Thomas Eakins' masterpiece, "The Gross Clinic," which almost left the city until an intense fundraising drive raised about $30 million to keep it, went on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Friday. The iconic 1875 painting will remain at the museum until early spring, when it moves across the city to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the nation's oldest arts institution. The two institutions will share equally in its ownership.
Thomas Jefferson University announced Nov. 11 the planned sale of the painting for $68 million to a partnership of Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The university set a Dec. 26 deadline for a counteroffer.
About half that sum has been raised, and the fundraising continues, officials said. Bank loans will make up the difference.
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