USA, now museums can also sell their works to fund collection care

The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), the association of directors of major U.S. museums, has changed the rules of deaccessioning, the practice, allowed in U.S. museums, of selling works of art from the collection if the purpose is to acquire other works of art, for example, to fill a gap in the collection. As of last September 30, this is no longer the case: deaccessioning is now being expanded, after a week of discussion. The amendment to the regulations was approved by 109 votes out of 130 total votes (there are 199 voting members). Voting was electronic and was held over a four-day period. The new rule, which takes action on the Regulation of Professional Practices in Art Museums (a document to which all U.S. museums adhere), will allow funds generated by the sale of decommissioned artwork to be used for the direct care of objects in a museum’s collection: restoration, transportation, conservation, and more.

Previously, Article 25 of the regulations stated, “Funds received from the disposal of a decommissioned work may not be used for capital operations or expenditures. Such funds, including any related earnings and awards, may be used only for the acquisition of works of art in a manner consistent with the museum’s policy on the use of restricted acquisition funds. In order to properly account for their use, AAMD recommends that such funds, including any earnings and appreciation, be tracked separately from other acquisition funds.”

Article 25 now changes to read, “Funds received from the disposal of a decommissioned work of art, including any earnings and appreciation on it, may be used only for the acquisition of works of art in a manner consistent with the museum’s policy on the use of restricted acquisition funds or for the direct care of works of art. Direct care for the purposes of this section means direct costs associated with the storage or preservation of works of art. Such direct costs include, for example, those for (i) conservation and restoration treatments (including packaging and transportation for such conservation or restoration) and (ii) materials necessary for the preservation of all artwork classifications, such as acid-free paper, folders, matboards, frames, media, and digital media migration. Funds received from the disposal of a decommissioned artwork may not be used for capital operations or expenditures, except as provided above. Direct care does not include (a) staff salaries or (b) costs incurred for the sole purpose of mounting temporary exhibitions.”

The process that led to this change began in January 2022, when the AAMD Board of Trustees appointed a Task Force to focus on two issues. The first was to consider whether to recommend that AAMD amend the Rules of Professional Practice in Art Museums to allow the use of funds from deaccessioning for direct collections care. The second, dependent on the first, was to propose a definition of “direct care” if the group thought such a change was recommended.

“This is an important update to AAMD’s policies, an evolutionary change that is the culmination of nine months of work by an 18-member Task Force ably led by Rod Bigelow of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art,” says Julián Zugazagoitia, AAMD president and director of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. “More than a year before the pandemic, AAMD members were discussing issues related to collections management, recognizing that many within the Association wanted more flexibility and also noting that our approach was no longer in sync with our colleagues in the American Alliance of Museums or the rules issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. This focused change addresses the changes required by members, ensures that our approach is consistent with standards across the museum field, and provides critical guidance to members on how to implement ’direct care’ standards if their institutions choose to do so.”

“This is a good change for the AAMD, as it recognizes a philosophical shift within our membership as well as previous changes made by major collegiate institutions such as the AAM,” said Rod Bigelow, chair of the Task Force and director of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. “The Task Force reflected different viewpoints within our membership as a whole, which was essential to achieving this outcome, and I want to thank the members for their time and commitment to the process. We all understood that any changes to a rule that this Association has scrupulously guarded for several decades must be narrow and focused, and we succeeded. Equally important is the recognition that this change is the ceiling, not the floor. It provides some additional flexibility for our members if their institutions so desire, but it does not ask any museum to change its policy.”

Pictured is the Nelson-Atkins Museum

USA, now museums can also sell their works to fund collection care

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.