Is It Okay to Sell the Monet? - by Julia Courtney (Paperback)

About the Book

This book provides the resources that allow its readers to have a meaningful and thoughtful voice in discussions about deaccessioning and assist museum professionals in approaching the reevaluation, reconfiguration and revitalization of collections in order to bring instituti...

Book Synopsis

This book provides the resources that allow its readers to have a meaningful and thoughtful voice in discussions about deaccessioning and assist museum professionals in approaching the reevaluation, reconfiguration and revitalization of collections in order to bring institutions into the 21st century and stabilize secure their financial future.

Review Quotes

This timely collection of essays should be mandatory reading for all museum professionals. It offers fresh perspectives on the legal, ethical, historical and political complexities of deaccessioning in the 21st-century museum world where no single approach works for all.

While deaccessioning is an acceptable collection management option for most museums, it also has the potential to cause enormous public controversy. "Is it Okay to Sell the Monet?" brings together thoughtful essays presenting various perspectives on the practice. It is a valued, reasoned, and welcome addition to discussion of this often highly volatile topic.

This work examines the practice and ethics of museum deaccessioning. The subject of controversial and complex debate among museum professionals, deaccessioning remains relevant as many institutions continue to suffer the effects of the 2008 recession. Representing a variety of viewpoints, the contributors to this collection include museum collection experts, art attorneys, art dealers, and other professionals. The essays appear in four sections, the first of which explores the context of the deaccessioning debate, detailing the ethical dilemmas and exploring potential solutions to issues. The second section looks at the logistics of deaccessioning and works entering the private domain, and the third looks at the use of deaccessioning funds and the ethics regarding monetizing collections for other institutional means. The last section presents case studies, outlining the outcomes and lessons learned from recent major deaccessioning projects. Particularly noteworthy in this final section is an essay by arts attorney Katherine Lewis, who focuses on the new and increasingly important issue of deaccessioning in digital collections. An important and useful text, this timely, well-edited volume will be particularly valuable for museum professionals, historians, and those in adjacent art-related industries.

Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers, faculty, and professionals.

About the Author

Julia Courtney holds masters degrees in art history and museum studies (Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts) and art and museum education (Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts). She recently published The Legal Guide for Museum Professionals (Rowman & Littielfield, April 2015). She has been in the museum field for over 23 years, and Curator of Art emeritus for the Springfield Art Museums in Springfield, Massachusetts. She is an independent curator, freelance writer, artist and adjunct faculty member for the Graduate Museum Studies Program at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts and the Graduate Gallery Management and Exhibits Program at Western Colorado State University in Gunnison, Colorado.