Gross Mistake

No sale, originally uploaded by libbyrosof.

The Gross Mistake by Thomas Jefferson over the sale of The Gross Clinic continues. See The Clinic Sale is Gross, for background on the controversy.

A protest rally was held by a group of artists on Sunday. See The first Eakins rally--more to come by Artblog and the Washington Post, Artists Protest Over Planned Eakins Sale.

The Inquirer reports that Mayor Street has nominated the masterpiece to be designated as a "historic object" under the city's historic preservation ordinance, Street: Designate painting 'historic', which would prevent the painting from being altered or moved without the express approval of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. And a coalition of city officials institutions and civic leaders have formed a Masterpiece Fund to Keep Eakins in Philadelphia.

Writing about the controversy over the sale by TJU, Inga Saffron, the architecture critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, observes in The Gross Hospital, that this "wasn't the first time the institution had held its hometown for ransom. Jefferson has been expertly extracting favors from the city for years." Saffron pens a scathing catalogue of Jefferson's status as a "territorially ambitious and imperious institution" -- just what you'd expect from a non-profit health care organization -- such as the mega-garage and prison-like student center fortress that are "part of a shamefully sketchy master plan that is intended to guide the hospital's development."

TJU initially responded to the deluge of derogatory dissent over the sale by trying to justify its actions and placate students, faculty and alumni, see Sans Eakins Gallery, but Jefferson has now switched to offense mode. The Inquirer College faults city action on painting:

Thomas Jefferson University said yesterday that efforts by the city to stall removal of Thomas Eakins' masterpiece The Gross Clinic, which the university has agreed to sell, are an inappropriate, misguided attempt to "restrict the University's control over its own property."

In a blunt, unsigned statement, the university said city actions would result in "limiting the pool of potential buyers the university may address and mandating an artificially low sale price."

Definitely a Gross Mistake.

Tags: Philadelphia, Philly, Art, Eakins, Gross Clinic