NY State to Regulate Deaccessioning

Yesterday's NY Times reported on a pending New York state bill which would make selling parts of a collection to cover museum operating costs illegal. The bill, drafted by Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky in collaboration with the New York State Board of Regents and the Museum Association of New York, "would prohibit museums from using proceeds from the sale of artworks 'for traditional and customary operating expenses."

Under the bill, proceeds from a sale could be used only for the acquisition of additional artworks for the museum's collection or "the preservation, protection or care" of works in the collection. And, it says, "No item in a museum's collection may be used as collateral or may be capitalized."

The legislation also delineates criteria under which an artwork could be deaccessioned: if it is inconsistent with the museum's mission as set forth in its mission statement, if it has "failed to retain its identity" because of decay or other deterioration, if it is redundant or inauthentic, or if it is being repatriated or returned to its rightful owner or donor.

Donn Zaretsky has his usual extremely interesting counterpoints here, such as this one:

A "sacred cultural and ethical trust" -- unless, of course, a museum wants to acquire some shiny new artworks, in which case: hey, knock yourself out! Sacred shmacred. Sell to your heart's content!

NY State to Regulate Deaccessioning

Met Opera Offers Chagalls as Loan Collateral

Not quite a deaccessioning, but...

The Metropolitan Opera indicated today that it has put up two massive Marc Chagall murals as collateral on a loan.

According to Met spokesman Peter Clark, the murals will serve as collateral for "a longstanding loan," though he declined to specify the loan amount or the estimated value of the works. Some reports have appraised the two murals at about $20 million US in total.

More from the CBC here.

Met Opera Offers Chagalls as Loan Collateral

Las Vegas Art Museum Out of Options

After three months of trying to keep the 59-year-old institution afloat in the dire economy, board members and staff said Friday they have run out of options.

Las Vegas Art Museum Out of Options

Yes, More Brandeis...

I've pretty much left the Brandeis stuff alone, as it seems to have settled down a bit. However, there are two interesting articles that came out today. One is regarding the negative effects the economic crisis is having on nonprofits, and the other on what would happen if Brandeis University sold some of its top art works.

The first article is in the Wall Street Journal, and unfortunately one must be a online subscriber to access it. The other is in the recent New York Magazine. A bit from both articles.

WSJ:
[L]aws passed decades ago to keep charitable gifts from disappearing too rapidly have suddenly started hamstringing institutions from the Audubon Society to Brandeis University, which are taking a beating from the recession and the collapse in stock prices. The laws restrict spending from endowment funds, which invest heavily in stocks and other assets that have taken a hit amid the financial turmoil.

Gift-spending restrictions on nonprofits were enacted across the country in the 1970s. State legislators passed a raft of rules that let charities -- which traditionally favored bonds -- put their savings in stocks and other growth-oriented investments. But a key proviso protected an institution's long-term health: An endowment couldn't spend a dime if a gift fund fell below its initial dollar value. Endowments are generally made up of major gifts, each with restrictions of how they can be spent.

NYM:
Brandeis University’s decision to close its Rose Art Museum might be more than a curatorial transgression. It might also be a bad business move—and not just for the university.

Some of the art world’s biggest players could be affected. An investment group that includes Larry Gagosian bought a slew of rare paintings at the top of the market last spring from the Ileana Sonnabend estate. Her Andy Warhols and other key works were among the last of their kind in private hands. Now Brandeis threatens to sell “superb and extraordinary” works from the same period, says art appraiser Victor Wiener, and some dealers and collectors may find “you still have a great work of art, but it’s not the greatest—and you may have paid too much for it.” The record for a Warhol is $71.7 million, set two years ago for his Green Car Crash painting. Brandeis has its own very good car-crash painting titled, appropriately enough, Saturday Disaster.

Yes, More Brandeis...

Brandeis Re-Depressed

The Nonprofit Law Prof Blog has more good reasons on why Brandeis opted to close the Rose.

Brandeis relies heavily on current donations - $14 million of its operating budget comes from current donations - and those donations are nearly nonexistent this year.

and...

Because the endowment is relatively new, nearly all the appreciation over the historic dollar value of the endowment is gone. Under Massachusett's version of UMIFA, Brandeis can spend little from its endowment until the market rebounds. In addition to these problems, Brandeis has overextended itself in recent years, increasing its debt with building projects and more financial aid for students.

Brandeis Re-Depressed

The People of Iowa Re-Revisited

The University of Iowa Museum is re-revisiting their desire to deaccession (and it is a deaccession this time) its Jackson Pollock. I'll refer you to Donn's Art Law Blog, where he rightly questions all this "the people of Iowa" banter. I say all these anti-deaccessionists should gather in front of the White House, hold hands and sing kumbaya!

The People of Iowa Re-Revisited

Brandeis Donors Vow to Fight Sale of Artwork

The Nonprofit Law Blog reports that Brandeis Donors, incensed at the fire-sale, are vowing to fight the sale of the Rose Art Museum's artworks.

The January 28, 2009, issues of the Chronicle of Higher Education and The Boston Globe report that upset Brandeis University donors are looking at ways to stop the university's planned sale of artwork to cover university losses as a result of the economic downturn and the Bernard Madoff scandal. Here is an excerpt from the CHE article:

The decision has raised complicated legal questions over donor intent and the university’s use of money given to the museum and of the donated artwork, especially restricted donations that require the art to be publicly shown.

“Had I had any idea when I donated work that there was a chance they would be sold to benefit the university, I never would have donated them,” Jonathan Novak, a museum overseer and Brandeis graduate who has donated money and art to the museum, told the newspaper.

On a related note, Donn Zaretsky has almost convinced me that the deaccessioning police caused the Rose Art Museum's fire-sale. I'm laying low on this one. Too many chefs in a very small kitchen. My only prediction, based on a deaccession model, is that Brandeis will be worse off if they heed the threats of these so-called "donors."

Brandeis Donors Vow to Fight Sale of Artwork