>a piece of art was left on our door step.....

Bernard:

There was an excellent session at the AAM meeting in Minneapolis on
Abandoned Property - there are now about 25 states that have legislation
that enables museums to legally dispose of, claim title to, or otherwise
deal with such artifacts.    As the AAM sessions are taped - you can buy
the tape from the session - it will probably prove useful to you.

Also, several years ago, there was a discussion on this topic at the
ALI-ABA (American Legal Institute/American Bar Association) seminar - Legal
Issues in Museum Management - by contacting them (In Philadelphia or
Pittsburgh - sorry I can't remember which)  you can (perhaps) get off
prints from the session.  As I recall, the papers submitted to the ALI-ABA
proceedings - would serve as an excellent model for any state that does not
have such legislation.

But first things first - contact CAM - the California Association of
Museums to see if you have the law on the books there.

Please say hello to Leslie Johnston!

Suzanne

************
Suzanne Quigley
Head Registrar, Collections and Exhibitions
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10128
212 423 3568
fax: 212 423 3650
email: [log in to unmask]