Hi Casey,
You should look at art galleries for information on this. We had this debate often at my previous job- our director wanted to make money by whatever means possible, but the Curator and myself felt that a museum shouldn’t sell art off the wall. Particularly if it is an art museum- that just muddies the waters too much. Most patrons won’t recognize the distinction between art in the collection and art that is not, so they won’t realize that the art being sold isn’t part of the collection.
In the end we sold local art through our gift shop, but that is the only location the art was for sale in- never in the gallery. We did a 60/40 split, where the museum took 40%. We asked the artist how much they wanted for each piece, then bumped the sales price to meet the 60/40 amount. It was always on consignment, so we were never stuck with art that didn’t sell.
Hope that helps!
Jessica Hougen
Curator
U.S. Marshals Museum
14 North 3rd St., Suite D
Fort Smith, AR 72901
479.242.2633
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Seger, Casey
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2014 3:23 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Museums Selling Non-Collection Artwork
Dear Listers,
This is my first post the listserv and I hope this all goes okay.
I am currently working as an Administration Intern and my supervisor asked be to investigate this question. What are the ethical considerations in a museum selling non collection artworks? I have found a lot of discussion about the ethics of selling deaccessioned artworks from collections, but my focus is on artwork that is sold from an exhibit or special event. By this I mean something like a local artist who exhibits at the museum and where the museum collects a portion of the sale? Anyone have any thoughts on the topic or know of any good places to look? I am currently trolling through AAM and AAMD’s websites along with a couple other places. However, I would like to see what others in the field have to say on this topic. Feel free to contact me off list if you have any other questions or wish to respond off list. I look forward to hearing what everyone is thinking.
Best,
Casey J. Seger
Administration Intern for Museum of Texas Tech University
Helen DeVitt Jones Fellow for Museum Science
MA Candidate for Museum Science
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