Serra Gamble Cost Guggenheim $6.2M

The Guggenheim Bilbao lost roughly $6.2 million in government funds when it purchased Richard Serra's monumental sculpture installation, "The Matter of Time" (2005), in dollars rather than euros, the Art Newspaper reported Thursday.

The museum paid for the Serra installation in three installments, which totaled more than $20 million, in 2004 and 2005. A spokeswoman told the Art Newspaper that the museum entered into what is called a "forward exchange contract," betting that the dollar would rise against the euro.

Last year, the museum underwent its first audit in a decade. In addition to the loss on the Serra, the audit found that the former chief financial officer, Roberto Cearsolo, had embezzled approximately $715,000. Mr. Cearsolo has repaid about half that amount so far and promised to repay the rest.