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Pittsfield Rep. Defends Berkshire Museum's Board Amid Expansion Controversy

A stone building is lit up by lights under an indigo night sky.
Berkshire Museum

As controversy has swirled around a Pittsfield museum’s plan to sell parts of its permanent collection to fund a multi-million dollar expansion and future vision, a local state representative is supporting the institution’s leadership.

Pittsfield Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier says she stands behind the Berkshire Museum’s board of trustees to sell 40 works of art, including two by iconic painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell.

An auction house has estimated  the works could sell for more than $68 million.

Farley-Bouvier says the tone of conversation surrounding the museum has become divisive within the community.

“And I think the attacks on the professionalism and the character of the board and the stuff is inappropriate and unproductive,” she said on Friday.

Groups including the Massachusetts Cultural Council have condemned the board’s decision.

Lucas Willard is a reporter and host at WAMC Northeast Public Radio, which he joined in 2011.
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