Rift Grows Over Miami Museum Name Change

Four Miami Art Museum trustees have resigned and some donors are threatening to rescind pledges to protest plans to rename the institution for a $35-million donor, The New York Times and The Miami Herald write.

Mary E. Frank, a former president of the museum’s board, took out a full-page newspaper ad criticizing its rechristening as the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County. Rubén A. Rodríguez, another departing trustee, said his firm, Carnival Cruise Lines, might not fulfill the $3.5-million balance still owed on a $5-million endowment gift, and prominent local collectors Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz said the museum’s move could harm future donations.

Critics contend a major, publicly funded cultural institution should bear the community’s name rather than a donor’s. The Herald notes that the city’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science, which also received public money, were renamed for private donors without a similar outcry.

Craig Robins, a museum trustee and art collector, said opponents of the switch should try to match Mr. Pérez’s gift if they want to preserve the name. “It’s not fair to be critical unless you’re willing to do something about it,” he said.