"Does it make sense to keep a large percentage of a museum’s art assets in storage, never to be seen, when the same museum is laying off curators?"
Andras Szanto has a long, interesting piece in The Art Newspaper on the situation facing US museums. The whole thing is worth reading, but, for obvious reasons, I found the following particularly interesting:
"According to current guidelines, museums can only sell art to buy other art, not to cover operations. Those rules exist for a good reason. But when finances are pushed to the brink, museums’ largest asset category—its art—is more likely to get a second look. 'Does it make sense to keep a large percentage of a museum’s art assets in storage, never to be seen, when the same museum is laying off curators?' asks a donor to several major American museums. 'How does one responsibly go to benefactors for more support?' Sensible reform proposals—for example, to allow sales when objects stay in the public domain—are already being floated."
"According to current guidelines, museums can only sell art to buy other art, not to cover operations. Those rules exist for a good reason. But when finances are pushed to the brink, museums’ largest asset category—its art—is more likely to get a second look. 'Does it make sense to keep a large percentage of a museum’s art assets in storage, never to be seen, when the same museum is laying off curators?' asks a donor to several major American museums. 'How does one responsibly go to benefactors for more support?' Sensible reform proposals—for example, to allow sales when objects stay in the public domain—are already being floated."
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