Janna Bullock has taken a leave from the Guggenheim Foundation board to return to Russia to deal with a classically Russian battle over her business interests there. The story in the New York Times doesn’t make it clear why a leave from the board is necessary, though it does repeatedly make reference to “malicious rumors”:
The Guggenheim was the first among New York museums to seriously cultivate relationships with rich Russian collectors, beginning in 2002 with the election to the board of the businessman Vladimir Potanin, and continuing with its 2005 exhibition “Russia!” for which Ms. Bullock helped raise money.
But Ms. Bullock’s sudden withdrawal may be a reminder to the museum of the risks of relying too much on Russian fortunes — what Mr. Wolf called, in another context, “the danger of doing business” there.
Museum Board Member Caught in Russian Intrigue (New York Times)
