Wrestling Gross Clinic away from Wal-Mart and The National Gallery of Art was no easy task it appears. All is or will soon be revealed/mulled over. Some eyes were blackened, hearts broken and mended. Perhaps a fierce rivalry will form between the NGA and the Philly Museum. I'd have to put odds on Philly myself because CASVA spends half their time chugging Barbera D'Asti between cups of Lavazza Crema e Gusto, but I digress...
I guess discussing the de-assessioning of paintings in such a high profile tussle is unavoidable. In my understanding it has always been an unspoken industry standard.
This row ties into my conspiracy theory about how "Foundations", or non-public collections, go about collecting. De-accessioning obviously figures directly into this theory. The thrust of my theory is that Foundations, Trusts, etc. money themselves onto the boards of museums then wait for the works to come to them. Simple! My theory paints a grim picture for the access of non-specialists to great and important works though. The foundations don't have to even worry about door counts, or putting together interesting exhibitions. Interest is already programmed into their audience. They can just be living textbooks with a microscopic, well controlled readership. But that's how the CASVA-oids would have it too.
I guess discussing the de-assessioning of paintings in such a high profile tussle is unavoidable. In my understanding it has always been an unspoken industry standard.
This row ties into my conspiracy theory about how "Foundations", or non-public collections, go about collecting. De-accessioning obviously figures directly into this theory. The thrust of my theory is that Foundations, Trusts, etc. money themselves onto the boards of museums then wait for the works to come to them. Simple! My theory paints a grim picture for the access of non-specialists to great and important works though. The foundations don't have to even worry about door counts, or putting together interesting exhibitions. Interest is already programmed into their audience. They can just be living textbooks with a microscopic, well controlled readership. But that's how the CASVA-oids would have it too.
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