The Deaccessioning Blog

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

2011-12-10T14:26:00.000-05:00

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.

Museum's Deaccession to Pay for Renovations

2011-11-25T15:31:00.000-05:00

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.

History for Sale?

2011-10-18T21:59:00.000-04:00

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.

Museum of Modern Art to Sell Tamayo Painting

2011-10-18T21:06:00.000-04:00

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.

Pearl S. Buck Foundation to Sell Two Edward Redfield Paintings

2011-09-16T16:09:00.001-04:00

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."

Does Deaccessioning Help Update a Museum's Identity?

2011-09-15T16:32:00.001-04:00

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

Essay: Deaccessioning: A Policy Perspective

2011-08-14T18:30:00.002-04:00

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.

UK's Bolton Council to Deaccession Picassos

2011-07-15T17:57:00.002-04:00

The UK's Bolton Council is deaccessioning 35 works from its public collection to fund the building of a new museum storage warehouse. The council believes that the need for the upgraded facility falls under the Museums Association's definition of "exceptional circumstances," the only time public bodies are allowed to sell work from their collection.

The council's other works to be auctioned off include an etching and a lithograph by Pablo Picasso.

Via the BBC.

To What Exactly Did Brandeis University Agree to?

2011-07-01T16:39:00.004-04:00

Apparently, nothing.

Remember the big fiasco concerning Brandeis University’s possible fire sale of the Rose Art Museum’s collection? Well, the Chronicle of Higher Education has published the following news.

Brandeis University announced on Thursday that it would not sell any part of its prized collection of modern art at its Rose Art Museum, ending a long-simmering dispute that had cast a negative light on the Massachusetts institution.

However, Donn Zaretsky takes issue with this statement as well as headlines from the Boston Globe, LA Times, and The Art Newspaper.

That isn’t quite right. What the settlement agreement says (you can read it here; see the last sentence of paragraph 1) is that Brandeis “has no aim, plan, design, strategy or intention to sell any artwork.” There’s a big difference between saying that and saying they promise not to sell any artwork.

Glad someone’s doing some content checking.

NY Board of Regents Rules Narrower Than Brodsky Bill

2011-05-22T19:31:00.002-04:00

There is real risk in writing an article for a hard-copy publication on a topic in which things are in flux. Something new, and even dispositive, can happen between when one submits the piece for publication and when the printed journal actually appears. It must be another corollary to Murphy's Law.

New York Board of Regents Adopts New Deaccessioning Rules

2011-05-18T17:16:00.004-04:00

Ironically, I was editing a piece on deaccessioning as the news of this decision was released. Here we go!

On Tuesday, May 17th, The New York Board of Regents approved new rules for deaccessioning artworks. The new rules apply to museums and historical societies charted by the Board of Regents, and go into effect on June 8, 2011.

The amendment specifies that at least one of ten specific criteria be met when museums deaccession a work. Among the criteria are proving that an item is inconsistent with the museum's mission, that it is redundant in the institution's collection or that a work is stolen or inauthentic. [bold on text added]

Among the more perplexing of criteria is the requirement that the art "item has failed to retain its identity." What the hell does this mean? It was once a painting but it is now a frisbee?

The amendment also requires museums to set aside deaccessioning funds in a separate collections account to be used only for acquiring new works and for preserving existing pieces. Institutions that deaccession must also submit an annual list to the board containing all of its deaccessioned works.

The 11-page amendment can be accessed here.

What do you think?

The real tragedy is that people who have grown up with these works will now be deprived of them.

2011-04-14T16:28:00.002-04:00

The UK's Bolton Council will press ahead with the sale of 36 works. Some don't like it (here and here).

These works will be offered at Bonhams over the next few months. The list includes:

Gaspard Dughet Classical Landscape
Richard Ansdell Buzzard and Ptarmigan
William Powell Frith A Dream of the Future
18th Century French School The Finding of Oedipus
Arthur Ambrose McEvoy Madame Errasuriz
Walter Richard Sickert Pauline de Talleyrand-Perigord
Philip Wilson Steer The Falls at Aysgarth
John Everett Millais The Somnambulis
George Romney King Lear
Edward Burne-Jones Danae and the Brazen Tower
Charles Ginner English Landscape

Court: Clifford Still Museum Can Deaccession Paintings

2011-03-28T20:54:00.002-04:00

A circuit court in Maryland has ruled that Denver can sell four of the 825 paintings destined for its new Clyfford Still Museum, which is slated to open this year. ...The court ruled the money must be set aside for an endowment and collection-related expenses.

Via The Denver Post. Background on this case here.

In England: To Sell or Not to Sell

2011-03-19T16:16:00.003-04:00

Several cash-strapped local authorities are selling parts of their art collections to raise funds. Two valuable Picasso etchings are among almost 40 works of art being put up for auction by Bolton council, while in Tenterden in Kent [England], paintings are being sold to pay for new heating in the town hall.

The Guardian interviews art critic Brian Sewell and Art Fund director Stephen Deuchar concerning deaccessioning policies and debates in England.

Let Them Sell Art: Why a Broader Deaccession Policy Today Could Save Museums Tomorrow

2011-02-23T21:04:00.005-05:00

Jorja Cirigliana, USC Law School student and avid reader of this blog, just gave me a heads up on her recent law review article, "Let Them Sell Art: Why a Broader Deaccession Policy Today Could Save Museums Tomorrow." Haven't had time to read it yet, but from the looks of the abstract it seems Cirigliana takes a liberal approach to deaccessioning. Oh, and The Deaccessioning Blog is cited in the paper. Enjoy! Here's the abstract.

Deaccessioning has become a widely implemented process that museums use to (1) remove a qualified object from the museum’s collection record and (2) dispose of the object through sale, auction, gift, trade, or destruction. Despite wide implementation, there is currently a deaccessioning “crisis” that has instigated public outcry and even legislative reform. The crisis stems from the recent financial crisis, which has deeply affected museums. Museums are being forced to choose between making huge cut backs – even permanent closure – and deaccessioning portions of collections at the risk of lawsuits and condemnation.

Museums should not have to choose. Instead, museums should be able to implement broader deaccession policies that would allow them to deaccession objects based on financial necessity and allow them to apply deaccession proceeds to operating costs.

Google, The Death of the Deaccessioning Wars

2011-02-04T16:43:00.007-05:00

Note the time and day. You read it here first my friends. History in the making.

I have pinpointed the death of the anti-deaccessionist ideology, and it's one we're all familiar with. What is it, you ask?

G-O-O-G-L-E

Yes, you heard right. There will come a day (hopefully quite soon), when the debate over deaccessioning will go the way of the eight-track and Milli Vanilli. Remember, the key to the deaccessioning debate is the "public" access (read: trust) to venerable artworks. What will little Johnny and little Suzie do if Hans Holbein's The Ambassadors is sold off by the National Gallery to pay the electric bill? Well, this won't matter if little Johnny and Suzie have access to it via digital format (and later on, holographic format). The key is access, experiencing, viewing, seeing, being exposed to, right?

Well, just this week, Google launched its interactive Art Project. Here's an overview of the Art Project via the Wall Street Journal,

A collaboration with 17 museums including three in New York—the Frick Collection, the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art—the portal offers virtual access to the institutions, allowing visitors to navigate galleries and pore over hundreds of their works of art in fine detail. ...Art Project also includes 17 works—one from each museum—that can be explored on a near-microscopic level, via "gigapixel" photo-capturing mechanisms whose images contain up to 14 billion pixels.

I know the counter-argument to my thesis quite well (unfortunately), and that's the one drenched with the good ol' magical aura (see Walter Benjamin). Here's a snippet from Benjamin's Illuminations,

By close-ups of the things around us, by focusing on hidden details of familiar objects, by exploring commonplace milieus under the ingenious guidance of the camera, the film, on the one hand, extends our comprehension of the necessities which rule our lives; on the other hand it manages to assure us of an immense field of action. ...Then came the film and burst this prison-world asunder by the dynamite of the tenth of a second, so that now, in the midst of its far-flung ruins and debris, we calmly and adventurously go traveling. With the close-up, space expands; with slow motion, movement is extended. The enlargement of a snapshot does not simply render more precise what in any case was visible though unclear: it reveals entirely new structural formations of the subject. (Walter Benjamin, Illuminations)

There are of course some challenges, copyright being one of them, but nothing that cannot be overcome with simple licensing. More thoughts on this soon.

What separates an everyday object from an art object?

2011-02-04T16:36:00.002-05:00

The Boston Globe has an interesting story on an artist that "deaccessions" her personal (and emotion-filled) objects as part of an artwork. Call the anti-deaccessioning police!

Take an installation like “Deaccession Project,’’ the vast wall of more than 2,000 inkjet prints copied from photographs Welty keeps in scrapbooks. The photographs show items that Welty has discarded — one per day, systematically, since Oct. 5, 2005 — with a brief note at the bottom of each explaining the decision, and the item’s intended destination (“Trash,’’ for instance; or “Goodwill’’).
“Deaccessioning’’ is the museum term for the removal of objects from a permanent collection, so the title might trigger the kinds of questions raised elsewhere in Welty’s work: What separates an everyday object from an art object? Are our homes like museums? What do we hoard; what do we no longer have uses for; why?

I really like this. "What separates an everyday object from an art object?" This is the crux of my argument pro deaccessioning. If we get rid of the aura (Benjamin and all), then we get rid of this romantic notion of the museum, art, and the "public trust." One day.

Former Penn Academy Pres: Relax Deaccessioning Rules

2011-02-03T19:45:00.003-05:00

Donn Zaretsky takes a fine-tooth comb to Gresham Riley's article on why deaccessioning rules should be relaxed in this day and age.

"But," he says, "the existing policy is in fact an exercise in smoke and mirrors, providing neither guarantees of public access nor commitments to maintain possession." On the one hand, "because of limited exhibition space, most museums’ collections are consigned to storage." In addition, the current rules "don’t prohibit a museum from selling ...; they merely limit the use of proceeds from the artwork that’s sold."

Institutions That Deaccession Find Themselves on the Defensive

2011-01-27T15:55:00.002-05:00

Another article on deaccessioning and its pitfalls from the paper of record. Nothing new to be exact, but Donn is, once again, distressed by the anti-deaccessioning hypocrisy.

If it's okay (or more than okay: healthy, normal, to be encouraged) for the Art Institute of Chicago to sell those Picassos, Matisses, and Braques in order to buy yet more art, then it's got be okay to sell the same works for other worthy purposes, right? Right?

Rosenbach Museum to Deaccession Paintings: Proceeds to be Restricted to New Acquisitions

2011-01-18T20:47:00.005-05:00

This will most certainly make the anti-deaccessioning police quite happy.

At its quarterly meeting on October 26, 2010, the Board of Trustees of the Rosenbach Museum & Library voted unanimously to deaccession thirteen paintings by the British artist Walter Greaves (1846-1930).

Where's the money going?

According to the Rosenbach's website,

Since 2003, the Rosenbach has had a policy in place that limits all proceeds from deaccessioning to new acquisitions. In other words, the Rosenbach never uses any portion of the monies for collections care, capital improvements, or other expenses. The Rosenbach is not a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors, which requires such a policy, but it chooses to identify with what it views as a higher standard promulgated by that organization.

Having learned from the Rose Art Museum witch hunt, the Rosenbach has hired a public relations firm to help in handling this situation. Who ever said free speech was dead?

You can read Rosenbach's Director Derick Dreher's entire press release here, available via the Philadelphia PR firm, Canary Promotion and Design.

Cleveland Museum of Art to Auction 32 Paintings at Sotheby's

2011-01-15T18:13:00.004-05:00

Don't worry, according to Cleveland.com, the AAMD has blessed it as totally legit.

Earnings from the Cleveland sale will be used to buy more old master paintings for the collection....[T]he Cleveland sale is unlikely to cause a ruckus. Most of the individual works to be sold are by minor masters; few have been exhibited in recent years.

The decision to sell the 32 paintings is not, overall, a negative comment on the museum's prior buying habits. More than three quarters of the works to be sold were gifts. Of the six bought by the museum, all are considered less than important, and two have been downgraded in their attributions, or authorship.

Regardless, something tells me the anti-deaccessioning police will be all over this.

NYS Regents Name 16-member Advisory Committee on Deaccessioning

2011-01-06T15:15:00.002-05:00

The New York State Board of Regents has named a 16-member ad hoc advisory committee on deaccessioning.

Judith H. Dobrzynski has a list of the committee members and more here.

Philadelphia History Museum Deaccessions for Renovations

2011-01-06T15:08:00.003-05:00

The Philadelphia History Museum has deaccessioned over 2,000 items to pay for a face-lift.

According to NPR news, this has raised (surprise) an issue.

The Philadelphia History Museum says it only sold items that fell outside of its mission and that they've been careful to use the proceeds — nearly $3 million — to care for the collection.

"We're not paying for paint. We're not paying for lights. We're not paying for development salaries," Sand says. "We're paying to create an environment where we can now exhibit the premier collection of Philadelphia material culture."

More via NPR here.

Deaccessioning and Small Towns

2010-12-28T15:18:00.002-05:00

The "paper of record" ran a story today on deaccessioning, and what one feisty individual did to show her dislike of deaccessioned artifacts.

Deaccessioning is the kind of word that makes eyes glaze over and can seem to be the preserve of dusty intellectuals and large museums. But it’s just a fancy name for the sale or giving away of art and artifacts by museums and other cultural organizations, and the dust-up here in this city of about 5,000 demonstrates that such debates occur in all kinds of places, big and small, where people feel protective about materials in their care.

Story here.

Deaccessioning and Disposal of Objects from UK Museums: Seminar at the National Gallery, London

2010-12-25T16:25:00.002-05:00

The seminar will be held on Tuesday 10 May 2011, and will address the deaccessioning of objects from public collections, changing attitudes to deaccession, and possible reform of existing procedures.

The proceedings will be chaired by Dr Stephen Deuchar CBE, Director of the Art Fund. The confirmed speakers are, Ed Vaizey MP, Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries; Sir Simon Jenkins, Chairman of the National Trust; Dr Johann Kräftner, Director, Director of the Collections of the Prince of Liechtenstein, Vaduz – Vienna, Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna; Dr Nick Merriman, Director of the Manchester Museum and Convenor of the Museums Association\\\'s Ethics Committee; Dr Nicholas Penny, Director of the National Gallery; Dr Timothy Potts, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum; and Gary Tinterow, Engelhard Chairman, Nineteenth-Century, Modern & Contemporary Art of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

More info here.

Deaccessioning Casestudy: "But You Promised..."

2010-12-19T13:29:00.002-05:00

The latest issue from American Archivist contains an interesting case-study, “But You Promised: A Case Study of Deaccessioning at the American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming,” which discusses the reappraisal and deaccessioning work done at the AHC over the last decade.

According to the AHC, the article describes a systematic, step-by-step process for responsible and ethical deaccessioning. From legal issues to donor relations, the case study provides a practical method for other repositories wishing to do something about collections that fall outside their collecting scope. You can access the case study here.

Beaverbrook Foundation to Auction 48 Art Works It Gained Title to In Legal Battle

2010-11-15T23:03:00.001-05:00

Britain’s Beaverbrook Foundation is consigning the 48 art works it was given title to in September at the conclusion of a lengthy and expensive legal battle to Sotheby’s auctioneers in New York and London.

Sotheby’s confirmed Friday that it would sell the works at a series of auctions set for December this year and January 2010. The 48 pieces were among the 133 that the foundation and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, N.B., fought over for more than six years.

Via The Globe and Mail.

It's Not Deaccessioning By Any Stretch

2010-11-14T18:14:00.008-05:00

Here's another sign as to how strict (and emotional) anti-deaccessionist rules only foster creative ways as to how museums sell art from their collection for fund-raising purposes.

The "new" way? The city of Denver may sell four Still paintings to fund a major operations endowment to ensure the Clifford Still Museum's long-term viability. Isn't this move prohibited by the AAMD and anti-deaccessionists?

Clyfford Still Museum director Dean Sobel believes the established AAMD anti-deaccessioning guidelines do not apply to it. Why? According to The Denver Post, it's a technicality.

The privately funded museum, which is set to open late next year, has not yet officially taken possession of the pieces. They were bequeathed to the city of Denver when Still's widow, Patricia, died in 2005. The museum petitioned a Maryland county court on Nov. 3 to permit the estate of Patricia Still, which has yet to be distributed, to release the four works early — before the formal transfer of ownership occurs.

[T]he museum believes the good outweighs any bad. The money would create a major endowment that would assure the museum's long-term financial viability. It would cover not only exhibition costs and general expenses but also publications, research and symposia that would ensure it a key place in American art scholarship.

According to Sobel, the four Still paintings are to be sold as a group, and only to another museum. The rest of the story, and a great Q&A regarding possible outcomes is available via The Denver Post here.

Chicago Art Magazine on Deaccessioning

2010-10-29T16:42:00.001-04:00

Chicago Art Magazine continues their analysis on deaccessioning. Here's the second part of their series.

We previously discussed the basics of the accessioning and deaccesioning processes art museums go through in dealing with their collections, but what about the specifics? A delicate process such as deaccessioning certainly raises a few questions including issues of transparency, maintaining the public trust, and the debate as to whether the current guidelines are enough to keep museum art collections from becoming mere commodities.

My Thoughts on Deaccessioning Via WNYC

2010-10-29T16:39:00.002-04:00

It's been super busy, so apologies for the belated post.

Marlon Bishop, of WNYC, interviewed me on Tuesday, October 19, for a story on deaccessioning. The radio version came out on Wednesday, October 20, but you can read Bishop’s article, Art Deaccessioning: Right or Wrong?, on WNYC’s website, as well as hear a few soundbites from me; Kaywin Feldman, president of the Association of Art Museum Directors and director of the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts; and anti-deaccessionist, Lee Rosenbaum.

I will elaborate more on deaccessioning here and on my other blog, Clancco, soon. What do you think? Deaccession or not? Is there a middle ground?

National Academy and AAMD Friends Again

2010-10-19T08:33:00.003-04:00

After nearly two years of museum-world ostracism because it sold two prized 19th century American landscape paintings for about $15 million to relieve a financial crisis, Manhattan’s venerable National Academy Museum & School is being accepted back into the The Assn. of Art Museum Directors.

Why the ostracism? The general public and media consensus: "Keeping art for the public's enjoyment and study is the reason for having tax-exempt art museums in the first place, and failing to do that in the case of the Church and Gifford paintings is what brought down sanctions on the National Academy."

Via the LA Times.

Good Riddance!

2010-09-15T10:43:00.002-04:00

The New York State Board of Regents on Tuesday approved the expiration of emergency regulations prohibiting museums from selling art to cover operating costs.

Last month the board indicated it planned to make the emergency regulations permanent, in part because a bill to prohibit cultural institutions from selling pieces from their collections to pay for expenses had stalled in the Legislature.

Via The NY Times.

Finally, Some Deaccessioning Thunder!

2010-08-10T19:37:00.003-04:00

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!

Rosenquist: Viola and Fischl’s Protest Vacuous

2010-07-17T16:13:00.000-04:00

Bill Viola, April Gornik and Eric Fischl have pulled out of the show Atmospheric Conditions at the Rose Art Museum until Brandeis administrators sign an agreement not to sell art from the collection.

As for the postponement of the show, Brandeis spokesperson Andrew Gully notes, “I don’t think it says anything about the museum; I think it speaks to the artists who decided not to come,’’ he said. “We clearly have a great show in the fall coming.’’

The Rose is replacing the Atmospheric Conditions exhibition with one by James Rosenquist, who sees the three-artist pull-out as negative and knee-jerk. “I’m having a show there that will put a spotlight on the museum, and maybe they won’t sell anything. I’d rather do that than be negative and pull out and let it dry up,” said Rosenquist. More from the Boston Globe here.

Detroit Institute of Arts Prepares to Deaccession Little Bighorn Flag

2010-06-29T18:50:00.002-04:00

Detroit Institute of Arts has revived the talk with news that they're planning to auction off a flag that was at General Custer's Little Bighorn battle. Held by the museum since 1895, it's believed that the flag could fetch somewhere between $2 million to $5 million when it goes on the block sometime this fall at Sotheby's. The flag was originally purchased for $54.

Via The Detroit Free Press.

Art as Philanthropy

2010-06-25T17:38:00.002-04:00

Art collectors are starting to donate their art work for philanthropy again. Via Forbes.com

Rose Art Museum to "Netflix" Artwork

2010-05-31T15:27:00.001-04:00

Brandeis administrators are currently in talks with international auction house Sotheby's to explore methods of garnering revenue from the Rose Art Museum that do not include the sale of artwork, according to a May 27 University press release.

The press release explains that these talks are in the formative stages and that "President [Jehuda] Reinharz said it is premature to say what kind of agreements might be negotiated, what the time frame may be, what parties might be interested, what art might be included or how much revenue any agreement might generate."

Via the Brandeis Justice.

Seattle Art Museum to Close for 2 Weeks Due to Budget Concerns

2010-05-27T12:44:00.002-04:00

Speaking of museum closings, the Seattle Art Museum announced yesterday it is closing its three principal buildings for two weeks next year, reducing its staff and instituting a two-week furlough in an effort to balance its budget.

Via The Seattle Times.

Magnes Museum to Give Away Its Entire Collection of Prized Jewish Art

2010-05-27T10:00:00.004-04:00

Better than deaccessioning? The Magnes, a Berkeley, Calif., museum, founded in 1962, doesn't have enough money to maintain the 10,000-piece collection, so it will turn the trove over to an unlikely rescuer: the University of California-Berkeley, part of California's public university system, which has experienced its own budget shortfall of $1 billion this past year.

Shelly Banjo of the WSJ explores this story as well as other art institutions that are struggling to stay afloat during these trying economic times.

Michael Kaiser: Conventional Wisdoms I Fight Against

2010-05-04T09:52:00.005-04:00

The Kennedy Center's Michael Kaiser was recently asked the following question:

Is there conventional wisdom amongst arts organizations that [you] disagree with and try to fight against?

His detailed answers here.

How to Donate to a For-Profit

2010-05-04T09:47:00.002-04:00

How does a for-profit museum use a tax-exempt foundation to get donations? NY's Museum of Sex does it, through its own foundation. Via today's NY Times.

Museums and Salaries

2010-04-26T23:31:00.001-04:00

Via Donn Zaretsky:

The real issue with nonprofit compensation, I believe, lies not at the executive, but at the mid-management level, and at the lowest rungs of arts organizations.

Michael Kaiser: "Over the last year I have noticed a change in the reactions by major donors"

2010-04-26T23:28:00.001-04:00

During this recession, however, funders have taken a harder tone. "When there are well run organizations that are struggling to replace donors who have evaporated, why support those that have poor management, weak boards, and unrealistic plans and budgets," the funding community seems to be suggesting.

More, via the deteriorating Huffington Post.

Charitable Gifts and Art Museum Deaccessioning

2010-04-20T16:54:00.003-04:00

Erica Guyer, an associate at Withers LLP, has published an article on charitable gifts in relation to art museum deaccessioning practices.

Recent press regarding deaccessioning has raised some concerns among donors that their past or contemplated future donations could be sold by the donee institution. These concerns should not discourage charitable gifting, but should instead encourage donors to articulate their intentions with donee institutions and in clearly drafted gift agreements and testamentary instruments.

On the subject of the pending Brodsky Bill, Guyer adds, "a one-size- fits-all regulation undermines the diverse circumstances affecting cultural institutions considering deaccessioning." Guyer's entire article, Charitable Gifts in a Climate of Deaccessioning, can be viewed here via Martindale-Hubbell.com.

Museum Cutbacks and Maintenance Costs

2010-03-31T22:59:00.003-04:00

Facing harsh economic realities--and a declining endowment--the Art Institute of Chicago has begun closing two of its galleries for one to two hours a day in order to make ends meet. On a similar note, The Washington Post ran an interesting article:

Whether in good times or bad, the hardest money for any arts organization to raise is for upkeep -- leaking roofs, outdated heating and air-conditioning systems, more efficient lightning.

Maxwell Anderson: Deaccessioning Without Putting Your Mission up for Sale

2010-03-29T16:19:00.002-04:00

Maxwell Anderson, the Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, writes on Art:21 Blog on the state of deaccessioning today:

Disobedience in the act of deaccessioning today is as rampant as it was with regard to the 18^th-century example of the Dodo—except that the untoward behavior of our time is not in service of preserving and protecting collections, but in service of monetizing them.

FYI: This is part of Art:21's "Should Art Be Ethical?" series.

Isabel Abislaiman on The Brodsky Bill

2010-03-22T14:36:00.006-04:00

The New York County Lawyers' Association has just published an article by one of its members, Isabel Abislaiman, on the current state of deaccessioning in New York and the Brodsky Bill. Thanks to Ms. Abislaiman for citing this blog and Clancco: Art & Law.

There has been much tension about the controversial bill since its introduction in March 2009. Albany still needs time to grasp the complexities of the New York art world. The legislature can accomplish its goal of keeping the cultural heritage available to the public by handling this regulatory measure in the ordinary course of business instead of rushing it through the legislative process. So let the meetings and roundtables continue before the bill is signed into law.

Ms. Abislaiman is the principal of Abislaiman Law Offices in San Juan and New York City. Her areas of practice include litigation, art law, estates and real estate. She co-chairs NYCLA’s Art Committee and is a member of the Fine Art Board of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture.

Into the Void: Museum Exhibitions, Auctions, and Deaccessioning

2010-03-22T14:29:00.004-04:00

Last Thursday's New York Times has an interesting article by Fred Bernstein on the current exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum concerning donated artworks and fund raising.

Museum auctions are nothing new — many institutions sell pieces donated by artists or collectors to raise money for programs. But the Guggenheim has taken things a step further, mounting a major exhibition with the intention of selling its contents.

I'm quoted in the article, and there's a bit on the relationship between this exhibition and deaccessioning.

Paper: On Deaccessioning for Operating Expenses

2010-03-17T16:47:00.003-04:00

Jonathan Lee Rohner, a candidate in the Master of Arts in the Faculty of Teachers College, Columbia University, has just published a paper on deaccessioning. The paper, Profiting from Paintings and Paying the Price: The Implications of Increased Deaccessioning for General Operating Expenses in U.S. Art Museums, is available for download here. I haven't had time to read it yet, but look forward to analyzing its argument. An abstract is just below.

This essay explores the implications of an increase in deaccessioning by U.S. art museums to pay for general expenses. This type of activity has increased over the past year, exacerbated by the economic recession of 2008-2009. A brief history of U.S. museums is provided, as well as a description of these institutions’ current operating environments. The benefits of deaccessioning and considerations that must be taken into account are also described. Case studies are provided, as are recommendations as to how the U.S. art museum community can avoid the damages of general expense deaccessioning, while remaining flexible enough to allow struggling museums to operate in a difficult financial climate.

Article: Deaccessioning on a Stricter Trust Standard of Care

2010-03-06T11:26:00.004-05:00

A Clancco.com reader just sent me this link to this article in Art, Antiquities, and Law on deaccessioning. Here's the SSN abstract:

Art deaccessions prompt lawsuits against museums, and some commentators advocate using the stricter trust standard of care, instead of the prevailing corporate standard (business judgment rule), to evaluate the conduct of non-profit museum boards. This Article explores the consequences of adopting the trust standard by applying it to previously unavailable deaccession policies of prominent art museums. It finds that so long as museum boards adhere to these policies, their decisions would satisfy the trust standard. This outcome illustrates an important limitation of fiduciary law: the trust standard evaluates procedural care but cannot assess deaccessions on their merits. Yet this limitation, far from undercutting the trust rule, balances judicial review with protecting boards’ management discretion. This article ventures beyond formalist analysis of fiduciary duty and examines the non-legal, substantive rules governing art deaccessions. It argues that complemented by non-legal rules, the trust standard provides the best framework for adjudicating deaccession lawsuits because it ensures judicial scrutiny of deaccession procedures while leaving appraisal of deaccessions’ merits to museum professionals and the public they serve.

You may download the full article here. I haven't read it yet, as I'm headed out to enjoy this rare NY winter day. More on it later.

Ansel Adams' Son Sues Fresno Museum for Prints

2010-03-05T12:08:00.003-05:00

Remember when the Fresno Art Museum announced that it was shutting its door for good, and holding a garage sale to cover its creditors' claims? Well, we have the first litigation regarding this sale.

Ansel Adams' son sued the Fresno Metropolitan Museum, seeking return of six of his father's iconic works, including three shots of Yosemite Valley. Adams's son says that when he learned the museum was liquidating its collection, he asked it, through counsel, to return the prints. The museum responded, through its counsel, "that it believes the plaintiff's gifts of the Adams Prints was absolute and unconditional," and that "The Met believes that it may sell the Adams Prints to satisfy its creditors' claims."

Via Courthouse News Service.

The New Britain Museum of American Art feels that deaccessioning works from the permanent collection is not such a bad thing.

2010-02-26T16:34:00.001-05:00

Don't get too excited. The New Britain Museum still holds to the "deaccession only to buy other artworks" theory. But they have weighed in.

Brandeis Faces Faculty and Program Cuts

2010-02-24T15:47:00.003-05:00

More recession devastation.

A Brandeis University committee has recommended cutting more than 20 faculty positions and dropping some academic programs in response to financial pressures caused by the economic downturn. Dean of arts and sciences Adam Jaffe tells The Boston Globe that the proposed cuts, which the provost is expected to review in coming weeks, would be carried out over a number of years and eventually save $3.8 million annually.

The cuts include the elimination of the graduate program in theater design. More from the Mass AP News.

State Urged to Investigate Fresno Art Museum

2010-02-19T09:24:00.002-05:00

A local attorney is asking the state Attorney General's Office to investigate whether it is proper for the Fresno Metropolitan Museum to sell off its collection to satisfy its debts. Fresno attorney Robert Rosati's action comes as the museum is scheduled to auction its non-art property today, with proceeds going toward the $4 million in debt that led in part to the museum's demise last month. Rosati claims that The Met, in being granted nonprofit status, agreed that its assets were public and would be used for public purposes. If the museum ever dissolved, Rosati contends, its assets should continue to be used for a public purpose.

Is the Fresno Art Museum -- the only modern art museum between San Francisco and Los Angeles also on the brink?

2010-02-19T09:21:00.005-05:00

Fresno's Art Museum: the Museum is faced with making some very difficult decisions about the next season of exhibitions and educational programs. We've "tightened our belts" and already made some critical decisions and adjustments but we're still in a very vulnerable position.

Judith Dobrzynski has more on this. If it does close, I think that makes it three closed since I pronounced 10 museums would close. I may just hit my mark by the end of this year.

Michael Kaiser: My Peers Are Angry With Me

2010-02-19T09:10:00.002-05:00

Kaiser writes about frustrated nonprofits. In full disclosure, I'm a mentor with the Kennedy Center's Arts in Crisis program, and truth be told, I have not had much problem convincing nonprofits I speak with to increase programming and marketing. Here are some of Kaiser's thoughts:

Many arts managers are angry with me. They do not appreciate my advice not to cut programming during this recession. I continue to say that creating large, important projects is central to creating fiscal health. Especially when there is less money for the arts (and there is less money for the arts today), arts organizations must compete harder. As donors decide which organizations to continue to support, the institutions that are doing vital, important work are the ones who will continue to be supported. Not only must the work be interesting but the marketing of that work and of the institution as a whole must be aggressive and creative.

One arts leader accused me publicly of living in a parallel universe. He was quite upset that his artistic director and his unionized artists threw my advice in his face when he felt he had to make programming cuts. He was dealing with a substantial budget shortfall and saw no other recourse than to cut programming. He was not amused that his artists kept saying, "Michael Kaiser says this, Michael Kaiser says that."

The rest of his thoughts are at The Huffington Post.

More Deaccessioning Thoughts from Dobrzynski

2010-02-01T17:30:00.002-05:00

Judith H. Dobrzynski shares "a few more impressions, based on developments and discussions since [the] publication of her op-ed in The New York Times on Jan. 2.

It's sad, but true, that several people on both sides of the issue told me that I was "brave" to propose something at odds with the official AAMD/AAM position. It was as if I had voluntarily touched the Third Rail of the museum world.

This sentiment was borne out at the Brodsky bill roundtable: People are afraid to discuss the very possibility. There was almost no dissent (except for objections to an unfunded mandate) until, at 1 p.m., two hours after the Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports convened the roundtable, Brodsky satisfyingly looked around and said it was the last chance for people who differed with him to speak up. Only then did people rise to the mike to disagree or question the bill, and only then did the rumbles in the audience begin.

More troubling still, one thing I've learned since Jan. 2 is precisely how little trust exists in the museum world. Directors don't trust their trustees; trustees don't trust one another; many trustees don't trust their directors. I knew there was some amount of mistrust -- but I didn't know relations were this bad.

Museum directors -- even some you think are strong -- fear their trustees, finding it hard to disagree with the powerful ones, ever. (I know, I know, trustees provide the money, and directors work for the board, but absolute obeisance is unhealthy.)

While it's no secret that trustees join boards because they contribute money or art, too many trustees have little interest in art -- maybe none. If they're there only for the prestige and the power, I blame the nominating committee and the board chairman.

Another Assemblyman Aims to Make Deaccessioning Illegal

2010-01-30T18:27:00.004-05:00

Staten Island Assemblyman Matthew J. Titone aims to insure that cultural institutions do not sell off some assets to stay open and afloat. Deaccessioning to keep the doors open and the lights on will soon be illegal in New York State, if a new bill co-sponsored by Assemblyman Matthew J. Titone (D-North Shore) gets passed. Titone hosted a round-table discussion this month with 80 curators and administrators from all over the state. Some, like Historic Richmond Town, already have in-house regulations that protect collections. Others don’t. “We must always ensure that the public and future generations enjoy the enormous resources of our great state’s cultural and historic institutions,” says Titone. “This law will help protect that heritage.”

Via SIlive.com

London's ICA Could Close by May

2010-01-23T15:36:00.005-05:00

London's ICA staff members have been told that a financial deficit currently at around £600,000 ($967,000) might rise to £1.2m ($1.9 million) and if radical steps are not taken the ICA could be closed by May. According to the ICA director, without a wholesale restructuring, the ICA could be the first major British cultural organisation to fall victim to the recession. Via The Guardian.

When Will the AAMD Get Their Massachusetts?

2010-01-20T08:46:00.004-05:00

We saw last night in Massachusetts what happens when those in power don't listen. The AAMD met recently and changed nothing regarding their stance on deaccessioning. As jobs and exhibitions continue to plunge off museum cliffs due to the recession, is the AAMD deaf and blind to the obvious? Is this the AAMD mirroring Obama, focusing on wrong issues at the wrong time? Donn Zaretsky calls this meeting "breaking news." Via Artinfo.

The hot topic at this year's mid-winter meeting of the Association of Art Museum Directors in Sarasota, Fla., attended by more than 125 museum heads from 35 states and three countries, was the same as last year's: deaccessioning. The association's Deaccessioning Task Force has concluded that “works cannot be deaccessioned to provide funds for operating or capital purposes, and such funds may only be used for the refinement and expansion of the collection.”

Salvador Dali Museum May Be Forced to Use Art as Collateral?

2010-01-14T10:52:00.003-05:00

The new $36 million Salvador Dali museum under construction in Tampa, FL is scheduled to open in January 2011. All but $6 million has been raised from federal, state, city and private funding. But money for the project will run out this spring without a new source of funds. The museum will be forced to take out loans using art from the Dali collection as collateral if the tax dollars or new contributions don't come through soon. Via St. Petersburg Times.

Chief Executive of Getty Trust Against Deaccessioning

2010-01-08T15:14:00.003-05:00

Today's NY Times includes a letter to the editor from James N. Wood, president and chief executive of the J. Paul Getty Trust. Wood respectfully takes issue with Dobrzynski and raises some important--and frequently unmentioned--consequences to deaccessioning.

To raise substantial amounts of income, you must sell good, and thereby potentially important, works of art. The smaller the amount raised by sales of works of art, the more this solution becomes stopgap. If a long-term solution is to be achieved, not only must substantial amounts be raised, but also the money must be put into an endowment with an annual spendable rate that preserves the principal.

The unintended consequences could well include a change in the board’s perception of its fiduciary responsibility to one more focused on asset management than philanthropy. Human nature has shown us that if there is an accepted alternative to giving one’s own money, many, if not all, will seize it. And potential and past donors of works of art will be uncertain as to the future use of their gifts.

While I agree with Wood, I'm not so sure that these valid considerations would not be within the mindset of deaccessioning arbitrators. Remember that Dobrzynski was keen in asking that the arbitrators have not only artistic and legal expertise, but nonprofit governance expertise as well. Surely in better economic times deaccessioning arbitrators would not allow, much less facilitate, the fire-sale of Warhols and Picassos simply because board members failed to "give or get."

Wood's full letter here.

Interesting thoughts nonetheless.

Am I Right? Or Am I Right?

2010-01-06T15:08:00.002-05:00

Drowning in debt, the Fresno Metropolitan Museum is closing today, indefinitely.

The exhibits and assets inside the building will all be auctioned off to pay back creditors... sold at auctions in big cities, like San Francisco and New York, [hoping] the pieces will earn 50–to–60 cents on the dollar, on the auction block. The remaining Met employees have until the end of this month to clear out the building.

One down, 9 to go.

10 Museums to Close, Massive Layoffs Await

2010-01-04T16:22:00.006-05:00

That's the headline we'll have to read before the strict anti-deaccessionists agree that selling art in order to save museums, jobs, educational programming, and public exposure to art is a necessary requirement.

The Battle Over Dobrzynsk Bridge has begun. You can read about it here, here, and here. Christopher Knight twitters his distate here.

I wonder if the strict and pure anti-deaccessioninsts would feel the same way if it was their job on the line or, heaven forbid, their one-person exhibition that was being cancelled. I'm not going to say much more than that, but rather wait on the sidelines and watch these participants fool themselves into thinking they're playing US Open tennis instead of ping pong.

Dobrzynski: "de-accessioning shouldn't be impossible-- just nearly so"

2010-01-04T00:09:00.004-05:00

In case you missed Judith Dobrzynski's NY Times op-ed on Jan. 1st, here's her recap, with a few additional pointers, on her Real Clear Arts blog. I'm still on board with the "arbitrator" theory, but not sure about the two-strike proposal (what she calls "two chances"). She explains that perhaps strict anti-deaccessionists are "maturing," since she received nothing but positive feedback.

I want to add a very important note here, and albeit seemingly a bit self-serving, but I can assure the reader that it's not. My experience as an artist, lawyer, and nonprofit lawyer has given me ample encounters with lawyers who are also artists. The age-old negative stereotype of the white-shoe culture-starved lawyer is slowly disappearing. Not only do I meet quite a few lawyers who are musicians, filmmakers, and visual artists, but more so, I myself mentor quite a few artists wishing to enter law school with the sole purpose of becoming art lawyers. I would like to think that we can find at least one of these in New York City.

Here's a bit from her blog entry:

My solution is this: museums that propose to sell art from their storerooms for purposes other than buying art should submit their cases to an independent arbitrator. And if they make a convincing case, they must also give other public collections two chances to buy the art -- once, in a right of first refusal; a second time, after a public auction, when they all have an opportunity to match the winning public bid.

But maybe we are maturing: I expected to be flooded with complaints about violating sacred principles. Instead, all of the feedback I've received has been positive. One friend made a great addition to my solution, which proposed using neutral parties familiar with art, art law and nonprofit regulation. To her, that spelled lawyers, and she suggested that retired, disinterested museum professionals could also arbitrate.

Dobrzynski on Deaccessioning: A Great Solution, an Impartial Arbitrator

2010-01-02T12:22:00.002-05:00

[I posted this on Clancco.com, but in order to facilitate access to readers of this blog I've also posted it here.]

Judith H. Dobrzynski, a former reporter and editor at the NY Times, wrote yesterday on a very interesting alternative to the deaccessioning fight. In brief, she argues for an "impartial arbitrator," which would hear a museum's argument and need for deaccessioning art to pay the bills.

Maybe it’s best to amend the unwritten sales ban, but not end it. What if a museum had to argue its case for de-accessioning art before an impartial arbitrator? This neutral party would need to be schooled in art, art law and nonprofit regulations. [bold mine]

If done properly, this is actually the best solution put on the table so far, and to my delight (and self-serving position) something not too far from what I have argued here.

THE squeeze is on. Museums everywhere are having trouble making ends meet, what with the overblown expansions they’ve made, the decline in investment income and the steep drop-off in contributions from foundations and individuals. Many have cut staff, frozen pay, trimmed exhibition schedules and slowed or stopped acquisitions. For some, that may not be enough: the American Folk Art Museum, to cite one example, recently admitted that it isn’t making debt payments.

Dobrzynski seems to be reigniting, in an academic and open town-hall-meeting of sorts, the deaccessioning debate started in early 2009 over the Rose Art Museum, and being the first in 2010 to realize that the museum economic disasters are intensifying and not-at-all decreasing. She sites others on her corner with similar thoughts.

What’s next? In some corners, there’s fear that museum officials will do what is absolutely forbidden by art-world rules: raise operating cash with a sale of artwork. Already some respected figures — David Gordon, former head of the Milwaukee Art Museum, and Richard Armstrong, director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, for example — are saying that the rule against selling art for any purpose other than buying more art is wrong.

What do you think? Deaccessioning Arbitration and Regulation Panel (DARP)? That's my vote! Good start for 2010. Judith's article in its entirety here.

Claremont Museum to Close on December 27

2009-12-25T14:35:00.001-05:00

No mention of deaccessioning, but worth mentioning.

Bowing to continued financial pressure and a lack of donations, the Claremont Museum of Art said today that it would close its doors to the public on Dec. 27, 2009, and move its permanent collection to a warehouse.

More from the LA Time s.

How Big a Part Does Deaccessioning Play in New Acquisitions?

2009-12-21T21:01:00.004-05:00

LACMA's Allison Agsten writes in LACMA's blog about how the museum acquires new artworks. She mentions deaccessioning, and interestingly, it seems that only a small fraction of new works comes via this practice.

A smaller slice of the funds [for new acquisitions] comes from deaccessioning, the practice of selling lesser works in the collection to buy greater works, and also from the interest generated by the museum’s endowment that is restricted for art purchase.

Historical Society Deaccessions to Survive

2009-12-08T17:00:00.002-05:00

Just minutes from writing about the RISD fiasco (below), this comes in from a faithful reader.

From Sign On San Diego:

The Villa Montezuma, with its stained-glass images of Shakespeare and the Greek poet Sappho, is San Diego’s most storied and elaborate Victorian, built just east of downtown during the boom of the 1880s. Operated as a museum since the 1970s by the San Diego Historical Society, the idea was to celebrate San Diego’s past.

The historical society has struggled with its budget during the recession, cutting staff and closing the Villa to the public in 2007.

And to substantiate my "economic times will force us to face reality" argument, this from Maria Bolivar, a Mesa College professor and member of the Villa friends board and a Sherman Heights activist, "tough economic times are forcing nonprofit cultural organizations to dispose of some of their holdings to survive."

Did Deaccessioning Thoughts Lead to RISD Director's Ouster?

2009-12-08T16:28:00.007-05:00

The LA Times' Mike Boehm thinks the recent RISD debacle concerning RISD's museum director, Hope Alswang, may have something to do with the dreaded "d" word.

"[A]t play at RISD (as at Brandeis University) were college-museum politics: the idea that it might be necessary to liquidate works held by the art museum, for the sake of shoring up the parent institution’s finances. The Globe reports that two faculty members at RISD proposed such a sale and that the museum’s director was openly unhappy when the college’s president, John Maeda, didn’t summarily reject it. Maeda said it should be discussed even though he was personally opposed to selling any art. Just how much deaccessioning and fallout from construction expenditures played into the apparent cashiering of RISD's museum director, Hope Alswang, is unclear, because neither she nor Maeda has made any substantive public statements."

Is this a sign of the true financial health of art institutions, or how disengaged some museum executives are with the true status of the economy, its future, and its current and future repercussions?

Boehm also thinks this is related to last year's Art Center uproar over architectural expenditures.

Former Director of Royal Academy and Milwaukee Art Museum Disagrees with AAMD

2009-12-08T09:10:00.004-05:00

In an interview with David Gordon, former director of the Royal Academy of Arts, in London, and the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM), Artinfo asked Gordon on his position vis-a-vis deaccessioning. Here is his reply:

The position of the American Association of Museums and the Association of Art Museum Directors is that it is always wrong unless the funds are used to buy new art. I disagree. Suppose you have a museum in a city that has fallen on hard times and its base of support has diminished but it still has a great collection. You wish to make sure that the museum stays open six days a week, that its artworks are being conserved and that it’s able to put on adventurous exhibitions, but you don’t have the money to do any of this. As you cut costs, you are in particular danger of weakening the conservation program, so that the fundamental function of the museum, as a guardian of works, is jeopardized. In that circumstance, it seems wrong to say, "Well, you can’t do anything that involves the art."

Read the complete Artinfo interview.

Powerful International Museum Council Takes Strong Anti-Deaccessioning Stance

2009-12-06T20:55:00.007-05:00

Those strongly against the deaccessioning of artworks for any purpose other than to improve the quality or composition of a museum's collection may be interested in Mexico's recent resolution against the practice of museum deaccessioning.

CIMAM (International Committee of ICOM for Museums and Collections of Modern Art) adopted a resolution on November 10, 2009, stating strict guidelines for deaccessioning. This resolution defines the purposes of an art museum; the purpose of a museum's collection; deaccessioning; the purposes of deaccessioning; criteria for deaccessioning; who is responsible for the preservation and conservation of its collection; legal issues and donor intent; modes and methods of disposal; and its implementation and enforcement.

CIMAM boasts a strong board of directors, including Kasper König (Museum Ludwig), Christine Van Assche (Centre Pompidou), Sheena Wagstaff (Tate Modern), as well as Neal Benezra (SF MoMA).

You may read the resolution via PDF format here.

British Museums Loosen Deaccessioning Grip

2009-12-02T09:57:00.001-05:00

Starting in January, Britain's strict law against museums deaccessioning items in their collections is going to become a little less absolute. Until now, it was against the law for any British national museum to let go of any object in its collection, no matter what the reason. But now, new legislation will allow the institutions to return to their rightful owners items looted by Nazis.

A step in the right direction. More from Artinfo here.

Public Votes on London Museum's Deaccessioning

2009-11-14T14:24:00.004-05:00

Time magazine's Gaelle Faure reports on the University College London's Museum's (UCLM) deaccessioning of parts of its collections (of some 250,000 items in total, only 2% of which are currently on display). What's interesting about this deaccessioning is that the UCLM is giving its public an opportunity to pick which items should be jettisoned. To those wondering why the museum just doesn't keep it all:

To be sure, not everything in a museum's collection is worth keeping, let alone putting on display. [Collections review assistant Subhadra] Das puts it diplomatically: "Sometimes [donors]bring us wonderful things, and sometimes, well, they're not quite for us."

Read more here.

Brodsky's Thoughts at Cardozo Law

2009-11-14T14:17:00.004-05:00

It's been pretty quiet on the deaccessioning front. However, I just found out that NY Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (author of the anti-deaccessioning Brodsky bill) visited Cardozo Law School, where he gave his thoughts on deaccessioning. Here's a snippet:

It seems wrong for lawmakers to be making largely artistic choices on the behalf of cultural institutions, but Brodsky argues that the Bill would not enable legislative authorities to make such choices. Instead, he insists that the lawmakers are only requiring public disclosure of a clear mission statement. Within that mission, the museums are largely autonomous. If a work is not within the statement, it may be deaccessioned. If the museum wants to alter its statement so that it no longer encompasses certain works, then it must do so publicly. Collections are held in the public trust, Brodsky argues, and they must be maintained for the public benefit. The impetus driving this Bill is the fear that institutions will sell works to keep the doors open, and institutions will be left with open doors and no paintings.

Reading Brodsky's thoughts gives one hope that he's finally realizing the economic severity faced by museums and art institutions, and if the Brodsky bill restricts the use of funds acquired through deaccessioning to only the purchase of new works, museums will face dire financial situations which will force them to lay-off staff in droves, not to mention lower the academic and aesthetic design and implementation of their planned exhibitions.

You can read about his visit and thoughts here.

Rose Art Museum Trial Dates Set

2009-10-21T17:13:00.003-04:00

Mark your calendars. The trial dates for the Rose Art Museum debacle have been set for June 29 and July 1, 2010. Brandeis University's The Justice has more.

St. Lawrence University Art Gallery to Deaccession 177 Artworks

2009-10-21T17:09:00.002-04:00

St. Lawrence University's Richard F. Brush Art Gallery is auctioning 177 works valued at upwards of $200,000. The college said it is deaccessioning the art from its catalogue in order to make more room for other works in its 7,000-piece permanent collection. The Watertown Daily News has a little bit more here.

Furloughs and Deaccessioning at the Indianapolis Museum of Art

2009-10-19T11:31:00.002-04:00

According to the Chicago Tribune, "nearly 300 staff members at the Indianapolis Museum of Art will have to take an unpaid week off during the coming months in the latest cutback for the museum. Spokeswoman Katie Zarich say the furloughs, along with less spending on contractors, advertising and travel, are needed as the museum makes a 5.5 percent cut from this year's $25.5 million budget." Read the Museum's Budget Reduction Statement here.

The website, Art Knowledge News reports that,

The Indianapolis Museum of Art has embarked on a systematic evaluation of its collection since 2007 to identify candidates for deaccessioning (e.g. sale, transfer, or exchange). All objects proposed for deaccessioning are subject to the criteria and procedures outlined in the IMA's Deaccession Policy. Since 2007, the furniture, antiquities, textiles, American painting, European painting and contemporary collections have been reviewed and assessed. The decorative arts, Asian art and African collections are currently under review with additional works proposed for deaccessioning to be presented for approval at the May and December 2009 Collections Committee and Board of Governors meetings.

Brandeis' Motion to Dismiss Not Approved

2009-10-14T07:54:00.003-04:00

According to Brandeis University's newspaper, The Justice, Brandeis' "motion to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to preserve the Rose Art Museum's collection was not approved at a hearing that took place" yesterday. Judge Stahlin has allowed the plaintiffs to remain a part of the lawsuit in order to show that "their gifts to the Rose should be returned to them under theories known as equitable reversion and fraud." However, the University would have to contact the Attorney General's Office to give them a minimum of 30 days' notice before selling art. This is a bit odd, but it seems, and this is a conjecture, that Brandeis may be allowed to sell its art collection, just not those art objects previously donated to the university by the plaintiffs in this case.

More from The Justice here.

Blanden Memorial Art Museum to Proceed with Deaccessioning

2009-10-10T16:22:00.003-04:00

After meeting some internal board requirements and federal requests, the Blanden Memorial Art Museum will continue with its planned deaccessioning.

Dr. Matt Maggio, vice president of the museum's board, said leaders of the city-owned art gallery have talked about having such a sale for 10 years. He added that the auction has been actively planned for three years and four months.

After voting to bar themselves and family members from buying any art at auction, the board also removed eight pieces from auction.

The withdrawal of those pieces came after the U.S. General Services Administration contacted City Manager David Fierke on Thursday and asked the museum to refrain from selling any Depression-era artwork commissioned by the government. That agency requested that any such unwanted works be sent to the federal government.

More from Fort Dodge, Iowa's Messenger.

"The sale of assets could eventually include the sale of artwork from the Rose Art Museum"

2009-10-03T04:57:00.004-04:00

Anti-deaccessionists will not like this, but would they really prefer a boarded-up university with artworks in storage?

The Brandeis Hoot reports,

The university’s latest Fiscal Year 2010 budget projection is “a little worse” than last May’s projection, in part due to potential problems in raising restricted funds for the university’s operating budget, Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance Jeff Apfel announced at yesterday’s faculty meeting. Such changes in the budget, while small, only serve to remind the university of the many budget cuts that are still to come to help balance the university’s budget in the years leading up to 2014.

Possible solutions: dipping into its reserve fund, but that would only take the university through 2013. The other alternative: "the sale of artwork from the Rose Art Museum."

According to The Hoot, even if Brandeis increases enrollment by 400 students (impacting class size and professorial teaching loads) and lays off 35 staff members, Brandeis will still face a budget gap.

The Economic Impact on Art Galleries and Museums

2009-09-27T10:25:00.004-04:00

The Journal Star on the economic impact on galleries and museums.

The scariest example of proposed deaccessioning: Brandeis University considered closing its Rose Art Museum and selling off its collection, estimated at $350 million, to raise funds. That controversial plan was rejected earlier this month, and Brandeis president Jehuda Reinharz, who had proposed the sale, resigned last week.

Sotheby's to Proceed With Polaroid Auction Despite Protests

2009-09-23T16:41:00.004-04:00

Dismissing photographers' protests, Sotheby’s plans to go ahead with its sale of 1,300 prints from the Polaroid collection, which are valued between $7 million and $11 million. For background on this story, click here.

Legal Issues in Museum Deaccessioning

2009-09-17T12:39:00.002-04:00

The law firm of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP has a nice snapshot on their blog concerning the legal issues facing museums and deaccessioning.

Ethical controversy aside, a museum or other nonprofit may not have the legal right to sell off a given piece of art. It depends entirely on the terms of the specific instrument - often a will, trust or fractional gift rather than an outright deed of gift - through which the institution acquired the art in question. Such terms will be interpreted in line with legal precedent that may favor donor intent over current institutional interests.

All nonprofits - not just museums - are subject to oversight by state attorneys general. While AGs often have more urgent priorities than the role of nonprofit watchdogs, the art collector/donor community is composed of precisely those individuals who can set an investigation in motion with a phone call or two. In order to protect themselves, nonprofit trustees should be able to show that they have acted in good faith and exercised due care in arriving at their decision, and considered alternatives to selling the art.

Brandeis Files Motion to Dismiss

2009-09-16T08:44:00.003-04:00

According to Brandeis University's newspaper, The Justice, Brandeis has filed a motion today to dismiss the lawsuit seeking to preserve the Rose Art Museum's collection. The motion will be heard Oct. 13. Outside counsel Thomas Riley expressed the dire situations facing colleges and universities at large, and given the dramatic endowment losses reported by the Ivy League last week, Brandeis can't be blamed.

Donn Zaretsky has a good analysis on the motion to dismiss here, arguing strongly that donors, in this case the Rose family, have little if any standing.

"Time and again, Massachusetts courts and the Legislature have rejected the notion that donors or their heirs have standing ... to enforce their vision of how a charitable organization should operate. The authority to supervise charities in this way is reserved exclusively to the Attorney General."

Blanden Memorial Art Museum to Deaccession Dropped Off Artworks

2009-09-13T18:26:00.005-04:00

As a prime example of how deaccessioning can be done for the financial benefit of a museum, Iowa's Blanden Memorial Art Museum will sell 360 pieces in an Art is For Everyone Sale and Auction Oct. 10, 2009 at the new Bioscience and Health Sciences Building on the Iowa Central Community College campus.

According to The Messenger,

The work being sold has either been de-accessioned - that is, formally removed from the Blanden permanent collection through the board's action - or is orphan art. Orphan art is work that was given to the Blanden, but was never formally included into the museum's collection through accession.

According to museum director Maggie Skove, there are some very good reasons for this deaccessioning: "There's no space. We don't have the money to conserve. They're not worth conserving. The alternative of building a new vault area is simply out of the question."

Anti-deaccessionists and museum romantics (read: Tyler Green and Lee Rosenbaum) should hold their fire, because although the museum's permanent collection is comprised of work by some famous artists, such as Kandinsky, Klee, Calder, Chagall, Miro and Prendergast, the museum is adamant that "They are not for sale." In fact, according to the museum, the pieces either have no market in the art world, no auction record value, or were simply "just dropped at the door."

To make anti-deaccessionists even more comfortable, the museum will have a "document explaining the museum's de-accessioning process...available at its east door now and will be available to the public at the auction."

More from Iowa's Messenger here.

Deaccessioning Roundup: Fall 2009

2009-09-10T18:45:00.002-04:00

Modern Art Notes' Tyler Green highlights upcoming deaccessions, including The Hirshhorn, the Montclair Art Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Brandeis Restricts Access to All Rose Art Museum-related Materials

2009-09-02T10:47:00.001-04:00

Brandeis University has restricted access to all Rose Art Museum-related materials in the Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections until the completion of a review pertaining to a lawsuit filed by three members of the museum's Board of Overseers.

According to the University's legal counsel, Judith Sizer, "Full access to Rose-related documents housed in the archives will be reinstated when the review has been concluded, subject to any exigencies that may stem from the litigation recently filed against the University."

Task Force Formed to Educate University Trustees

2009-09-02T10:33:00.003-04:00

From the College Art Association's website:

In response to troubling trends in university museums and galleries—including the sale of Maier Art Museum paintings by Randolph College, the closure of the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, and the threat of sale of important modernist works at Fisk University—a task force was formed that includes CAA, the American Association of Museums, the Association of Art Museum Directors, the Association of College and University Museums and
Galleries, and the Kress Foundation to address ways to educate university trustees about the educational value of university museums and to explore protective avenues. A petition was circulated to various associations and also set up online, which received several thousand signatures—including many from CAA members. The petition will be published in the Chronicle of Higher Education later this fall. Quiet conversations are continuing with Brandeis trustees, and several university accreditation commissions have been apprised of the concerns of the task force and the visual-arts field.

Is Brandeis (smartly) Preparing for a Legal Battle?

2009-08-29T17:18:00.003-04:00

Brandeis University's newspaper, The Brandeis Hoot, wonders if the university has taken a more aggressive approach to defending a lawsuit filed by three Rose Art Museum benefactors against the university.

The university’s approach towards opponents of its reconfiguration of the Rose Art Museum has taken a turn from conciliatory to combative, most recently marked by the hiring of former Massachusetts State Attorney General Tom Reilly to serve as outside legal council in a lawsuit filled by three Rose Art Museum benefactors against the university.

I'm not sure why hiring an attorney with ample litigation exprience is "harsher" or "combative." In fact, one could argue that Brandeis is simply acknowledging their legal and ethical duties to the university, board members, professors, staff, community, and its students. This is echoed by university Provost Marty Krauss:

“That is, that the University has a responsibility to provide the very best education and faculty to fulfill its higher educational agenda. Apparently, these three overseers are oblivious to the Brandeis mission.”

The Hoot does index another viable possibility for hiring this "combative" attorney:

The university’s decision to hire Reilly, therefore, could indicate a fear that the Rose plaintiffs are less likely to settle than Sumner Kalman, who told The Hoot he was not interested in a long legal battle. It could also indicate that the university believes any negotiation with the Rose plaintiffs would be more complicated, and would require a lawyer who knows the ins and outs of Massachusetts State laws, such as a former attorney general.

Very true. And all signs of smart lawyering!

Whitney Museum Axes Eight Employees

2009-08-24T17:52:00.002-04:00

According to Artinfo:

Eight full- and part-time positions were eliminated at the Whitney, including a major gifts officer, a senior lecturer in education, and an adjunct curator of architecture.

and according to Crains:

Arts and culture staffing firm Thomas & Associates has been engaged to help with outplacement services for the former Whitney employees.

NY State Board of Regents Issues Proposed Final Regulations

2009-08-22T13:20:00.003-04:00

The NY State Board of Regents has just come out with its proposed permanent amendment that would govern the deaccessioning practices of museums and historical societies chartered by the board. Keep in mind that if passed, the Brodsky Bill would affect the deaccessioning practices of all New York State museums.

Cleveland Museum of Art Eliminates 14 Jobs

2009-08-13T16:07:00.001-04:00

The Cleveland Museum of Art, pressed by a plunge in the value of its endowment, eliminated jobs held by fourteen employees this week and decided to leave another eight positions vacant.

More from Artforum here.

"It is the people at the top who deserve the most opprobrium."

2009-08-09T13:33:00.003-04:00

Artnet's Ben Davis has just written The Museum Bubble, a detailed analysis on the financial troubles faced by museums and art institutions. Davis' scathing analysis points the finger at the "art bureaucrats at the top, those pious guardians of our nonprofit castles of culture."

Supreme Judicial Court Won't Hear Suit Against Brandeis

2009-08-06T10:54:00.001-04:00

Just in from The Boston Herald:

The Supreme Judicial Court won’t hear the lawsuit filed by three top Rose Art Museum patrons against Brandeis University over its decision to close the Waltham cultural site and sell off some $350 million of art. The SJC transferred the case to the Suffolk probate court.

Rose Overseers Sue Brandeis

2009-07-28T16:47:00.003-04:00

This story is all over the blogosphere, but this from The Wall Street Journal:

Three overseers of Brandeis University's Rose Art Museum sued the college, seeking to halt plans to sell prized works from the museum's $350 million collection.

The three plaintiffs and Rose overseers filing the suit are: Lois Foster, who has a museum wing named after her and says Brandeis is now holding her to a pledge of $1.8 million in her will to endow the museum director's chair; Meryl Rose, a member of the family that established the museum; and Jonathan Lee, chairman of the board of overseers whose mother was an early donor of art to the museum.

Donn Zaretsky observes that "for a suit that (as Paddy characterizes it) aims 'to halt closure of Brandeis University’s museum,' it's something of a problem that there is no plan to close the museum."

The legal briefs and other documents can be read on Scribd here. The Boston Globe has a snippet here, and The Boston Herald here.

More Museum Closings, Layoffs, and Cutbacks

2009-07-25T12:21:00.005-04:00

USA Today on the escalating death of museums.

Ford Bell, president of the American Association for Museums, says the losses in three of the largest funding sources for museums is a "triple whammy." "Museum attendance is very, very strong, but unfortunately, attendance doesn't provide a big chunk of the income," he says. But despite the large number of volunteers and two $45,000 gifts from anonymous donors, the museum still had to cut back: It's now open five days a week instead of six.

And...

The University of Wyoming's Geological Museum in Laramie faced a similar problem when the state cut funding to the university by 10%.

And...

Though smaller institutions are being hit the hardest, even larger museums such as the Field Museum in Chicago are tightening belts. Nancy O'Shea, the museum's public relations director, says a declining endowment value led officials to trim staff and cut pay for all employees making more than $75,000.

And...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is also cutting back. Its director, Thomas Campbell, says the museum cut 14% of its staff to cope with losses in its endowment and decreases in membership and corporate sponsors. The Getty Museum in Los Angeles is also reducing staff and postponing or lengthening exhibitions after a 27% decline in its endowment.

And finally...

[I]n Detroit, Graham W.J. Beal, director of the Detroit Institute of Art, says the museum had to cut $3 million in operating costs and another $3 million by reducing staff because of a loss of state support.

Continue those anti-deaccessioning petitions!

Museum Association of NY: "Don't Sell Off Assets"

2009-07-22T11:58:00.003-04:00

An interesting article from The Albany Times Union last week arguing in support of the Brodsky Bill. Ann Ackerson, the director of the Museum Association of New York, comes up with several "solutions" to the financial nightmares facing museums today. They're listed below with a bit of commentary on my part.

Among the solutions could be:

A revolving loan fund that strapped museums could tap into to buy time to restructure and figure out their next steps.

Really? And who's going to fund this "revolving loan fund"? How will these "loans" be secured, with museum assets? (read: the same artwork that is so preciously safeguarded?) Is this more Obama-esque socialism, creating a fund to be tapped by irresponsible and uninformed constituents?

A check-off box on the state personal income tax that gives residents the opportunity to make a contribution to an arts fund. (That legislation is pending.)

Great idea. Just what art needs: the continued belief that it is the public that must nurture and support flailing art institutions and irresponsible board management. Snarkiness aside, it's better than higher taxes on those with "disposable income."

Access to the state's health insurance program and aggregated energy purchasing to help lower two big chunks of operating costs.

Not bad, but stricter budget oversight may not hurt either. Let's look at travel expenses, installation fees, insurance, shipping and handling, and salaries as well.

Comprehensive board and leadership training.

Best idea on the list. What probably would save many art institutions money is stricter IRS oversight of needless spending and outrageous art project budgets. Not one for more government, there may be something to be said in mandating that all non-profit boards set aside financial resources for legal, administrative, and business training by experts, for-profit and non-profit alike. I like this one.

Let's also look at the state's current grant reimbursement system, which can keep nonprofits waiting months or years to receive project funding, forcing them to borrow funds and take on added debt.

I'm not sure there's a constitutional right to expedited treatment based solely on an entity being a nonprofit tax-exempt corporation. Shall we make flailing nonprofit museums and institutions a protected class too? The fourth factor above, or simple common sense, could remedy this mess: just don't spend what you don't have. Sound familiar?

CAA Circulates Anti-Deaccessioning Petition

2009-07-20T17:32:00.003-04:00

From CAA's website, and also circulated via e-mail:

Petition to Support University Galleries and Museums
posted by Linda Downs

Several university art museums or their school administrations have recently sold, or have attempted to sell, artworks and objects in their collections to offset operating costs. In response to this, CAA has joined a task force supporting the educational importance of preserving collections at university museums and galleries. The task force—which includes representatives from the American Association of Museums, the Association of Art Museum Directors, the Association of College and University Museums and Galleries, and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation—has established a two-pronged effort: 1) to recognize museums as integral educational resources in the university accreditation process; and 2) to heighten public awareness of the educational value of art museum collections.

Members of the task force are meeting with accreditation organizations throughout the country to enlist their support for the recognition of art museums as integral educational resources.

A petition has been prepared that reaffirms the integrity and value of university and college museums.

Please show support for our efforts by adding your name and affiliation to this petition, which will be published in the Chronicle of Higher Education this fall. Please encourage your university, college, or museum to sign it as well.

Thank you for your support on this critical issue.

Paul B. Jaskot, President, and Linda Downs, Executive Director

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum: no right to the work and no standing in court (update)

2009-07-16T08:41:00.004-04:00

Tennessee's Court of Appeals rejected claims this week from the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum that it can challenge the sale by Fisk University of paintings donated to it by the late artist.

In the ruling filed Tuesday, the court said any right O'Keeffe had to most of the 101 works of art ended with her death. The financially struggling university had asked a lower court for permission to sell two of the works — O'Keeffe's 1927 oil painting "Radiator Building — Night, New York," and Marsden Hartley's "Painting No. 3."

The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum objected to the plan, arguing that Fisk was violating the terms of the bequest, which required the works be displayed together, and asking for the artwork to be turned over to the estate.

Note: This entry was posted last week with the following headline, "Court Rules Fisk University Can't Sell O'Keefe Paintings," when it should have read "Court Rules Fisk University Can Sell O'Keefe Paintings." We regret any misinformation that may have ensued. Thank you.