... that Rust Red Hills is being sold to renovate student housing, a court-approved move that museum associations say violates the ethics of deaccessioning?
Source: Boucher, Brian (September 4, 2024). "A Court Approves Valparaiso University’s Controversial Plan to Sell Paintings From Brauer Museum Collection". Artnet. News. Quote: "The Brauer Museum of Art at Indiana's Valparaiso University has been at the center of controversy for a year and a half, as the school has moved to sell three valuable artworks from the museum’s collection to fund improvements to freshman dormitories. The paintings, by Frederic Edwin Church, Childe Hassam, and Georgia O'Keeffe, have been valued in the area of $20 million. Now, the Porter County Superior Court has approved of the university's plan, according to a court order dated August 29...The plan to sell the works was met with an outcry from many in the university community, a lawsuit filed by namesake founding director Richard Brauer, and condemnation of the sale in a joint statement issued by the leadership of the Association of Art Museum Directors, the American Alliance of Museums, the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries, and the Association of Art Museum Curators. "This remains a fundamental ethical principle of the museum field, one which all institutions are obligated to respect: in no event shall funds from deaccessioned works be used for anything other than support for a museum's collections, either through acquisitions or the direct care of works of art".
Another source: Cui, Liya (September 4, 2024). "Indiana Court Allows Valparaiso University to Sell O'Keeffe Painting". Reuters. Quote: "An Indiana judge has ruled that Valparaiso University can sell a Georgia O'Keeffe and two other paintings...The private Lutheran university in Indiana last February announced its intention to sell the most valuable paintings in its Brauer Museum of Art collection, estimated to be worth $20 million in total, to fund a dormitory renovation...When a museum sells its artwork to raise funds, the money is typically used to acquire, store or preserve other works, according to guidelines established by the Association of Art Museum Directors."
Older source that was published before the court approval: "Richardson, Kalia (March 10, 2023). "Its Georgia O'Keeffe Is Worth Millions. And Its Dorms Need Updating". The New York Times. Quote: "Schools typically court controversy when they announce they will sell artworks to raise funds, an act known as deaccessioning. Several sales have resulted in sanctions from art associations....Valparaiso's desire to pay for work on the dorms with proceeds from the paintings has received pushback...Valparaiso's announcement alarmed art associations because of a long-held principle among museums: Revenue from deaccessioned pieces should be used to acquire new works, not for operating costs...Four art associations issued a joint statement condemning Valparaiso and the idea that the works in the Brauer's collection were "disposable financial assets." One of the groups, the Association of Art Museum Directors, also told the museum’s director, Jonathan Canning, that if the university proceeded with the sale, it would consider censuring and sanctioning the museum."
the article certainly new enough, long enough, and very well-sourced. Nominator has also reviewed enough. The hook is short enough, and touches on an interesting and ongoing issue. Cardofk (talk) 17:28, 30 October 2024 (UTC)
