Monday, February 19, 2007

Deaccessioning Updates

Inside Higher Ed has a piece on "the core, ethical issues" involved in the Fisk University sale. It quotes from the Tennessee attorney general's letter approving the deal between the university and the O'Keeffe Museum: "This office must conclude that the preservation of the collection is not worth the risk of financially crippling one of the preeminent historically black colleges and universities in the nation." The last word is given to the president of the museum's board, Saul Cohen: "In real life, the choice is often not between the good and the bad but between the bad and the worse. ... If it’s a question of an institution’s survival, ... it seems to me the case is clear. ... I think every case has to be looked at individually. There is no right or wrong answer.”

Meanwhile, Lee Rosenbaum has some news from the Buffalo Art Keepers about the Albright-Knox sale. More here, including Tom Freudenheim's November Wall Street Journal piece arguing against the sale.