Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Finally, Some Deaccessioning Thunder!

After a long deaccessioning silence, we have two great articles from the WSJ and the NY Times.

The WSJ reported today that the "Chelsea museum could face the loss of its charter or referral to the state attorney general's office following disclosure that its entire permanent collection of artwork was pledged as collateral for a loan needed to pay its mortgage."

Bad news for the Chelsea Museum, but good news for other art museums and art institutions. The NY Times reports that the dreaded Brodsky Bill and legislation making the deaccessioning process illegal is pretty much dead.

The bill’s Senate sponsor, José M. Serrano, said he withdrew support after hearing feedback from cultural institutions. “We all saw that a one-size-fits-all approach was not going to work,” he said. “I didn’t think that we would be able to make wholesale changes to the bill that would make it palatable for everyone.”

Good news indeed!
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