Kennedy Center Donors Seek Return of Artworks Amid Renovation and Layoffs
Donors to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., are growing increasingly worried about the future of their artworks amid upcoming renovations and staff reductions. An internal communication hinted at the potential disposal of certain pieces, prompting one donor to seek the return of a specific sculpture. Families and artists are urgently requesting information about their works' security and retrieval options. Tensions rose following a directive from former President Trump to remove a sculpture by Joel Shapiro, purchased by David Rubenstein. Officials affirmed that all artworks will be adequately protected throughout the renovation process.
Key facts
- Donors to the Kennedy Center are trying to reclaim gifted artworks, fearing for their safety during renovation and after layoffs, CNN reported.
- An internal document reviewed by CNN outlines a plan for "disposal" of artworks via return to country of origin, transfer or exchange, public sale, or destruction.
- President Trump ordered the disassembly and removal of a Joel Shapiro sculpture from the center's grounds; the gifted work was sold to former chairman David Rubenstein.
- A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the institution remains in regular contact with donating foundations and entities.
- Officials said the disposal proposal "was never envisioned as a sweeping purge" and that the collection's "cornerstone" of historic international gifts remains intact.
- France donated Henri Matisse tapestries and Tunisia gave a reproduction of a third-century mosaic after Kennedy's assassination.
- Former visual art programming curator Josef Palermo was laid off earlier this year and wrote in The Atlantic that he was instructed to begin removing artworks on view.
- Sources told CNN that archive objects were "inadvertently" taken home by staffers.
Entities
Artists
- John F. Kennedy
- Joel Shapiro
- Henri Matisse
- Josef Palermo
- Joyce Beatty
- David Rubenstein
- Aaron Schwartz
- Bill O'Leary
Institutions
- John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts
- Kennedy Center
- Trump administration
- CNN
- Getty Images
- The Washington Post
- ARTnews
- The Atlantic
Locations
- Washington, DC
- United States
- France
- Tunisia