As New Orleans Saints get ready to take on the Indianapolis Colts February 7 in South Florida, another competition is already underway. Arranged (and egged on) by Tyler Green of Modern Art Notes, the respective directors of the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) and the the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) have been feeling some civic and sports pride and are now engaged in a wager, the winning team, city and museum of the Super Bowl receives a masterpiece from the other museum for a three-month loan.
The idea for a cultural wager began on January 25th when Green tweeted "Would love to see @IMAmuseum and @NOMA1910 make a Super Bowl bet. Like a painting-loan-to-the-winning city." Soon after, Max Anderson, the director of IMA and Twitter devotee stepped up to the plate with an offer: "We are prepared to lend a painting by Ingrid Calame to NOMA, for 3 months as of July 1: http://tinyurl.com/yaend3u."
The offer of the Calame sparked indignation in the NOMA camp causing director E. John Bullard to e-mail Green directly griping "Max Anderson must not really believe the Colts can beat the Saints in
the Super Bowl. Otherwise why would he bet such an insignificant work
as the Ingrid Calame painting? Let's up the ante. The New Orleans Museum of Art will bet the three-month loan of its Renoir painting, Seamstress at Window, circa 1908, which is currently in the big Renoir exhibition in Paris. What will Max wager of equal importance? Go Saints!"
As Green noted, they were getting serious.
Later, upon the public posting of Bullard's e-mail, IMA's Anderson twittered back, flaming the Renoir offer and Renoir in general: "We'll see the sentimental blancmange by that "China Painter" and raise you a proper trophy: [A Jean-Valentine Morel jeweled cup, which won the Grand Medal at the 1855 Paris World Fair.]" Good for him, personally I've never liked much Renoir either.
The insult from Indianapolis did not go unanswered, in another e-mail to Green, NOMA's Bullard blasted, "I am amused that Renoir is too sweet for Indianapolis. Does this
mean that those Indiana corn farmers have simpler tastes? If so why
would Max offer us that gaudy Chalice -- just looks like another
over-elaborate Victorian tchotchke. Let's get serious. Each museum
needs to offer an art work that they would really miss for three
months. What would you like Max? A Monet, a Cassatt, a Picasso, a
Miro? Sorry but we have no farm scenes or portraits of football
players to send you." Clearly the gloves were coming off, as a competition of taste entered the wager.
IMA's Anderson decided to end the argument with a real offer of a real masterpiece, delivered with a hint of bravado. From twitter: "Colts will win; here's how sure I am: Turner for Vigée Lebrun's Portrait of Marie Antoinette."
Bullard again contacted Green for his response: "I'm glad to see that Max has gotten serious. Certainly the Turner
painting in Indianapolis is a masterpiece, worthy of any great museum.
Regretably the size, over ten feet high with its original elaborate
frame, and the fragile condition of New Orleans' Portrait of Marie Antoinette prohibits it from traveling. I propose instead our large and beautiful painting by Claude Lorrain, Ideal View of Tivoli,
1644. This great French artist is considered the father of
landscape painting and was one of Turner's great inspirations. These
two paintings would look splendid hanging together in New Orleans -- or
miracle of miracles, in Indianapolis."
The escalation of the wager to real masterpieces (especially really big masterpieces) ensured that an agreement would be struck soon and indeed Max Anderson agreed to the painting by Lorrain for IMA's Turner. From twitter Anderson posted, "Deal -- Claude for Turner. Two masters in spirited competition across the channel, and between our fair cities. Go Colts!"
NOMA's Bullard again contacted Green for his public response: "Max is a gracious opponent. Thanks for accepting the wager of a Claude
from New Orleans for a Turner from Indianapolis. But this is definitely
the Saints year. They are the Dream Team and in New Orleans we know
that dreams come true. Geaux Saints!!!"
Green ended with this reflection on art and sports: "I've always liked the way cities rally around their sports teams, the
way a team becomes a point of commonality. Why shouldn't art museums
try to do the same thing -- and in the process become somewhere that
more people in their communities think about visiting?"
And that's where I'll pick up next week, my thoughts on art, sports and community.
Filed under: Chicago Art Blog, painting
Tags: Art, art museum, betting, Calame, Chicago Art Blog, Colts, Indianapolis, Lorrain, Modern Art Notes, New Orleans, painting, Saints, Superbowl, Turner, Tyler Green, wager
