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Polaroid Collection: Update 15

Neither the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne nor the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris purchased the works deposited with them by Polaroid in the ’90s. Nor did Polaroid do so with the proviso that the institutions then needed to go find funds with which to acquire them. This adds to the accumulating evidence that, in the ’90s, Polaroid sought to find appropriate repositories for chunks of the collections as donations. […]

Polaroid Collection: Update 14

If a “fight against the sale of the Polaroid collection” does take place, it will do so because, and only because, plaintiffs with standing — photographers with work in the collection — file either a Motion for Rehearing of the August 27 court decision or an appeal thereof. In relation to that fight, should it ensue, I will function as a cultural journalist commenting on it. What I do lead presently, have led since July ’09, and intend to lead until this situation plays itself out and culminates, is the effort to inform the photography/art audience — including those with work in the collection — of what’s happening in regard to this auction, and how we got to this sorry point. This is a journalistic project, not a legal one, and should be understood as such. […]

Polaroid Collection: Update 13

As a belated Christmas gift, George H. Singer, Esq., of the Minneapolis law firm Lindqvist & Vennum, legal counsel to John R. Stoebner, the court-appointed Chapter 7 Trustee in the PBE Corporation bankruptcy proceeding, sent me a “Notice and Demand” letter dated December 30, 2009, indicating his unhappiness, and his client’s, with some of the reportage and commentary posted here. I responded, and he replied, and I replied in turn, in a full and frank exchange of views. You’ll find our collected correspondence here. […]

Polaroid Collection: Update 12

The proposed sell-off of the historic Polaroid Collection has moved a step closer to reality with the announcement by Sotheby’s of dates for the auction: June 21-22, 2010. If the sale does go through as planned and on schedule, it will take place well after the spring art-market season has come and gone and the art and photo worlds have closed up shop for the summer — not to mention in the midst of a deep global recession that has hit the art market hard and the photo market especially hard, with no immediate improvement on the event horizon. […]

Polaroid Collection: Update 11

I think it is incumbent on the Polaroid Corporation to answer some increasingly urgent questions. To wit: How does the Polaroid Corporation account for the discrepancy between the repeated estimate of 22,000-24,000 prints in the collection, given out by the Polaroid Corporation as recently as summer 2009, and the official inventory of 16,000 presented to the Minnesota court in spring 2009? Can the Polaroid Corporation verify its actual acquisition and legal ownership of all the works it claims as its outright property in the Polaroid Collection, above and beyond authorization from the courts to sell them? […]