LA Museum of Art Selling Paintings

Carol Vogel of the NY Times has a good article on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art selling paintings to "clarify the collection". The museum states most of the painting were in storage and did not fit the mission of the organization. Funds will go to purchase additional art for the collection which is more in keeping with the museums mission.

The sale at the LA County Museum of Art  is of course viewed differently than the hot button issues deaccession to cover overhead expenses. So far the museum has sold paintings by Joshua Reynolds, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Pieter de Hooch all through Sotheby's, and has raised $6 million for the museum.  Sotheby's has another group of paintings from the museum coming for sale in the upcoming Old Master sale on January 28th.

Vogel reoirts

Mr. Marandel added that he had been closely reviewing the museum’s holdings. “It may seem shocking that I am selling paintings, but I’m willing to accept the criticism,” he said. “This isn’t a study collection, it’s a place to see the best paintings we can show so that visitors will be able to experience paintings as objects of enjoyment and culture. These galleries will also be a place where visitors can learn about the history of taste. As a result we’ve set the bar high.”

Most of the works sent to auction had been in storage, Mr. Marandel said, primarily because they no longer fit this mission.

Proceeds from the Sotheby’s sales are going to Mr. Marandel’s department, specifically to help pay for two 17th-century paintings — a classic skating image, “Winter Scene on a Frozen Canal” by Hendrick Avercamp, and “View of the Herengracht, Amsterdam, from the Leliegracht” by Jan van der Heyden — that were partial gifts from the Los Angeles collectors Edward W. Carter, who died in 1996, and his wife, Hannah, who died in April. In addition to those works the Carters left the museum 34 17th-century Dutch paintings: city views, landscapes and still lifes.

To read the full NY Times article, click HERE.