Another case for thought.  We were approached with a donation of a painting.
 However it was in obvious need of restretching.  We asked the donor if she
would consider getting it into a better condition before she donated it.  She
was delighted to do so, and a month or so later we accepted the painting into
the collection.

I think this has to be taken on a case by case basis, but if a donor is made
to understand the need they often are most receptive to help the museum.  In
this case it worked.  Asking for money to help with conservation is not an
unfair question.  If handled correctly it may educate the donor to the cost
of ongoing care for the collection, and hopefully they will appreciate the
museum's concern about an item's future conservation.

Barbara Taylor