The Corcoran Gallery of Art, a non-profit and financially-troubled institution, is being absorbed by both the federally-funded National Gallery of Art  and George Washington University, a private school, after years of budget and building-related challenges. The National Gallery will manage the Corcoran’s vast art and media collections; GWU will take over the Corcoran’s building and its art school.

Art Critic Blake Gopnik joined Marketplace Morning Report host David Brancaccio to explain the value of the Corcoran as a cultural asset and why it fell victim to a failure of philanthropy. Click on the above audio player to hear the full interview. 

VIDEO: watch a summary video about the Cocoran Gallery before it changes ownership: 

CORRECTION: An earlier audio version of this interview misstated the National Gallery’s plans for the Corcoran collection.  There are no plans to sell any works. The audio has been corrected.