Hi Jenny,
Is the item not considered for exhibition purely because of
condition? If so, perhaps the donor would be interested in helping(financially)
the museum get it repaired/restored so that it can be shown with its mate/matching
piece. She might even be unaware of the condition issue.
I too would resist returning the object for all previously mentioned
reasons.
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collection Manager
Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
316-978-5850
From: Museum discussion
list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jenny Olmsted
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 12:02 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: potentially thorny donor question
Hello
all,
I'm hoping that in the list's infinite wisdom, someone may have advice on what
may turn out to be a difficult, or at least delicate, situation with a donor.
One of our long-time donors and lifetime members contacted me recently to ask
why a piece she donated in 2006 wasn't on display with its matching piece that
had been donated in about 1995. She was adamant that if we would not or
could not display the 2006 piece, she wants it back.
Looking through the donation paperwork, I saw that according to the incoming
condition report, the piece was already damaged when it was donated.
Presumably this is the reason it was never put on display (this donation took
place before I started working at this institution).
Additionally, there was no restriction on the Deed of Gift that the object must
be on display.
My take on this is that, as an unrestricted gift now in our legal possession,
we can legally keep the object and display it or not as we deem
appropriate. However, given that this donor is also a lifetime member of
the society, I don't want to upset or alienate her. Although this object
does not seem to be essential to our collection, so there does not seem to be a
reason we would want to keep it, I would be against giving the object back as
it would set a bad precedent.
Have any of you been in a similar situation? How did you handle it?
I appreciate any feedback and advice.
Jenny Herring
Curator
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