I have replied individually to a couple of list subscribers regarding
the issue of when is it okay for countries to appropriate the archaeological
resources and art of other nations, so I guess I'll just send this message
to the list to spare repeating myself.
 
The issue has come up several times concerning the ability of many nations
to care for their own cultural patrimony.  There is no doubt that so-called
third world countries lack the money and humanpower to preserve such
resources and, as a result, these resources are in danger of disappearing.
However, I don't think this in and of itself justifies the removal of these
resources from their country of origin.  It sounds incredibly patronizing
to me to say: "Well, you just aren't able to take care of these things
yourselves, so we are going to appropriate them so that they get the kind
of care they need."  I think exportation should be a very last resort and
should be done only at the request of the host nation.  That is, pressure
should not be brought to bear on them to give up their patrimony.
 
There are other alternatives to outright appropriation that should be
considered first.  They require a lot more creativity, cooperation and
work, but I think much more can be gained.  To take the case of the Russian
paintings, could an agreement be reached between the Russian museums and
one or more museums in the United States to take the paintings on loan for
a set period of time (say, five or ten years, renewable)?  In the mean time,
the U.S. museums could see to their stabilization and conservation, if need
be.  What would the U.S. museums have to gain?  How about a blockbuster
traveling exhibit that would draw thousands to see these Russian treasures,
hitherto unavailable outside of Russia?  The revenue from such shows could
at least help defer the costs of conserving these works of art.
 
Yeah, maybe it's a pipe dream and I'm sure there are a dozen reasons one
could cite why this just wouldn't work.  But my point is, until we seriously
look for alternatives, we aren't going to find any.  A more down-to-earth
approach might be to send conservators to Russia to work on them and assist
the museums there in creating reasonably stable environments for them, perhaps
by centralizing the collections in fewer institutions at least temporarily.
 
It seems to me I heard talk of such a project some months ago.  Does anyone
out there know what the status of the Russian artwork is at this point?