UK's Bolton Council to Deaccession Picassos

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.

UK's Bolton Council to Deaccession Picassos

To What Exactly Did Brandeis University Agree to?

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.

To What Exactly Did Brandeis University Agree to?

NY Board of Regents Rules Narrower Than Brodsky Bill

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.

More from The Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Blog.

NY Board of Regents Rules Narrower Than Brodsky Bill

New York Board of Regents Adopts New Deaccessioning Rules

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 exactly does this mean? That it was once a painting but it is now a frisbee? Or does it mean that the work is not authentic? If so, given the numerous lawsuits concerning authenticity issues I can certainly imagine a museum deaccessioning a work that has been deemed no longer an authentic, say, Picasso, only to find out later that it is in fact a Picasso.

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?

New York Board of Regents Adopts New Deaccessioning Rules

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

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

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

Court: Clifford Still Museum Can Deaccession Paintings

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.

Court: Clifford Still Museum Can Deaccession Paintings

In England: To Sell or Not to Sell

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.

In England: To Sell or Not to Sell