Deaccessioning at Toledo Museum

From Ohio's Toledo Blade:

The Toledo Museum of Art this week decided to sell 99 paintings deemed "unsuited to its mission," or 12 percent of its 785-work painting collection. The board of trustees voted to auction the 20th-century pictures at Sotheby Auctioneers New York gallery through the end of 2003.

These are the "third-string players" in the gallery lineup, said Bob Phillips, Toledo Museum of Art curator of modern painting and sculpture. Most have languished in storage for decades. . .

"Our entire collection - Asian art, Old Masters, glass, and ancient art - are all being carefully reviewed using the same criteria."

Money raised at the auctions will go to buy new artwork. "The museum is not in money trouble," spokesman Elizabeth Sudheimer said. "This money can only be used for new artwork. We can’t sell a picture to pay the electric bill."

"De-accessioning" is a process most museums use periodically to refine the collection and open up storage space, Roger Berkowitz, the museum’s director, said. The Toledo institution’s last big "spring cleaning" was in 1991, when 496 Egyptian artifacts and 17 French and American furniture pieces were sold.

Nothing too controversial about all this, it seems. I did wonder about the following passage, though:

The current purge is the largest Mr. Phillips has presided over in his 30 years at the museum, he said. Nothing he recommended for purchase is in the "out" basket. "I’ve never bought anything for this museum that anyone else has said does not belong," he said. "In fact, I’ve seen some pieces increase in value by ... up to 20 percent."

Maybe it's just a misprint, but up to 20%? In 30 years? Reminds me of the old joke: "How do you make a small fortune in antiques?" "Start with a large one!"

Posted by David on February 28, 2003 10:03 AM