February 13, 2023
Indiana University Under Fire Over Plan to Sell $15m Georgia O’Keeffe Painting to Fund Dorm Renovation
A small Indiana university’s plan to deaccession and sell a selection of art including a Georgia O’Keeffe painting to fund a development project on campus has triggered backlash among university and museum communities.
Valparaiso University, a private university 40 miles southeast of Chicago with a student body of around 3,000, announced this week it plans to sell O’Keeffe’s Rust Red Hills (1930) to help pay for the renovation of first-year residence halls. The university expects to fetch as much as $15m for the painting, according to The Torch, Valparaiso’s student newspaper.
Valparaiso University, a private university 40 miles southeast of Chicago with a student body of around 3,000, announced this week it plans to sell O’Keeffe’s Rust Red Hills (1930) to help pay for the renovation of first-year residence halls. The university expects to fetch as much as $15m for the painting, according to The Torch, Valparaiso’s student newspaper.