Concern over National Academy Sale of Two Paintings

Randy Kennedy of the NY Times is reporting the venerable National Academy found in 1825 has recently sold two Hudson River painting to reinforce finances. The National Academy believes the extra cash flow will allow the museum to display more of its collection to the public.

The National Academy sold Frederic Edwin Church’s “Scene on the Magdalene” from 1854 and Sanford Robinson Gifford’s which is believed to have raised close to $15 million. National Academy representatives have stated that if not for the sale of these two pieces (out over 7,000 in the collection), the institution was in a position to possibly close. The sale of the two paintings was voted on by the 370 members, with 183 voting for the sale, 1 against with one abstention. The National Academy representatives also state the National Academy has never been considered a traditional museum, and therefore should not be held to current museum standards such as those recommended by the Association for Art Museum Directors for deaccessioning.

Reporter Kennedy states the Association of Art Museum Directors, which has a longstanding policy of strongly discouraging museums from deaccessioning artworks unless the money is being used to acquire other works and to enhance a collection — not to raise operating funds.

The association asked its members to cease lending artworks to the academy and collaborating with it on exhibitions.

“The National Academy is now breaching one of the most basic and important” principles of the museum world, the association said in a statement, “by treating its collection as a financial asset, rather than the cornerstone of research, exhibition and public programming, a record of human creativity held in trust for people now and in the future.”

As fiscal mismanagement and economic concerns gather momentum in the museum fields, I am afraid we are going to see more and more of these types of transactions. The AW Blog has posted in the past on several of these "deaccessions" including recent sales at the Corcoran in Washington DC. They may not be supported by many, they set rather poor precedents, yet for many institutions, the sale may be necessary and actually be the difference between survival and functioning for public benefit and closing their doors.

To read the NY Times article, click HERE.