The Cooper Hewitt Director Who Was Ousted Over Her Wedding Fires Back, Claiming She Fell Victim to a ‘Discriminatory’ Investigation

Caroline Baumann, who was pushed into resigning from her job as
director of New York’s Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian
Design Museum earlier this month, is firing back against
allegations that she violated the institution’s conflict of
interest policy.

Following an anonymous complaint by a staff member, the
Smithsonian launched an investigation into Baumann’s 2018 wedding,
and whether or not she had used her influence as the museum’s
director to get a discount on her dress and a free venue for the
event at the LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton.

The inspector general’s office investigated and concluded
that Baumann had been “using her Smithsonian position for private
gain,” according to its report. As a result,
Smithsonian secretary Lonnie G. Bunch II asked Baumann to tender
her resignation.

But now Baumann claims she was never given an opportunity to
discuss the report’s conclusions or defend herself. “The agent at
the center of this [investigation] used derogatory, sexist
language; he was overtly discriminatory to me and to others, and
produced a sham report,” Baumann said in a statement provided to
Artnet News.

Baumann says that she held her wedding at the LongHouse Reserve
because she close friends with its founder, Jack Lenor Larsen, a
relationship that predates her tenure at the Cooper Hewitt.

The LongHouse Reserve charges as much as $25,000 to host an
event, but Baumann points out that her wedding was held without a
tent and catering, and took place on a Monday afternoon in front of
just 40 guests, including Larsen, before moving offsite for the
dinner.

Baumann was accused of providing a meeting room for the
LongHouse Reserve at the Cooper-Hewitt in exchange for the wedding
venue. But where the report claims that the museum normally charges
upwards of $30,000 for such access, Baumann contends that the
Cooper Hewitt routinely lets nonprofits with which it has a close
relationship use its facilities free of charge.

The inspector general’s report also took issue with
a New York
Times wedding announcement story, saying it was
inappropriate to involve museum staff, who sent emails in
connection with the article, on personal matters. Baumann claims
she had been advised by a museum publicity consultant to make her
personal life more visible.

Then there was the matter of Baumann’s $750 wedding dress from
Brooklyn designer Samantha Sleeper, who
charges $3,000 and up for custom gowns. Baumann denies asking for a
discount and Sleeper told the New York Times
that she charged the standard amount for a simple cocktail dress,
and says she told the inspector as much.

In response, the agent allegedly asked if Baumann was a “bitch”
or a “Devil Wears Prada type.” Afterward,
Sleeper emailed the inspector general’s office, relaying concerns
that the investigator seemed biased against Baumann.

Sleeper was later invited to the Cooper Hewitt’s annual
gala, where Baumann again wore the dress. But where the inspector
contended that the dinner ticket was worth $1,700, and was offered
in trade, Baumann offered a simple explanation. Corporate sponsors
purchase tables, but don’t fill all the seats, allowing the museum
to extend perhaps 100 invitations to emerging designers, staff
members, and journalists, among others.

The report also noted that Baumann hired her then boyfriend, now
husband, John Stewart Malcolmson, for a freelance graphic
design job with the museum. The investigator determined that
Baumann should have disclosed their relationship on a form filed
with the office of contracting.

Baumann contends that she received approval beforehand from the
office and the museum’s CFO in order to avoid any appearance of
impropriety. The form, she explains, is for family members, and she
and Malcolmson were not yet married and maintained separate
finances. She added that the museum hired Malcolmson because
the in-house designer was on maternity leave and other firms were
unable to meet the project’s short deadline. He was paid $5,000,
which she claims is a standard fee for a job of its nature.

“This report,” said Baumann’s lawyer, Luke Nikas, in an email to
Artnet News, “contains frivolous accusations that we will easily
disprove with the documents and the witnesses involved.”

In support of Baumann, who shepherded the museum through a major
$91 million renovation
project completed in 2014,
six board trustees have
resigned. The Smithsonian declined to comment, citing that it
was a personnel matter.

“This is ripping the board and Cooper Hewitt apart,” said
Baumann. “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.”

The post The Cooper Hewitt Director Who Was Ousted Over Her
Wedding Fires Back, Claiming She Fell Victim to a ‘Discriminatory’
Investigation appeared first on artnet News.