Judge hears arguments on Corcoran Gallery merger

BRETT ZONGKER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorneys have made closing arguments in a case that will determine the future of one of the nation’s oldest museums and one of the few independent art galleries in Washington.

Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art want to merge the museum and its art college into George Washington University and the National Gallery of Art, dissolving the Corcoran after years of financial troubles. A group of students and faculty has fought the merger in court, arguing there are ways to save the Corcoran.

Attorneys for the Corcoran argued it will lose its college accreditation if forced to operate alone because its finances are dwindling. Attorneys for the opposition argued the Corcoran can be turned around.

A District of Columbia judge is expected to decide the museum’s fate this month.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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