Vision Quest: The Berkshire Museum Will Stop at Nothing to Sell Its Art, Including a Masterpiece by Norman Rockwell

Andrew Russeth | ARTnews | 20th November 2017

Plans by the Berkshire Museum to sell the cream of its art collection (covered in an August newsletter) has been halted by the courts. Everyone agrees, in principle, that deaccessioning can occur – but should this apply to the best works in a collection? What if a museum faces a “donor drought”? As this admirably balanced writer observes “deaccessioning … cuts to core issues about the public trust and nonprofit stewardship”.