NEW YORK— A couple of weeks ago, New York magazine art critic Jerry Saltz unleashed a torrent of discussion in the arts blogosphere when he posted a status update on his Facebook page: "Of the 383 works on the 4th & 5th flrs. of MoMA's perm. coll., only 19 are by women (4%)," he wrote. Saltz went on to elaborate that he feels "MoMA has declared itself a hostile witness" and to ask the museum to address the issue. Comments almost immediately began rolling in, including one from New York Times critic Ken Johnson and another from MoMA's chief communications officer, Kim Mitchell.

The latest in the ongoing saga is a letter written by Saltz to Ann Temkin, MoMA's curator of painting and sculpture. Saltz e-mailed the letter privately and also posted it on his Facebook page. In it, he writes congenially, recognizing Temkin's difficult position, while pointing out that he considers the fourth and fifth floors of the museum to be the keepers of the "Story of Modernism," making their curation particularly important. He offers a possible solution — "a total rehang on the fourth floor devoted to a condensed period" — and follows up with a somewhat odd, spirited comment: "...if we can try to close Gitmo we can try to close this sad gap at MoMA". It remains to be seen how Temkin and MoMA will respond.

Read the full letter here, and more about the discussion at Art Fag City.