Historian Michael Bellesiles has been vilified by the political right, ostracized by his colleagues, and forced out of his professorship since charges of falsified research in his controversial book on America’s “gun culture” hit the front pages several months back. Now, Columbia University is stripping Bellesiles of the prestigious Bancroft Prize it awarded him when the book was originally published. For the record, Bellesiles continues to stand by his research.
Tag: 12.14.02
$2 Million, And For What?
A Frank Lloyd Wright lamp sold at auction this week for nearly $2 million after less than a minute of furious bidding. One of the four losing bidders was an anonymous collector who planned to buy the lamp in order to return it to the Illinois home (now a museum) for which it was specifically designed. To some observers of the auction world, the lamp is just one more example of an art treasure being sacrificed on the altar of the free market at the expense of the public interest.