Americas Cultural Treasures on Sale
- A Bill in the New York Legislature Would Regulate the Sale of Museum Art Collections. If the Bill passes, it would make it illegal for a museum to sell parts of their collections to cover operating costs.
New York Times-related article
Bill seeks to Regulate Museums Art Sales
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/arts/design/18rege.html
Link to a copy of the Proposed Museum Bill
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/arts/03182009-bill.pdf
- The Question
Can or Should a Museum be allowed to sell parts of its art collection to cover operating expenses?
This is not a new question today just because many museums find themselves facing financial deficits in today’s economic crisis. It is a long-standing question has been unanswered by the law. Most Museums operate under a voluntary code of ethics that governs their decisions based on the principles or standards set by the industry. But the code of ethics has few teeth except shunning by other intuitions and professionals in the field and the code does little to stop un-sound or un-ethical practices.
Quoted from NYT article by Robin Pogrebin
“The two notions of deaccessioning and debt have to be de-coupled,” said Anne W. Ackerson, the director of the Museum Association of New York. “It seems that when some institutions get into financial trouble, they look to their collections as a way to get out.”
“Deaccessioning to pay the bills is strongly condemned in the museum world. The Association of Art Museum Directors, a national group, strictly prohibits the sale of artworks to cover anything but the acquisition of art. The group imposed sanctions on the National Academy for its sale, advising other institutions not to collaborate with or make loans to the academy”.
Link to the Museum ICOM Code of Ethics 2006 Document
http://icom.museum/ethics.html#intro
- An example of the problem is the case of Brandeis University. In January, they announced that they would close the Rose Art Museum and sell the collection to balance their budget.
The management of Museum collections is a difficult task fraught with many obstacles and often occurs behind closed doors out of the publics view. These often-secret deals are the very issue of the proposed law. When a decision such as the sale of the Rose Museum collection becomes public a lot of attention is focused on what is happening and why. Donor’s like the Rose Family get upset and as word spreads other donors out there in the world start to ask important questions about their donations to not only the museum in question but to museums they support.
Rose Art Museum To Be Closed
Rose Family Condemns University
- Every museum regardless of size or type has the problem of collection management.
Every collection has as in the case of Art Museums, Artworks that do not severe the scope of their respective collection and exhibition programs. Often artworks come into collections as donations past and present that have no real importance to a museums focus. These artworks are often just stored if they represent a direction, the museum may develop in the future. Sometimes the artwork fits the museums mission but is in a condition that prevents it from being exhibited until the artwork can be stabilized through preservation or restoration. Other times the artwork is simply not of value to the collection because it just doesn’t fit current or future plans of the museum. In that case rather than just store the artwork museums opt to deaccession or sell the artwork to another museum that has a collection the artwork would be a value too. Or they sell it to a collector if there is no other buyer.
Sometimes artworks are traded if a trade meets the needs of both parties. Some museums will loan artworks to other museums that need the artwork to exhibit with their collection in exchange for restoration or preservation when they cannot afford the cost themselves.
When work is deaccessioned, sold the money is ethically spent to either buy new artwork that meets the collection needs of the museum or used to pay for the cost of preservation of existing important artworks in their collections.
A museum that has a good collections management policy will create deeds of trust that governs the accessioning and deaccessioning of artworks. These documents are legal and binding and require that Museums make good and solid judgments when choosing artworks for their collections. But in the case of many older institutions and also new ones these agreements were not or are not part of their policy and artworks were accessioned into collections for a plethora of reasons. Often the reason was political to keep a major donor happy. Fifty years later, when the donor is long gone the museum still has the artwork and has little or no use for it today. As the organization, the museum matures and develops a sound; collection management policy, they still have the issue these types of artworks, these gifts are still in their collections. The deaccessioning of these treasures must be, dealt with in an ethical manner to preserve the purpose and function of museums as a whole. This is where the law can help museum professionals manage their collections and their Boards of Directors or at least their decisions.
- The dynamics of a Board change continuously and I think is the most difficult part of managing a museum or for that matter any corporation private or non-profit.
Attracting and retaining good Board members is an art and requires skill, hard work and above all Strong Policies. Boards can act in ways that are disastrous and harmful to the organization with out proper regulation, rules or by-laws that govern their behavior legally. Perhaps we can create a new term “The AIG Factor”! The rules that govern museums and other organizations established in their corporate structure vary widely.
- In the case of the Rose, the Director was informed of the decision to close the museum and sell the collection after the decision was made.
The Director had no say or input into the decision making process. In some organizations, this would not be the case, but even under the best of circumstances, the Board of Directors may in fact have the last word. They can just fire the Director who opposes their decisions.
Today many organizations are challenged by the current economic crisis. It is important to remember that there is always going to be good economic times and challenges in the future. Museum’s are here for the long haul and museum professionals have to protect the integrity of their institutions for the greater public good. Too, allow boards simply to sell off the collection assets when the going gets tough is not realistic long-term management.
Like in the case of the Rose, once the museum is gone it will be gone for good, as will be the treasure in your local art museum if it is sold.
In this instance, the Law if created would only govern New York State. I think it is time for a national uniform set of laws to govern the public trust. I have certainly understated the complexity of the problem and an issue here, what I have attempted to do is simplify a very complex and real problem that is widespread and concerns every art museum in the nation.
- What Happening in your Art Museum?
Do the Arts need a National Bailout?
http://davideubank.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/do-the-arts-need-a-national-bailout/
Filed under: Art, Art Marketing, Art News, Culture Economey, News, On Art, Politics, Uncategorized , Art Collecting, Art Collections, Art Law, Museum Code of Ethics, Museum Managment, New York Museum Law, Rose Art Museum
