THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO MICHIGAN AVENUE AT ADAMS STELET CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60503/1ELEPHONE (312) CEntral 6-7080/ CABLE ARTI OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT May 30, 1975 The Honorable Tim L. Hall Dear Mr. Hall: I write to you as the only member of the Illinois delegation who serves on the Select Subcommittee on Education. I write with reference to H. R. 7216, an indemnity program for the international exchange of works of art. As you know, The Art Institute of Chicago frequently mounts major exhibitions, and shares exhibitions of art with other museums at home and abroad. Such exhibitions have been threatened in recent years by the high costs of insurance, especially for art works sent by other nations. Only rarely is such an object damaged, let alone lost. Nevertheless, because the value of great works of art has risen dramatically, so, too, have insurance costs. You may be interested to know that if H.R. 7216 had been in effect last year, the savings to The Art Institute of Chicago for the recent Monet Exhibition alone would have been in excess of $30,000, a sum substantially greater than annual payments on grants to The Art Institute of Chicago from the National Endowments combined, but, significantly, at a much smaller cost to the taxpayers. (In the case of the Monet Exhibition, there would have been no cost to the taxpayer since none of the international loans were damaged or lost.) Not only do we urge your support of H.R. 7216, but offer any details about the salutory effects of this legislation that you or your staff may request. Thank you most sincerely for your efforts in connection with this important legislation. Ed. Chalmer. E. Laurence Chalmers Jr. ELC/hb cc: Senator Claiborne Pell Representative John Brademas THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO MICHIGAN AVENUE AT ADAMS STREET/CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60603/TELEPHONE: (312) CEntral 6-7080/ CABLE:V June 6, 1975 Subcommittee on Select Education 2178 Rayburn Building Washington, DC 20515 The cost of the insurance on foreign loans to the Monet Exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago (March 15 through May 11, 1975) was as follows: Seven paintings totaling $4,996,800 in value insured Two paintings totaling $4,000,000 in value insured Total insurance cost = $30,733 Incidentally, more than 380,000 people saw the Monet Exhibition over an eight-week period. Also, the nine paintings noted above arrived back in Europe totally undamaged. Under H. R. 7216 the Art Institute of Chicago would have saved $30,733 and the U. S. taxpayers would have paid nothing! Sincerely yours, E.L. Chalmers. Jr. E. L. Chalmers, Jr. ELC/sb LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART 5905 wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, Califomia RICHARD E. SHERWOOD, President BOARD OF TRUSTEES May 29, 1975 Congressman John Brademas Washington, D. C. 20510 Dear John: I am writing in enthusiastic support of the indemnification provisions of H.R. 7216. The attached letter to Alan Cranston re the parallel Senate bill, S. 1800, sets forth the position of our Board of Trustees. I trust that you and your Senate colleagues will act favorably on the legislation at your June 4 hearing and that the legislation will in due course be enacted into law. RES: lah Sincerely, Dick Short Richard E. Sherwood I am writing you in your capacity as a member of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare to urge your support for S. 1800 and in particular the indemnity provision which will be the subject of a joint hearing by your Committee's Special Subcommittee on Arts and Humanities and the House Select Subcommittee on Education on June 4. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has been forced to incur enormous and increasing insurance expense in borrowing paintings and sculpture from abroad for the major international art exhibitions which, in a short ten years, have thrust our Museum into the front rank of American museums and have enabled us to serve an audience averaging 1.5 million visitors per year. We have been recently forced to forego a number of exhibitions because of the staggering insurance costs. Without special indemnity legislation (P.L. 93-476) we would have been unable to share a splendid exhibition of ancient Scythian gold from the Soviet Union which is presently at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and will be in Los Angeles during August and September. S. 1800 would authorize the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities to indemnify foreign lenders and thereby enable American museums to carry forward an important mode of peaceful international cultural exchange. My fellow Trustees and I hope you will support the legislation. Sincerely, Dick She und Richard E. Sherwood RES: lah Museum of Contemporary Art Senator Claiborne Pell Dear Senator Pell: I understand that hearings will soon open regarding renewed funding for the National Foundation for the Arts. I wish to add my voice to the many others you will undoubtedly hear regarding the essential services performed by this agency in advancing the arts in this country. It is unthinkable now to regard the activities and services of museums and many other cultural institutions without acknowledging the assistance provided by the National Foundation for the Arts. As you know, the cultural requirements of the American public have grown enormously over the last few years. This is a development of great importance and profound value in our social life because it brings people into closer contact with their heritage and with artistic distillations of their thinking and sensibility. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible for private philanthropy to finance the burgeoning needs of our cultural institutions. The National Foundation for the Arts has done much to fill the gap between need and available support and, in part, this may account for the relative good health of the arts in our country today. But unfortunately there is all too much room for improvement still, at current levels of assistance. A reduction or elimination of funding for the National Foundation for the Arts would perpetrate nothing less than a disaster for the cultural life of the nation. It is a possibility that is genuinely not to be considered! 237 e. Ontario st., Chicago bob11, Wh 3-7755 |