Brooklyn Museum Budget Woes

Yesterday the Brooklyn Museum sent out a press release regarding the new economic reality and how it will impact the establishment. The laundry list of cuts and changes included: a new budget, hiring freeze, the cancellation of a major exhibition (which would have included works from the likes of Roy Lichtenstein), reduced number of major exhibitions overall, a moratorium on staff travel, and offering buyouts to all of its 281 full-time employees. This certainly doesn't paint a very pretty picture. The Brooklyn Paper notes that "The art world hasn’t seen cuts like this since Vincent Van Gogh lopped off his ear" (har har), citing a $2.3 million loss in aid from city government over the past three years. Last month they suggested visitors donate $2 more (upping the fee from $8 to $10).