void and the entire Collection would revert to the Museum, because the museum is the successor to the O'Keeffe estate.

In addition to the proposed painting sales, Fisk and the Museum have agreed Fisk will provide up to $560,000 from the sale of the paintings to restore Fisk's Van Vechten Gallery to properly display and protect the remainder of the Collection as part of the settlement.

The Attorney General has instructed the university to use its best efforts to publicize the Attorney General's letter throughout the state and to any potentially interested parties to find an alternative to the settlement agreement. If at the end of the 30-day period the Attorney General does not find there is enough money committed to keep one or both of the paintings at Fisk in a manner consistent with the apparent terms of the O'Keeffe gift or terms likely to be approved by the Chancery Court, he will approve the agreement.

Fisk officials said they will advertise the terms and conditions of the Attorney General’s letter in a notice published in newspapers in Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis and Chattanooga on Friday. In addition, Fisk will circulate this press release along and a copy of the Attorney General’s letter and a copy of the request for funding proposal to a number of major media outlets.

Respondents to the proposal will be given 30 days in which to reply.

If, 30 days after the initial publication in newspapers, there are no offers, the Attorney General intends to give final approval to the agreement between Fisk and the Museum. At that point, both parties will file the mutually executed settlement agreement with the Chancery Court for final approval.

“Fisk is grateful to the Attorney General for his creative idea to solicit funding proposals from individuals whose donation will keep one or both paintings at Fisk,” said Fisk’s President Hazel R. O’Leary.

Fisk’s collections are comprised of over 3,800 works of art from artists such as Degas, Renoir, and Toulouse - Lautrec to Harlem Renaissance artists Aaron Douglas and Henry O. Tanner. The remaining 99 works of the Stieglitz Collection will be on display in the Carl Van Vechten Art Gallery once renovations to the facility are complete.

The university has planned to utilize the proceeds from the deaccessioning of the paintings to provide increased educational opportunity to its students. The proceeds will be used to secure the Carl Van Vechten Gallery against fire and climate fluctuation, to replenish the University’s endowment, to establish three endowed chairs aimed at drawing more research dollars to the university, and to seed financing for a new campus building.

Fisk University holds the distinction of being the first Historically Black University to induct members into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa national honor society. The school produces more African Americans who go on to earn doctoral degrees in the natural sciences than any school in the nation.

Fisk is known as the alma mater of historian and author John Hope Franklin, social scientist W.E.B. DuBois, poet and essayist Nikki Giovanni, Congressmen John Lewis and Alcee Hastings, as well as microbiologist Bradley Sheares, CEO and Director of Reliant Phamaceuticals. Recently the school was named as the top Historically Black University by Newsweek/Kaplan and ranked fifth of 300 schools in terms of student volunteerism and graduation rate.

All inquiries regarding the proposal should be directed to Michael C. Norton at mnorton@bonelaw.com.

The request for proposals and other documents can be downloaded from the following web site: www.fisk.edu/stieglitz_okeeffe/ .