Appeals Court Approves Fisk University's Sale of O'Keeffe Collection

The Wall Street Journal reports that a state appeals court has affirmed a lower state court's decision to permit the partial sale by Fisk University of the art colleciton donated to it by Georgia O'Keefe and also concluded that the lower court lacked authority to require Fisk to set aside two-thirds of the sales proceeds, or $20 million, as an endowment to maintain the collection.

Via The Nonprofit Blog.

Appeals Court Approves Fisk University's Sale of O'Keeffe Collection

Museum's Deaccession to Pay for Renovations

Here's one that's going to upset quite a few anti-deaccessionists.

The Birger Sandzen Memorial Gallery on the campus of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan., is scheduled to sell its sole work by Marsden Hartley, one of the leading American modernist painters of the 20th century.

Curator Ron Michael said the gallery fell $700,000 short on its recent capital campaign to fund much needed renovations and hopes to raise that amount and more by selling Hartley’s “Untitled (Still life)” (1919) at an auction Thursday at Sotheby’s in New York.

Via the Kansas City Star. 

Museum's Deaccession to Pay for Renovations

History for Sale?

The Southern Oregon Historical Society is selling off items from its vast collection, raising more than $155,000 and surprising some of its most ardent supporters.

Via The Mail Tribune. 

History for Sale?

Museum of Modern Art to Sell Tamayo Painting

Rufino Tamayo's "Watermelon Slices" is being sold by New York's Museum of Modern Art to raise money for its acquisition fund. It will be auctioned on Nov. 16 in Sotheby's Latin American art fall sale.

Via Yahoo!News and Reuters.

Museum of Modern Art to Sell Tamayo Painting

Pearl S. Buck Foundation to Sell Two Edward Redfield Paintings

According to Philly.com, The Pearl S. Buck Foundation plans to sell two paintings that belonged to the author so it can pay for restorations to her historic home.

"It may not be a popular decision in the eyes of some people," said Janet Mintzer, president and CEO of Pearl S. Buck International. "But it was such a carefully considered decision. . . . It's a sacrifice for the better good of the house."

Pearl S. Buck Foundation to Sell Two Edward Redfield Paintings

Does Deaccessioning Help Update a Museum's Identity?

Judith Dobrzynski on the National Academy Museum's deaccessioning dilemma, their identity crisis, and their persona non grata status.

Does Deaccessioning Help Update a Museum's Identity?

Essay: Deaccessioning: A Policy Perspective

Chris Burgess and Rachel Shane have just published Deaccessioning: A Policy Perspective, via The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society. The essay is available for purchase here. Here's the abstract:

The concept of removing artwork from a museum's collection (deaccessioning) has been the topic of much discussion and debate over the last several years. However, the conversation has mostly focused on the ethics of deaccessioning. Notably, the primary professional associations governing museums position their policies on deaccessioning within their ethical standards. Yet little has been studied on the history and motivation of the development of such policy. Through the tracing of deaccessioning history and public debates, this research examines the practice of deaccessioning from a policy perspective. Through the examination of the actions at national, state, local, and institutional levels, this study considers the history and future of deaccessioning policy.

Essay: Deaccessioning: A Policy Perspective