The Bass

This guide to The Bass in Miami Beach follows John and Johanna Bass, a couple who fled Vienna and donated more than five hundred works of art to the city in 1963 on one condition: the museum had to stay open forever. It traces the doubts Miami Beach residents raised about the collection's authenticity, and the outside investigation the Art Dealers Association was asked to conduct in 1969. Look up at the carved friezes of galleons and pelicans on the old library facade as you listen.