News-Letter

February 25th, 2009

Cutbacks and Layoffs Hit Walters Art Museum

Photo: Steve Ruark/Associated Press
The Walters Art Museum announced a series of cutbacks and layoffs Wednesday.

I reported in December that museums like the Walters Art Museum would soon assess their financial situation in light of the economic crisis. This morning, the Walters announced that it had eliminated sixteen positions, seven of which had been incumbent employees. The museum took several other steps to avoid financial ruin including salary freezes, furloughs, reduced museum hours, and the cancellation of a major exhibition that was planned in conjunction with Musée d’Orsay in Paris and the Getty in Los Angeles.

Gary Vikan, director of the Walters, told me in an interview in November that he anticipated making such cuts given the overall state of the economy. “Hiring freezes [and] salary freezes are typical. We haven’t done that, yet, but I expect that will be part of the menu,” said Vikan in November.

Now it is a reality.

“Despite the challenging financial storm we are currently weathering, we foresee a bright and healthy future for the Walters, but we can only get there by making some tough decisions,” said Vikan in a statement this morning.

Even with these cut backs, the Walters will maintain free admission. “We remain fully committed to maintaining the free access to our permanent collections,” he said.

The Walters endowment has taken a beating, losing 27 percent of its value. This coupled with significant funding cuts from the city, county, and state.

The Walters is not the only museum in Baltimore to lay off employees. Last week, the Maryland Historical Society fired at least one employee.
––Michael Szeto
blogs.jhunewsletter.com
michael.szeto [at] jhu.edu

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