In defence of progressive deaccessioning

Glenn Adamson | Apollo | 26th October 2020

Amidst what seems an endless debate on deaccessioning, a pragmatic voice. Deaccessioning will happen if only because some museums need it to survive. More institutions, though, want to finance acquisitions that correct woefully lopsided collections. Critics point out that a few such acquisitions won’t correct past mistakes. True, but “no one believes undoing this legacy will be either quick or easy. The only way to begin is to begin.”