Hasta La Ideas

Back in 2008, New York’s Board of Regents was considering adjusting restrictions on museums who were considering deaccessioning portions of their collection for profit or to pay off debts (like what the Chelsea Art Museum is dealing with right now), instead of following the regular protocol that says when a museum sells, it uses that money to buy other works of art. This talk, and there was lots of it once museums started suffering in late-2008 and throughout 2009 as the economy fell apart, led to the State Legislature to introduce a bill making the practice illegal. However, it looks like that bill doesn’t have much life left in it after this week, following a year of heavy pressure by New York City-based museums like the Met, who said they’ve been clean and trustworthy for years and don’t like the idea of more scrutiny. Those for the bill complain that no matter how wonderful and decent the Met is, there needs to be closer watch on museums whose collections are in the public trust. But now, after said pressure from the big cultural institutions and the bill’s sponsor, State Senator Jose Serrano, quickly backing away, it looks like there’s not much hope in legislation being passed anytime soon.

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