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Berkshire Museum Pittsfield, Mass.

2nd suit filed to prevent sale of Massachusetts museum’s art

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson

 

Berkshire Museum Pittsfield, Mass.
Exterior of Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Mass. Image by Berkshiremuseum, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) – A second lawsuit has been filed in an attempt to stop a Massachusetts museum from auctioning 40 works of art, including two by Norman Rockwell.

The suit filed Thursday by three Lenox residents says the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield breached its contract with members by exceeding the terms of its charter when it decided to remove the art.

The museum says it’s selling the works to secure its financial future and refocus its mission.

Nicholas O’Donnell, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the latest suit, tells The Berkshire Eagle the sale is “a lazy solution” to the nonprofit museum’s financial challenges.

Norman Rockwell’s three sons were among the plaintiffs in the first suit filed last Friday.

Both name the museum’s trustees as defendants.

The museum’s lawyer says both suits are without merit.

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Information from: The Berkshire (Mass.) Eagle, http://www.berkshireeagle.com

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Berkshire Museum Pittsfield, Mass.