As the statue removal movement sweeps across America and England, it has hit the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Artists, academics and art historians are demanding that a bust of its' founder, Avery Brundage be removed from the Museum's foyer. He bequeathed his 8000 piece Asian Art Collection to the people of San Francisco and it is the cornerstone of the the 18,000 piece Asian collection. He served as President of the International Olympic Committee from 1952 to 1972. He died in 1975. Yet he is accused of being anti-semitic and racist. He was always controversial and unpopular throughout his career. Further, the provenance of some of the artifacts is uncertain. Should Museum leadership yield to demands to shun Brundage's bust ? Where does the truth lay ?
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Jim Herlihy is a published author: his novel “Deceit and Dirty Money” is available on line. He served as President of the SF Public Library Commission 1992 - 1996. While working in Latin America, he was a stringer for The Economist, The Times and the BBC. Jim serves as a director on two SF sister city boards : Bangalore, India and Cork, Ireland.