Jill,
No, I have never had this request. For my $.02 opinion..
That is a very complex situation. I think it depends on exactly what the
donor was asking, and I may not be truly clear on that. All of us are
going to be very leery of making any sort of appraisal for donors on strong
ethical and legal grounds. Any museum can and will appraise objects for
their own purposes, usually insurance, but none will willingly associate
themselves with choosing or appearing to favor one appraiser over another
in an appraisal for tax purposes. If the donor is insisting on a certain
appraiser, then the deal would be automatically suspect. Messing with the
IRS is one of the easiest ways for us to lose our non-profit status.
The situation is not really a "donation" if there is a purchase condition
attached. It is essentially asking the institutions to buy the
collection(s) for the cost of the appraisal. I would be surprised if the
value of the collection(s) was not worth the appraisal costs, but I have
run into that before. More likely it is a matter of objects of significant
value, which will generate significant appraisal fees, combined with the
ethical problem of involving the museum in said appraisal. The combination
may be killing the donation.
Another issue may be that the institution being asked to accept the
collection(s) must have full ownership of the collection to make decisions
for it like appraisal and disposition. If there is a condition, such as
paying for the appraisal, attached to the collection, then the museum does
not fully own the objects. Also, I believe the IRS stipulates that the
objects donated must be appraised before donation(a 60 day window) if they
are going to be claimed on that year's return, and this donor request seems
to logically necessitate they be appraised afterward. There seems to be a
catch 22 in there somewhere, between the appraisal, restriction, IRS, and
ownership issues. I would suspect the situation is too convoluted to allow
for clear title and worry-free IRS interaction.
If the donor is not willing to pay for the appraisal themselves, there may
be a compromise. Perhaps an institution that is very interested in the
objects would be willing to reimburse the donor for the appraisal costs,
after they had gone through the process independently of the museum in
question and properly donated the objects in the clear. I doubt anyone will
agree to do it ahead of the appraisal. It would likely require a formal
financial contract before the donation. Even then, it may not be
acceptable.
I agree that the curators did the right thing.
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collections Manager
Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
Wichita State University
(316)978-5850
Jill Arnold
<JArnold@DEWITTST
ERN.COM> To
Sent by: Museum [log in to unmask]
discussion list cc
<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM> Subject
Donation Appraisals
02/16/2005 11:06
AM
Please respond to
Museum discussion
list
<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM>
I have also recently joined the group and find this site very helpful and
informative. I am an insurance broker with DeWitt Stern Group, a privately
held 105 year old brokerage firm in Manhattan. Our fine arts department
focuses on insurance coverage for museums, dealers, auction houses, and
private collectors nationwide.
My question concerns private donations. Recently I was made aware of a
client who has approached several New York institutions with his
collection. He has offered the collection in exchange for donation
appraisals. As I was informed by the Chief Curator that they would not
perform the appraisal, as I had anticipated, the donor rescinded his offer.
Have you ever encountered this or a similar circumstance regarding a
donation in exchange for appraisals and what is your strategy?
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Rachelle Cohen
Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2005 10:35 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: The Art Newspaper
I would like to introduce myself to the group. My name is Rachelle Cohen
and I work with The Art Newspaper. In case you are unfamiliar, The Art
Newspaper is an international, monthly publication based in London. With
newsrooms in five different cities and news reporters in fifteen countries,
we cover the events, people, places, politics, economics and legal issues
that shape the visual arts world.
If you are interested in more information – you can visit our website at
www.theartnewspaper.com
Or if you would like to receive a free sample copy- please contact me
directly at [log in to unmask]
Thanks,
Rachelle
----
Subscribe to our free e-mail newsletter at:
www.theartnewspaper.com/newsletter
The information in this email is confidential and may be legally
privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee and access to this
email by anyone else is unauthorized. If this email has come to you in
error you must not read or forward the email to anyone, please reply to
this email and highlight the error.
Although this message and any attachments are believed to be free of any
virus or other defect that might affect any computer system into which it
is received and opened, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure
that it is virus free and no responsibility is accepted by U. Allemandi &
Co Publishing Ltd for any loss or damage in any way arising from its use.
========================================================= Important
Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).
Jill Arnold
Private Client Group
DeWitt Stern Group, Inc.
420 Lexington Avenue Suite 2700
New York, New York 10170
Tel. 212-297-1406
Fax. 212-983-6483
[log in to unmask]
www.dewittstern.com
DeWitt Stern is compensated through fees and/or commissions for services
provided to clients to identify, value, mitigate, transfer, and administer
their risks. In addition to this compensation, DeWitt Stern has agreements
with many of its insurance markets through which it is compensated for
insurance placed in these insurance markets. These payments are based upon
such factors as the overall volume, growth, and profitability of the total
premium placed with each insurer. DeWitt Stern provides additional
information about its compensation practices at the request of a client.
========================================================= Important
Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
