Portrait of Rick West cost Indian museum $48,500 - washingtonpost.com
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Senators, trustees question spending by former Director.
W. Richard West Jr. commissioned this portrait by Burt Silverman that now hangs in the patrons' lounge. (By Burt Silverman).
W. Richard West Jr., the founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, spent $48,500 in museum funds to commission a portrait of himself.
This Story
The portrait of West by New York artist Burton Silverman hangs in the patrons' lounge on the fourth floor of the flagship museum, which is dedicated to the arts and culture of American Indians. Silverman said West picked him after he saw a portrait Silverman had done of former Smithsonian secretary Robert McCormick Adams. The Adams portrait, completed about a decade earlier, was smaller and cost about half as much.
Silverman, of Polish descent, was chosen, said Smithsonian spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas, after "they couldn't find a Native artist who did formal portrait sittings like this."
By James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 4, 2008; Page C01
via TouchArt.net and oneearthblog.blogspot.com.
"Dick West should have called me or any of a dozen Indian art curators nationwide who would have given him a long list of renowned American Indian, Canadian First Nation and Alaskan Native artists to chose who would have painted a much better portrait for a much more reasonable price. He could have spent the extra $40,000 to buy several paintings of other Indian artists to get more contemporary art in the collection of the NMAI - National Museum of the American Indian. Several Native communities could have benefited from the excessive amount of money spent for Dick West's vanity. Several Indian artists could have been validated by the museum and be inspirations for the young people on their reservations." Charleen Touchette, author NDN ART (Fresco. 2003) Distributed by the University of New Mexico Press.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0974102326/sr=8...
Instead the former director West, made another decision that reveals he doesn't care about Indians.
Don't miss checking out Dick West's other adventures in ripping off Indians, the federal government and the American people at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...
W. Richard West Jr. commissioned this portrait by Burt Silverman that now hangs in the patrons' lounge. (By Burt Silverman).
W. Richard West Jr., the founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, spent $48,500 in museum funds to commission a portrait of himself.
This Story
The portrait of West by New York artist Burton Silverman hangs in the patrons' lounge on the fourth floor of the flagship museum, which is dedicated to the arts and culture of American Indians. Silverman said West picked him after he saw a portrait Silverman had done of former Smithsonian secretary Robert McCormick Adams. The Adams portrait, completed about a decade earlier, was smaller and cost about half as much.
Silverman, of Polish descent, was chosen, said Smithsonian spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas, after "they couldn't find a Native artist who did formal portrait sittings like this."
By James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 4, 2008; Page C01
via TouchArt.net and oneearthblog.blogspot.com.
"Dick West should have called me or any of a dozen Indian art curators nationwide who would have given him a long list of renowned American Indian, Canadian First Nation and Alaskan Native artists to chose who would have painted a much better portrait for a much more reasonable price. He could have spent the extra $40,000 to buy several paintings of other Indian artists to get more contemporary art in the collection of the NMAI - National Museum of the American Indian. Several Native communities could have benefited from the excessive amount of money spent for Dick West's vanity. Several Indian artists could have been validated by the museum and be inspirations for the young people on their reservations." Charleen Touchette, author NDN ART (Fresco. 2003) Distributed by the University of New Mexico Press.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0974102326/sr=8...
Instead the former director West, made another decision that reveals he doesn't care about Indians.
Don't miss checking out Dick West's other adventures in ripping off Indians, the federal government and the American people at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...
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