Our collections management policy states "The requesting institution must
be a bona fide museum or educational institution and must agree to observe
the Museum's regulations governing loans."  A group of actors hardly fits
into the group of organisation defined by this statement.  Also I'm pretty
sure the space where they are going to be dosn't meet the same
environmental controls as most museums.

Beau Harris




> Your collections management policy (or loan policy) should define what
> you will loan, and what conditions the borrower must satisfy, such as
> environmental, security, and insurance requirements.  If you don't have
> such a policy, then the director of collections is not legally bound to
> consider anything; although he/she should be well aware of the ethical
> considerations.  On the other hand, if the borrower is a professional
> institution, with insurance, security, and the proper environmental
> controls, and it understands its responsibilities to care for the object
> in question, then it may benefit your institution.  If you end up
> required to lend the object, I would suggest you make an on-site visit
> and control every aspect of the loan, such as installation and
> de-installation.  Make your loan form iron-clad and make sure the
> borrowing institution knows that only you can touch or move the object.
>
>
> Jeff Tenuth
> Indiana State Museum
> Indianapolis, Indiana
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of George Harris
> Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 2:06 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Art Loans to Individuals?
>
> Hello everyone,
> I have a similar question.  The director of collections where I work
> wants to loan an object to a local play group to use as a prop.  She
> said that she would put in stipulations that only the prop person could
> handle it and only with gloves.  It is still not something that should
> even be considered for a museum object, right?  I've found some
> resources on public trust and meeting environmental standards already,
> but was wondering what others might be out there that I could show her.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Beau Harris.
>
>
>
>
>> The underpinning of the legal matter as I understood this situation is
>
>> that the person's relationship with the organization is as a donor of
>> charitable gift(s).
>>
>> Louisa Watrous
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
>> Behalf Of Maureen & Joe Hennessey
>> Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2008 4:11 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Art Loans to Individuals?
>>
>> Interesting discussion and comments from many about this matter so
> far.
>> As
>> someone who was closely involved with the "Norman Rockwell world" for
>> many years, though, I'm guessing I know your institution, Liz, and
>> have to ask whether the collection is actually owned by the museum or
>> is it owned by the non-profit organization?  If the organization, and
>> not the museum, owns the collection, and if the organization's primary
>
>> mission does not include the museum, your hands are pretty much tied
>> -- the organization can do what it wants with its owned property and,
>> if the collection is not part of its mission, is not really bound to
>> follow AAM Codes of Ethics.  There may be a small "ethics" window open
>
>> re: the use of any assets of a not-for-profit for personal gain, but
>> financial gain is usually the issue in those cases and, sadly, given
>> the plethora of stories in recent years about mismanagement of
>> not-for-profits and corporate ethics, this probably wouldn't raise any
>
>> eyebrows.
>>
>> I asked the question because of the experience of a friend who was the
>
>> director of just such a museum as you describe ten or more years ago.
>> In
>> this case, the organization decided to "thank" regional membership
>> groups that had met the national organization's fundraising goals with
>
>> an exhibit of about 17 of the most important Rockwell original
>> paintings in its collection, touring something like 20 cities in 20
>> weeks and with the intention of displaying the paintings in places
>> like bank lobbies.  The organization owned the Rockwells, although
>> they were stored, cared for, insured, curated, etc, by the associated
>> museum.  The director and curator protested but were told, much as you
>
>> have been, that the deal was done.
>> So,
>> as I recall, they decided to do the best that they could for the sake
>> of the art and worked to a) make sure that the art was only exhibited
>> in appropriate settings, such as museums and historical societies in
>> each of the cities; b) set strict guidelines for condition reports,
>> packing, handling, transport, insurance; and c) made sure that one or
>> the other of them couriered the exhibition to handle the conditioning
>> and oversee installation, etc.  The national organization was willing
>> to pay for these things (ultimately, no one, including the national
>> organization's staff and board, wanted to see any of the paintings
>> damaged in any way by this tour).
>> Both the director and curator, being conscientious museum
>> professionals,
>>
>> however, saw the writing on the wall in terms of the long-term
>> operations of the museum, without having ultimate control over its
>> collection, and both left the museum within a few months.
>>
>> If the museum doesn't own the collection, the best you can do is try
>> to ensure that the painting is cared for as best as it can be, under
>> the circumstances.  There may be art museums that have guidelines on
>> the care and handling of partially-owned works of art (where a donor
>> has donated a fraction of a work but still retains title to the
>> remainder and shares ownership and custody of the painting).  Make
>> sure that either the national organization or the donor maintains the
>> insurance on the work -- your collections rates have, in part, been
>> determined by how you use and care for collections, and this would
>> knock those standards completely off -- and that any necessary
>> conservation treatment at the end of the loan period is paid for by
>> the national organization.
>>
>> Finally, and this is probably a long-shot, the museum board and
>> national
>>
>> organization's executive committee need to reach some kind of formal
>> agreement on how these collections may be used and who has the final
>> control of them.  I think that it's a dirty little secret of our
>> profession that
>>
>> there are actually a lot of museums caring for collections that they
>> "hold"
>> as permanent but that, in fact, are owned by another organization,
>> whether profit or not-for-profit, or a trust of some kind or maybe
>> even private individuals.  The museum expends funds, including often
>> federal grants, to care for, research, and maintain these collections,
>
>> even though the museum doesn't hold ultimate control, and most of the
>> time it works until....
>> And
>> this story should serve as a warning to anyone who works in a museum
>> holding collections owned by others.
>>
>> If this case doesn't apply to you, then, obviously, every one else's
>> comments on legal and ethical issues should be helpful.
>>
>> Maureen Hart Hennessey
>> Independent Curator and Grant Writer
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Liz B" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2008 10:07 AM
>> Subject: Art Loans to Individuals?
>>
>>
>> Hello,
>> I am the Curator at a museum associated with a major national
>> non-profit.
>> Our
>> museum has a large art collection including many paintings by Norman
>> Rockwell. We typically only loan these works to other museums, but
>> this week I was asked (or should I say told) to loan one of the
>> Rockwells to a large $$ donor to display in his home until 2010. I
>> offered other solutions such as having a very high quality
>> reproduction made for him to keep, but this was rejected. All of my
>> explanations as to why this is a bad idea are laughed off and I am
>> made to feel that I am overreacting. The painting was promised to the
>> donor by our Fundraising Division with no consultation to the museum.
>> My director understands my reluctance, but is not willing to put her
>> foot down and say no to them. Does anyone know of any type of formal
>> written statement issued by a museum organization that says this is a
>> no-no? I have searched but was unable to find anything official. I am
>> so worried about the door we are opening if we go through with this
>> loan! Am I overreacting in this situation?? Anyone dealt with anything
>
>> similar and have any suggestions?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Liz
>>
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