Following her resignation on 7 February due to an alleged conflict of interest surrounding her wedding, Caroline Baumann, the former head of the Cooper Hewitt design museum has provided a statement to Artnet News.
She wrote that: “The agent at the centre of this [investigation] used derogatory, sexist language; he was overtly discriminatory to me and to others and produced a sham report.”
Her resignation follows a conduct investigation, with concerns regarding her wedding raised by a member of staff who complained of Baumann’s so-called conflict of interest, with specific reference to her wedding in 2018.
Baumann had been accused of receiving a discount on her wedding dress and venue due to her position at the museum.
The Cooper Hewitt design museum is part of the Smithsonian, created by Congress. As such it is in part funded by the federal government. In accordance with this, there is a conflict of interest policy which reads “Employees must not engage in private or personal activities that might conflict, or appear to conflict, with Smithsonian interests, such as using Smithsonian employment for private gain.”
Baumann stated that she was not provided with an opportunity to defend herself, nor to discuss the report.
Six members of the Cooper Hewitt museum resigned in protest of the decision.
Her lawyer, Luke Nikas, said that the “report contains frivolous accusations that we will easily disprove with the documents and the witnesses involved.”
Baumann wrote that her dismissal “is ripping the board and Cooper Hewitt apart. I appreciate the deep loyalty of the board, and it is painful for me to see the significant damage that is being done to what we’ve built over the last two decades.”
