Friday, May 25, 2007

The Next Front in the Deaccession Wars?

Carol Vogel's New York Times column today discusses the case of Virginia's Randolph-Macon Woman's College, which, "short on funds and fearful of losing its accreditation," is considering selling part of its "world-class collection of American art," valued at more than $100 million. Alice Walton makes the obligatory appearance. Lee Rosenbaum (who was on this story a couple of weeks ago) calls for the Virgina Attorney General to get involved.

In unrelated deaccessioning news, Wendy Moonan's antiques column in today's Times includes the following:

"The star lot of Sotheby’s June 7 antiquities sale is an ancient bronze figure of the goddess Artemis. The auction house’s antiquities specialist, Richard M. Keresey, calls it 'the best single piece I’ve seen here in 37 years.' The 36-inch-tall sculpture, which the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo is de-accessioning, is ... estimated to sell for $5 million to $7 million, more than double the highest previous estimate for an antiquity at Sotheby’s ...."