A Canadian museum's decision not to acquire a video work by Nan Goldin has proved costly with three volunteers and a senior member of staff all resigning over it.
The Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto had planned to buy Goldin's Stendhal Syndrome jointly with the Vancouver Art Gallery and Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center but decided against it.
Documents seen by Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper show the decision by the gallery's modern and contemporary collections committee came after one member, Judy Schulich, criticized Goldin as a propagandist and said the work was not as important as some of her others.
The newspaper also reported committee members said they had been offended by her views on the conflict in Gaza after a speech she gave in Berlin in 2024 criticizing Israel.
Three volunteer members of the committee have now resigned along with the gallery's modern and contemporary curator, John Zeppetelli, who spoke in favor of the acquisition.
A spokeswoman for the gallery, which already owns three works by Goldin, said "personal political views were brought into the conversation," which were "not intended to be part of the process".