Deaccessioning Donations of Art
Deaccession. It’s a word that brings chills to donors and would-be donors of art to public galleries. The ingratitude. The betrayal. How can they sell my gift, my art?! To deaccession is, in conventional curatorial thinking, to break trust with donors. It chases them away…
The National Gallery of Canada’s Purpose
At the recent opening of the new Indigenous and Canadian Art Galleries at the National Gallery of Canada (NGC), Director Marc Mayer made a fascinating throwaway comment. Due to the inclusion of historical objects and artifacts made by Canadian indigenous people NGC had to redraft its legal purposes. In other words, the Gallery is acting ultra vires — beyond its powers — by displaying indigenous artifacts.
Art Copyright and Estates
Ernest Gambart was a pioneering art dealer and showman in Victorian England who uncovered the value of art copyright. His specialty was a triple play. First, he mounted an exhibition (typically a single painting such as William Powell Firth’s The Derby Day); second, the sold the work; and third, he produced prints for sale after securing the copyright. Unlike contemporary dealers, his biggest revenue generator wasn’t the sale of the painting. It was the prints and exhibition tickets.
Estate Donations that don’t get made
John Quinn was a corporate lawyer and Wall Street titan. A bachelor known for his many lovers, Quinn was also America’s first great modern art collector and tireless public champion. He was a friend of literary and art legends like Picasso, WB Yeats, and Joseph Conrad. Quinn died in 1924 of cancer with an 8-year-old Will. He was 54…
Art and Fair Market Value
Fall art auction week in Toronto is just past. The biggest is run by Heffel Fine Art Auction. The results for the two Heffel auctions illustrate the challenge of determining fair market value in art. The auction catalogue listed a number of estates and charitable foundation as consignors. Clearly art valuation issues affect estate planning.