More Works from American Museums at Auction

April 20 2021

Image of More Works from American Museums at Auction

Picture: artnet.com

Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:

Artnet.com have published an interesting article on news that more American Museums are selling valuable paintings at auction this season.

This includes the New-York Historical Society, the city's oldest museum, who have decided to auction off Childe Hassam's Flags on 57th Street, Winter 1918 (1918) at Sotheby's carrying an estimate of $12m - $18m. They're not alone however, as the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Art Institute of Chicago, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Newark Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Museum will all be offering works for sale this season. The article suggests that the ongoing virus crisis is to blame, and that the majority of works are in the American category.

The article ends with this quote from the art lawyer Nicholas O'Donnell who said:

If you view the collection as a revenue source, will you keep managing a nonprofit institution as carefully as you should? If, in the back of your mind, you know that if things don’t work out, you can make up the difference here and there by selling a painting?

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