It’s now possible to get inside the $50 billion art world with Sotheby’s Institute of Art Online. You can study from anywhere in the world. All you need is a computer and  you can study everything from understanding trends in the art market to using art as an alternative investment to the history of museums and more. It is all at your fingertips, taught by the Institute’s leading faculty as well as some of the world’s most important experts in the art world, from bankers to  historians to gallerists to international art lawyers.

With Sotheby’s Institute Online you can get inside the art world, learn about the art market and the vibrant international art scene from any computer anywhere. You’ll gain unparalleled access to Sotheby’s Institute of Art faculty and experts as well as a network provided by the online learning system. You’ll attend lectures, interact with faculty and other students and participate in discussions all via computer. A free, fully-online student orientation begins before each session. In addition, you’ll also have access to telephone technical support from noon to midnight each day.

Yesterday the Independent newspaper in London published an article with the headline “It’s Oil Money that Fuels our Museums” by Tiffany Jenkins that discusses the pros and cons of museums accepting money from oil companies and others who may not always take the high ground when it comes to the gathering of wealth. This has been a conversation in non profits as long as they have existed. In fact, it is a conversation in every situation where fund raising occurs. Think about political fund raising and how many politicians have shamefacedly had to hand back donations from crooks. Bernie Madoff was a trustee of several charitable organizations, and Enron senior executives were pillars in their communities. What’s a non profit to do?

Typically Jenkins suggests that arts organizations should take the money and run. Take it and turn lemons into lemonade. Others, including protesters at the Tate Modern and other museums around the world take a different view and believe that tainted money perverts institutions and should be avoided at all costs. What do you think?