Brandeis University won’t sell works from Rose Art Museum

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Bringing to a close a bitter legal battle that drew international attention, Brandeis University has stated that it won’t sell pieces from the Rose Art Museum’s collection, according to reports published on Thursday morning.

The university has settled its legal dispute with a group of prominent museum supporters who had been seeking to protect the collection from a full or partial sale. The plaintiffs included Meryl Rose, Jonathan Lee, Lois Foster and Gerald Fineberg.

In 2009, Brandeis then-President Jehuda Reinharz announced that the university would close the Rose Art Museum and sell off its valuable collection of modern art to lessen the school’s financial problems. But the Massachusetts university backed down after a public outcry, saying that it would postpone the sale.

The museum’s collection is widely admired around the world. It features more than 6,000 objects, including works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Willem de Kooning, Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg. The collection is valued at more than $300 million.

Reinharz stepped down as president of Brandeis at the end of 2009. He was succeeded by Frederick M. Lawrence, who took the position at the beginning of 2011.

In a statement released Thursday, Brandeis said that the settlement means the Rose will remain ‘open to the public and that Brandeis has no plan to sell artwork.’

The university said it will continue its search for a museum director.

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— David Ng