Sunday, March 1, 2015

The MET Uses More Art To Secure $30 Million Credit Line

L'Ete as seen in this 2008 photo for Vogue, featuring
Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Noth at the Metropolitan
 Opera, shot by Annie Leibovitz.
"The Metropolitan Opera Association Inc., as part of an agreement to renew a crucial $30 million credit line, pledged more of the artwork that adorns its home in New York's Lincoln Center to lender Bank of America Corp. The nonprofit secured the credit line with two sculptures by the late French artist Aristide Maillol displayed at the opera house, including the 62-inch bronze L'Ete (Summer) and the 69-inch Venus Without Arms, according to a notice filed Feb. 18 with the New York Secretary of State. Bank of America agreed to extend the credit line on Feb. 6, according to the Met's financial statements. The Met had already pledged a pair of Marc Chagall murals to Bank of America before the credit line came up for renewal in August. Moody's Investors Service, in a Dec. 22 statement, cited the move as one reason for downgrading $100 million of the opera house's bonds, saying the pledge of the murals to the bank was 'effectively subordinating the interests of unsecured bondholders.' Ranked as the nation's largest performing-arts organization, the Met had a $21.9 million loss during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2014, as salaries paid to performers and production costs outstripped box-office receipts, contributions and revenue from high-definition broadcasts, an innovation by general manager Peter Gelb." [Source]