Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Collaboration with other museums and institutions
Collaboration with other museums and institutions
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[thumb\|*Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand* (1874\) by [Thomas Eakins](/wiki/Thomas_Eakins "Thomas Eakins")](/wiki/File:Benjamin_rand.jpg "Benjamin rand.jpg") 
[thumb\|Walker Landing plaza between galleries](/wiki/Image:Crystal_Bridges_Museum_of_American_Art--2012-04-12C.jpg "Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art--2012-04-12C.jpg")

In 2006, the museum partnered with the [National Gallery of Art](/wiki/National_Gallery_of_Art "National Gallery of Art") in an attempt to purchase [Thomas Eakins](/wiki/Thomas_Eakins "Thomas Eakins")' *[The Gross Clinic](/wiki/The_Gross_Clinic "The Gross Clinic")* from [Thomas Jefferson University](/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson_University "Thomas Jefferson University"). Under the terms of the agreement, the two museums agreed to pay a record $68 million, but the university gave Philadelphia 45 days to match the offer. The [Philadelphia Museum of Art](/wiki/Philadelphia_Museum_of_Art "Philadelphia Museum of Art") and [Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts](/wiki/Pennsylvania_Academy_of_Fine_Arts "Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts") agreed to collectively match the offer and the painting remained in [Philadelphia](/wiki/Philadelphia "Philadelphia"). The purchase forced both museums to sell some of their best Eakins pieces including *Cowboy Singing* and *The Cello Player*. In April 2007, Crystal Bridges acquired another Eakins belonging to Thomas Jefferson University entitled *[Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand](/wiki/Portrait_of_Professor_Benjamin_H._Rand "Portrait of Professor Benjamin H. Rand")* for an estimated $20 million.

Walton held talks with Randolph\-Macon Woman's College (now [Randolph College](/wiki/Randolph_College "Randolph College")) in [Lynchburg, Virginia](/wiki/Lynchburg%2C_Virginia "Lynchburg, Virginia") in spring of 2007\. The college was exploring selling part of the [Maier Museum of Art](/wiki/Maier_Museum_of_Art "Maier Museum of Art")'s collection, but voted instead to sell select items from the collection at [Christie's](/wiki/Christie%27s "Christie's").
In 2006, [Fisk University](/wiki/Fisk_University "Fisk University") agreed to sell a 50% stake in a 101\-piece Stieglitz collection to Crystal Bridges for $30 million. The collection was donated to the university by [Georgia O'Keeffe](/wiki/Georgia_O%27Keeffe "Georgia O'Keeffe") in 1949\. This agreement became tied up in a legal battle between Fisk University and the [Georgia O'Keeffe Museum](/wiki/Georgia_O%27Keeffe_Museum "Georgia O'Keeffe Museum") in New Mexico, but the museum withdrew its lawsuit. The Tennessee Attorney General attempted unsuccessfully to stop the sale. In October 2010, a judge ruled that a 50% stake in the collection could be sold to Crystal Bridges if modifications to the contract were made so that Fisk University could not lose its interest in the collection, nor could the joint venture holding ownership of the collection between Fisk University and Crystal Bridges be based in Delaware (or outside Tennessee Courts). The modified agreement would allow the works to stay at Fisk University until 2013 and then begin a two\-year rotation with Crystal Bridges. In April 2012, the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision to allow the sale to move forward. A few months later on August 2, the Davidson County Chancery Court approval a Final Agreed Order that established joint ownership between Fisk University and Crystal Bridges through the newly established Stieglitz Art Collection, LLC. The operating agreement required Fisk University to set aside $3\.9 million of the $30 million sale proceeds to be used to establish a fund for the care and maintenance of the collection at the [Carl Van Vechten](/wiki/Carl_Van_Vechten "Carl Van Vechten") Gallery at Fisk University. The court dispute cost Fisk University $5\.8 million in legal fees.

Since 2012, Crystal Bridges has participated in a four\-year collaboration with the [musée du Louvre](/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_du_Louvre "Musée du Louvre") in Paris, [High Museum of Art](/wiki/High_Museum_of_Art "High Museum of Art") in Atlanta, and the [Terra Foundation for American Art](/wiki/Terra_Foundation_for_American_Art "Terra Foundation for American Art"). The resulting exhibitions are called American Encounters and feature works from the collections of all four partners. Each year, for the length of the collaboration, the museums develop the exhibition around a theme, such as portraiture. American Encounters has been seen in Paris, Bentonville, and Atlanta.


What modifications were made to the contract so that Fisk University could sell the collection?