Thomas Cole’s Arch on Juneteenth

On the eve of Juneteenth, Terry Teachout examines deaccessioning at the Newark Museum, specifically, the selling of Thomas Cole’s Arch of Nero, which was when created and still is, a commentary on the policies that destroyed the Roman Republic, tied by Cole to the politics of slavery in 1840s America that led to the Civil War. Newark’s deaccessioning of the Arch’s anti-slavery message is for money to pay for the implementation of policies of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the Newark Museum. The message of the ‘Arch’ is obvious when explained: that the evils of slavery cut to the core of the foundations of all aspects Cole’s America. Disinvesting Cole’s Arch removes this historic, artistic message from Newark, implying that for the Newark Museum the work was too hard to explain, not worth explaining, not understood nor appreciated, and basically an irrelevant pretty landscape.

But this isn’t true.

Cole’s Arch still speaks, proof being the article by Teachout and controversy surrounding the sale, and the repositioning of it from Newark to another institution. Cole’s Arch connects us to the issues surrounding 1840s slavery and forces us to make the comparison of then to today, but is now creating conversations about institutional purpose, public trust and responsibility, and courage to speak and act.

Happy Juneteenth.

Click here to read the full WSJ article: “Off-the-Wall Art Disposals”