In a recent meeting, the board of the Cleveland Museum of Art discussed what to do regarding David Franklin, its director.
After rumors spread that Franklin had an affair with a CMA staffer who committed suicide five months ago reached the higher ups, chairman R. Steven Kestner sat with Franklin, who strongly denied the rumors.
The museum then had a lawyer interview Franklin. The former director again denied the rumors.
The board then conducted an intensive internal investigation, including looking into Franklin’s emails, and discovered proof of the relationship, according to a source. (The museum has since confirmed that they were aware of the relationship after the investigation.)
The board told Franklin to resign or they would fire him. He’s been retained as a consultant to ensure a proper transition.
This article appears in Oct 23-29, 2013.
thanks clevescene for doing the investigative reporting that finally has gotten some of the facts out to the public. now it is time to also investigate/focus on how the CMA Board Chair Kestner seems to have deliberately tried to mislead/misrepresent the facts to both the PD, Mr. Litt, and to the public at large. Even his most recent comments in the PD seem to be willfully ambiguous, almost obfuscation of the highest order. Does the CMA really want someone like Mr. Kestner being their PR face and voice during this time of crisis? Mr. Kestner still appears to know much more than he is willing to share to the CMA staff, CMA donors, and to the public, and this alone, continues to question the credibility regarding the CMA in Mr. Franklin’s resignation. i hope clevescene write about the back story here, and how Mr. Kestner along with others, set out to re-write this tragic story and failed.
The CMA needs to clean house totally – and that would now include the dismissal of Mr. Kestner.
It would be impossible for Mr. Kestner to act without the entire board agreeing to his actions. That includes Mr. Eggar, the publisher for the Plain Dealer who also sits on that board. That is the way these boards work. Mr Kestner was following a script that was written by the board and attorneys and PR people who do “damage control”planning.
Yes, his comments were “willfully ambiguous”, by design. Everything is scripted. Except that we live now in an age of instant communication and the internet. The people on the CMA board are fossils that live in a bubble, thinking they can pull strings, and poof!, the problem is gone. Not.
Thank you SCENE magazine for breaking this story and forcing the Plain Dealer to reveal SOME of what they know. But why is Fred Bidwell the “interim” director when as a member of the board he was involved in this shameful cover up. As recently as Tuesday he told the CMA employees the reason for Franklin’s “resignation” was to remain private implying people would be fired for talking to the media. And HE knew the deceased from the Akron Art Museum, along with MRS. Bidwell. Did they introduce her to Franklin? The whole board should go. Hinman Hurlbert is spinning in his grave
I hope clevescene can continue its great investigation of this story. there is still a lot more to uncover to explain. Particularly what is the role of the new Interim Director Fred Bidwell in all of this? This kind of internal “promotion”of a member of the Board and a major Donor is very unusual – and considering all the rampant speculation about the still unexplained reason for Mr. Franklin’s effective immediately resignation – and what did or did not the CMA Board know (and Mr. Bidwell was clearly part of that internal process) – well, something seems fishy here to. Is the CMA Board by elevating one of its own to be Interim Director trying to further control/contain/push under the rug the facts of this sad situation/Franklin’s resignation? Does this not look suspicious? Does this not look like an attempt by the CMA Board to keep a lid on this crisis by promoting one of its Board Members to be the Interim Director? PLEASE clevescene ask the indelicate questions and dig up the dirt! Cleveland deserves so much more from the CMA Board than it is getting. The CMA is a major asset to NE Ohio and needs truthful and steadfast stewardship from its Board. It is not getting that today.
and if the Board required Mr. Franklin’s resignation, effective immediately, why would they want to re-hire/re-position him as a consultant to the CMA? if what Mr. Franklin did or is accused of doing (do we know for sure?) is so horrible that he was forced to resign from a really rare and plum job – why would the CMA Board want him anywhere near the CMA? and if the CMA Board Chair Mr. Kestner states that the process of identifying a new candidate for director could take up to and over 12 months time, does that mean Mr. Franklin will be “helping in the transition” for the next year?
PLEASE clevescene find the facts for us!
Even though I am in LA I am following this story and wondering why Eggers has not had the decency to resign from the Museum board. At best The Plain Dealer looks incompetent, at worst like a complete cover-up.
Franklin is the ultimate misogynist–bullying a curator at his last Museum, having an affair that clearly pushed one woman over the edge in a heartbreaking fashion, and completely ruining the life of his wife.
Franklin has obtained the services of Virginia Davidson at Calfee Halter and Griswold according to the PD better-late-than never and STILL-not-really- telling-the-whole-truth article. She “chairs the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice…defends individuals…boards…internal and external investigations…” So attorney and Chairman R. Steven Kestner who delayed this “private matter” until (probably) her family demanded he be fired, is possibly keeping Franklin on the payroll because Franklin has an attorney who might be asking some very pointed questions of the CMA. Let’s face it Franklin will be lucky to get a part time job in retail and he DID successfully sue the National Gallery in Ottawa after doing pretty shifty unorthodox stuff and got his job back. And Mrs. Franklin is unlikely to be able to pay their $670,000 mortgage off from her earnings as a fabric artist. The manchild needs an income and even if the victims’ cellphone, camera and likely suicide note have vanished into thin air, well….he’s probably getting a handsome monthly check with no “transition duties” attached to it. For a board full of lawyers and newspaper editors, a random 6 names from the phone book would have done a better job steering one of Cleveland’s crown jewels through this mess.
Kudos to clevescene for picking up on this one before everyone else did. It’s nice to see we still have a paper in Cleveland that doesn’t act like they’re owned by every corporation or organization or politician out there, and isn’t afraid to risk pissing people off. How shocking that a paper be objective and tell us information in an unbiased way! It’s refreshing, especially since all you get with the PD is advice to re-elect every incumbent and vote “yes” for every levy ballot issue.
As far as this mess at the Museum of Art goes, they tried to keep it all hush-hush and now scene has dragged it out into the light. I’m not satisfied with a half-assed “resignation” while the guy still collects a check. That’s like holding a press conference and scolding the guy, then giving him a high-five and a chest bump as soon as the cameras turn off and the reporters leave the room.
Everyone needs to realize that this whole “affair” (no pun intended) is so complicated because, for the most part, it’s being run by lawyers! Everyone involved, with the exception of the deceased, either is a lawyer or probably has a lawyer representing them. Once that happens…well, you can see the mess that has resulted.
The problem is that nearly everyone involved in this “affair” (no pun intended) is a lawyer or is represented by one. Once you have all the lawyers involved…well, you can see the resulting mess that has become of what was already ugly.