Exclusive: Donors fear the worst for Kennedy Center’s art amid renovations uncertainty

At the height of legal and political tumult at the Kennedy Center last summer, board members discussed moving the iconic eight-foot, 3,000-pound bronze bust of President John F. Kennedy from the Grand Foyer while the main building closed for renovations.

They reasoned the move to a newer building would not only secure the artwork but ensure the campus remained a living memorial to the 35th president, according to sources familiar with the board discussions.

What they didn’t know – but would soon find out – was that the bust is bolted into the foundation of the building, multiple feet underground, and moving it wouldn’t be logistically feasible. So, it will remain in place, sources say, and be shielded during construction.

The fate of the bust, which was commissioned and gifted by the Kennedy family, underscores the haphazard efforts in recent months to catalog and protect the treasures in the Kennedy Center. The building houses hundreds of irreplaceable pieces of art and antiquities – including tapestries, sculptures and chandeliers – that have been donated or loaned by other countries and benefactors.

Worried donors, artists and their family members have been calling and emailing the Kennedy Center for months, asking about what’s being done to protect the artwork, whether their pieces will be temporarily moved, and if they’ll one day be returned, according to half a dozen people who spoke to CNN on the condition they remain anonymous.

Some donors are suggesting arrangements for their pieces to be moved to museums and other places – away from the Kennedy Center. And some told CNN they feared speaking out publicly while the artwork they care about is still inside the center.

“I want to get that sculpture out of there,” said one person who donated a piece to the center.

Apprehension over the collection began to fester late last year when officials devised a plan for permanently removing artwork that envisioned possible “disposal” through various means, including “return to country of origin, transfer or exchange with another institution, public sale, or destruction,” according to internal documents reviewed by CNN.

Then, President Donald Trump, who is chairman of the Kennedy Center board, repeatedly stoked fears about the artwork with threats of demolishing the performing arts center, the removal last month of a major outdoor sculpture from the center’s grounds and the addition of a gold-leaf portrait of himself.

Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Salwan Georges/The New York Times/Redux

Kennedy Center officials now say the proposal CNN reviewed was never envisioned as a sweeping purge of artwork. They insist the “cornerstone of the collection – historic international gifts given to the Center for its opening – remains intact” and that the institution is exploring adding further works.

Many of the pieces were given as gestures of goodwill and in commemoration of John F. Kennedy. On the day of his assassination, the American sculptor Robert Berks began work on what would become the bust that was installed on the day the institution opened in 1971.

Officials also tell CNN that all artwork will be “fully safeguarded” during the renovation. Some pieces will be temporarily relocated, they said, if necessary to ensure they’re protected and that safety is maintained during construction. And some pieces won’t be moved.

For instance, an iconic starburst Lobmeyr crystal chandelier, a gift from Austria that’s 60 feet wide and illuminated by more than 3,200 bulbs, is expected to stay during the renovation. A plan for the bronze bust of Julius Rudel outside the Opera House, the first artistic and music director of the center, is being discussed.

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“We remain in regular contact with the foundations and entities who have donated art to the Center,” a Kennedy Center spokesperson told CNN.

Meanwhile, Trump’s renovation plans – and his efforts to put his name on the facade – are still the subjects of a court fight. Officials say the REACH, a smaller venue on the Kennedy Center complex, will still serve as a temporary living memorial to JFK.

With the Kennedy Center’s doors temporarily closed and officials readying for a two-year renovation, art donors and enthusiasts are scrambling to understand what’s happening and fearing the worst – from artwork becoming collateral damage during construction to being accidentally thrown away.

Josef Palermo, a former curator at the institution, described the Africa Lounge being cleared out in one day. The room housed dozens of works donated by African nations, including 12-foot double doors carved from a 700-year-old tree in Nigeria.

“Walking into it when it was hollowed out and darkened and my heart really sank,” Palermo told CNN in an interview. “The room was completely stripped bare.”

The room is now being used for storage.

The Kennedy Center says the African room art remains on site and that preservation efforts are underway.

“There is a major concern that a lot of this artwork is being pushed around the center,” one person close the Kennedy Center who works with several donors said.

The institute has seemed open to finding a way to accommodate suggestions for artwork to be displayed elsewhere, according to several people who spoke to CNN.

But these conversations are happening in an ad hoc manner, they said, often driven by donors and families of the artists, and not being initiated by the institution.

“It is a little bit disjointed response,” the person close the Kennedy Center said. “Responses on this have been very inadequate or not clear, or you know ‘everything is safe and sound, rest assured’ kind of thing,” the person said – but donors are “not given any detail in any way.”

Matt McClain for The Washington Post/Getty Images

The system for cataloguing art inside the Kennedy Center had been disorganized, sources say. Adding to the disarray this year, the center’s finances tanked, scores of staff were laid off and changes were made to the interior decor.

At the same time, archival materials have been used as decorations in different offices throughout the building.

When the center underwent layoffs this spring, some sources said that staff inadvertently took home mementos, such as such as signed Kennedy Center Honors posters that are technically part of its archives.

Some gifts and valuable assets, including the spare crystals for the chandelier from Austria, are housed in a fire- and flood-proof storage facility at the center.

The arts institution also rents a storage facility in Virginia and just renewed the ten-year lease. That’s where some of the remaining marble, donated by Italy, that makes up the white facade of the building is kept.

And earlier this year, the Kennedy Center hired a lead archivist, Olivia Herschel, to oversee and manage its catalogue of artwork.

Now, seven months later, the center said in a statement to CNN that “for the first time in our institution’s history, the collection has been comprehensively cataloged, marking a significant step in the preservation efforts of new leadership.”

Herschel also has become an unofficial liaison with donors and artists seeking answers. Sources who spoke to CNN say they’ve been in touch regularly and were given assurances they will be told of any developments with the artwork.

While sources describe her as engaged and respectful, they also question how much power she has to deliver on her assurances given the dynamics under the Trump administration.

The center declined to make Herschel available for an interview.

The idea of a national cultural center that showcased the best of American music, art and drama started to take shape after World War II under President Dwight Eisenhower, who signed a law to create a national performing arts space on the banks of the Potomac River in 1958. The space was envisioned as an “artistic Mecca … that would be open to visitors from every land.”

Kennedy – a devoted patron of the arts – carried Eisenhower’s vision forward. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy helped lead efforts to raise money for the center and in 1962, during a televised fundraiser, the president told the nation why he believed the center would be invaluable.

“Today, as always, art knows no national boundaries,” he said. “The poet, the artist, the musician, continues the quiet work of centuries, building bridges of experience between peoples.”

“Art is political in the most profound sense,” Kennedy added.

Less than a year later, he was assassinated.

National Archives/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Warren K Leffler/US News and World Report Magazine Photograph Collection/PhotoQuest/Getty Images

At the time, Ralph Becker, the general counsel for the center, was tasked with helping to coordinate donations from foreign dignitaries. He later wrote that he began having discussions about renaming the institution in Kennedy’s honor within hours of the president’s death.

World leaders began flooding Becker with requests to donate artwork to the center after Kennedy’s assassination. Italy supplied the marble to form the facade of the building from the famed Carrara mountains – the same mountains that produced the marble for Michaelangelo’s David.

Canada provided the curtains for the Eisenhower theater; France donated tapestries by Henri Matisse, and India created 20 specially designed planters for the Grand Foyer. Norway supplied 11 chandeliers for the concert hall, and Tunisia donated a reproduction of a 3rd century mosaic for the rooftop terrace.

With the future of the Kennedy Center building in limbo, sources who spoke to CNN wondered about the long-term plans for the artwork and whether Trump will replace it with pieces more to his liking.

Palermo, now a whistleblower, has said that he was told last year to remove all the outdoor art, including the abstract “Blue” sculpture, because Trump wanted “all new art for the reopening.”

The abrupt removal of that work in September seemed to confirm concerns, even as the Kennedy Center said deinstallation after seven years was “common practice.”

Kennedy Center officials tell CNN that there are no other planned or imminent changes to the artwork currently on display.

But this month, with no public announcement, the Kennedy Center convened its first “visual arts committee” – a panel of staff and board members who will aim to curate and expand public installations of performing and visual arts.

The committee will manage the addition of visual art through rotating displays that will be open to the public — like the recent addition of gold-leaf portraits on temporary loan to the REACH featuring Trump and Elon Musk.

Christine Kao/The Washington Post/Getty Images

去年夏天，肯尼迪中心正处于法律和政治动荡的高峰期，董事会成员讨论了在主楼关闭进行翻修期间，将标志性的约翰·F·肯尼迪总统八英尺高、3000磅重的青铜半身像从大厅移走。

据熟悉董事会讨论的消息人士透露，他们认为搬迁到新大楼不仅可以保护艺术品，还可以确保校园继续作为对第 35 任总统的纪念馆。

他们当时并不知道——但很快就会发现——这尊半身像被牢牢固定在建筑物的地基中，位于地下数英尺深处，移动它在后勤上是不可行的。因此，据消息人士透露，它将留在原地，并在施工期间受到保护。

这尊由肯尼迪家族委托制作并捐赠的半身像的命运，凸显了近几个月来肯尼迪中心在藏品编目和保护方面所采取的草率措施。该中心收藏了数百件无可替代的艺术品和古董，包括挂毯、雕塑和枝形吊灯等，这些藏品均由其他国家和捐助者捐赠或借出。

据六位匿名人士向 CNN 透露，几个月来，忧心忡忡的捐赠者、艺术家及其家人一直在打电话和发邮件给肯尼迪中心，询问为保护艺术品所采取的措施，他们的作品是否会被暂时移走，以及这些作品是否有一天会被归还。

一些捐赠者建议将他们的藏品移至博物馆或其他地方，远离肯尼迪中心。还有一些捐赠者告诉CNN，他们担心在自己珍视的艺术品仍在中心内时公开表达意见。

“我想把那座雕塑从那里移走，”一位曾向该中心捐赠过物品的人说道。

据 CNN 查阅的内部文件显示，去年年底，官员们制定了一项永久移除艺术品的计划，设想通过各种方式“处置”这些艺术品，包括“退回原产国、转移或交换给其他机构、公开出售或销毁”，由此引发了人们对这批藏品的担忧。

随后，身为肯尼迪中心董事会主席的唐纳德·特朗普总统，多次威胁要拆除这座表演艺术中心，上个月还从中心场地移除了一座大型户外雕塑，并添加了一幅他自己的金箔肖像，这些都加剧了人们对这件艺术品的担忧。

比尔·奥利里/《华盛顿邮报》/盖蒂图片社

Salwan Georges/《纽约时报》/Redux

肯尼迪中心官员现在表示，CNN审阅的那份提案从未打算进行大规模的艺术品清理。他们坚称，“中心馆藏的基石——为中心开幕而获赠的历史性国际礼物——仍然完好无损”，并且该机构正在考虑增添更多藏品。

许多藏品都是作为善意的象征和对约翰·F·肯尼迪的纪念而赠送的。在他遇刺当天，美国雕塑家罗伯特·伯克斯开始创作后来成为肯尼迪半身像的作品，该半身像于1971年肯尼迪博物馆开幕当天安装。

官员们还告诉CNN，所有艺术品在翻修期间都将得到“全面保护”。他们表示，如有必要，部分艺术品将被暂时移走，以确保其安全并保障施工期间的公共安全。而部分艺术品则不会被移动。

例如，一盏标志性的星芒状洛布迈尔水晶吊灯——这盏直径60英尺、由3200多个灯泡点亮的奥地利赠礼——预计将在翻修期间保留。此外，歌剧院外尤利乌斯·鲁德尔的青铜半身像（他是该中心的首任艺术和音乐总监）的安置方案也正在讨论中。

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

肯尼迪中心发言人告诉 CNN：“我们与向中心捐赠艺术品的基金会和机构保持着定期联系。”

与此同时，特朗普的翻新计划——以及他试图将自己的名字印在建筑外墙上的努力——仍在法庭上进行辩论。官员表示，肯尼迪中心建筑群内较小的场馆REACH仍将作为肯尼迪总统的临时纪念场所。

由于肯尼迪中心暂时关闭，官员们正准备进行为期两年的翻新工程，艺术捐赠者和爱好者们正争先恐后地了解情况，并担心最糟糕的情况发生——从艺术品在施工过程中成为附带损害到被意外丢弃。

该机构前策展人约瑟夫·帕勒莫描述了非洲休息室一天之内就被清空的情景。这个房间里陈列着数十件非洲国家捐赠的艺术品，其中包括一扇用尼日利亚一棵700年树龄的古树雕刻而成的12英尺高的双扇门。

“走进房间，发现里面空空荡荡，一片漆黑，我的心都凉了，”帕勒莫在接受CNN采访时说。“房间里空无一物。”

现在这间房间被用作储藏室。

肯尼迪中心表示，非洲展厅的艺术品仍保留在原址，保护工作正在进行中。

一位与肯尼迪中心有联系、并与几位捐赠者合作的人士表示：“人们非常担心，很多艺术品都在中心内被随意挪动。”

据几位接受 CNN 采访的人士透露，该机构似乎愿意想办法采纳将艺术作品在其他地方展出的建议。

但他们表示，这些对话都是临时性的，通常是由捐赠者和艺术家的家人推动的，而不是由机构发起的。

一位接近肯尼迪中心的人士表示：“目前的应对措施有点混乱。各方的回应要么非常不足，要么含糊不清，要么就是诸如‘一切都安全无虞，请放心’之类的话。”这位人士还说，但捐赠者“根本没有得到任何细节”。

Matt McClain 摄于《华盛顿邮报》/Getty Images

消息人士称，肯尼迪中心内部艺术品的编目系统一直混乱不堪。雪上加霜的是，今年中心财政状况急剧恶化，大量员工被解雇，内部装潢也进行了改动。

与此同时，档案资料也被用作大楼内不同办公室的装饰品。

今年春天该中心进行裁员时，一些消息人士称，员工无意中带走了一些纪念品，例如签名的肯尼迪中心荣誉奖海报，这些海报严格来说是该中心档案的一部分。

一些礼物和贵重物品，包括来自奥地利的吊灯备用水晶，都存放在中心的防火防洪储藏设施中。

这家艺术机构还在弗吉尼亚州租用了一处仓库，并且刚刚续签了十年租约。建筑白色外墙所用的剩余大理石，一部分是由意大利捐赠的，就存放在那里。

今年早些时候，肯尼迪中心聘请了首席档案管理员奥利维亚·赫歇尔，负责监督和管理其艺术品目录。

七个月后，该中心在给 CNN 的一份声明中表示，“在我们机构的历史上，这批藏品首次得到了全面编目，标志着新领导层在保护工作方面迈出了重要一步。”

赫歇尔也成为了捐赠者和艺术家们寻求答案的非官方联络人。据CNN采访的消息人士透露，他们一直与赫歇尔保持定期联系，并得到了保证，一旦艺术品有任何进展，他们都会及时收到通知。

虽然有消息人士称她积极投入且尊重他人，但他们也质疑，鉴于特朗普政府的现状，她究竟有多大能力兑现自己的承诺。

该中心拒绝安排赫歇尔接受采访。

二战后，在德怀特·艾森豪威尔总统的推动下，一个旨在展示美国音乐、艺术和戏剧精华的国家文化中心的构想开始成形。1958 年，艾森豪威尔总统签署了一项法律，在波托马克河畔创建一个国家表演艺术空间。该空间被设想为一个“艺术圣地……向来自世界各地的游客开放”。

肯尼迪是一位热忱的艺术赞助人，他继承了艾森豪威尔的愿景。第一夫人杰奎琳·肯尼迪积极参与为该中心筹款的工作。1962年，在一次电视募捐活动中，总统向全国人民阐述了他为何相信该中心将具有无可估量的价值。

他说：“今天，艺术一如既往地超越国界。诗人、艺术家、音乐家们延续着几个世纪以来默默耕耘的工作，在不同民族之间架起经验的桥梁。”

肯尼迪补充道：“从最深刻的意义上讲，艺术是政治性的。”

不到一年后，他就遇刺身亡。

美国国家档案馆/赫尔顿档案馆/盖蒂图片社

Warren K Leffler/《美国新闻与世界报道》杂志摄影收藏/PhotoQuest/Getty Images

当时，该中心的总法律顾问拉尔夫·贝克尔负责协调外国政要的捐款。他后来写道，在肯尼迪总统去世后的几个小时内，他就开始讨论将该机构更名为肯尼迪纪念中心一事。

肯尼迪遇刺后，世界各国领导人纷纷向贝克尔提出捐赠艺术品的请求。意大利从著名的卡拉拉山脉提供了大理石，用于建造这座建筑的外墙——卡拉拉山脉也曾出产米开朗基罗《大卫》雕像所需的大理石。

加拿大为艾森豪威尔剧院提供了窗帘；法国捐赠了亨利·马蒂斯的挂毯；印度为大厅特制了20个花盆；挪威为音乐厅提供了11盏枝形吊灯；突尼斯为屋顶露台捐赠了一幅3世纪马赛克的复制品。

由于肯尼迪中心大楼的未来悬而未决，接受 CNN 采访的消息人士对艺术品的长期规划表示担忧，并质疑特朗普是否会用他更喜欢的作品来替换它。

帕勒莫现在是一名举报人，他说去年有人告诉他要移除所有户外艺术品，包括抽象的“蓝色”雕塑，因为特朗普想要“在重新开放时使用全新的艺术品”。

9 月份该作品的突然拆除似乎证实了人们的担忧，尽管肯尼迪中心表示，七年后拆除作品是“惯例”。

肯尼迪中心官员告诉 CNN，目前展出的艺术品没有其他计划或即将进行的更改。

但本月，肯尼迪中心在没有任何公开宣布的情况下，召开了第一个“视觉艺术委员会”会议——该委员会由工作人员和董事会成员组成，旨在策划和扩大表演艺术和视觉艺术的公共装置。

委员会将通过轮换展览的方式管理视觉艺术的增添，这些展览将向公众开放——例如最近临时借给 REACH 的金箔肖像画，画中人物包括特朗普和埃隆·马斯克。

Christine Kao/《华盛顿邮报》/Getty Images