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tion the DIA’s collection to raise
cash? How would that even work?
Experts consulted by HuffPost
say Detroit likely has legal standing
to deaccession the museum, as the
process is called, despite an opinion to the contrary by the state
attorney general. However, other,
more creative options exist that
could protect the threatened works
while still bringing in cash to pay
off the city’s $18 billion debt.
“The DIA was started back
when Detroit was flourishing in
the ‘20s. The city had a lot of extra money, and so some of the art
— including, unfortunately, some
of the most important pieces —
were purchased right out of the
City of Detroit funds,” said James
J. White, a professor of bankruptcy law at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The city’s potential claims to the
collection — a bonanza that includes a 16th-century Tintoretto,
valued at $100 million in an independent assessment by the Detroit
Free Press, and Matisse’s “The
Window,” valued at $150 million —
would likely trump any state-levied
protections in federal bankruptcy
court, according to White. That
means the charitable trust cited
by Attorney General Bill Schuette
CULTURE
HUFFINGTON
08.04.13
In 2011, the state of Michigan
earned more than $2 billion
in tourist dollars, due purely
to cultural institutions.
in his recent 22-page opinion
wouldn’t necessarily keep the DIA’s
treasures off the auction block.
Deaccessioning is considered
a last resort in the art world.
While Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr hasn’t officially
indicated whether he intends to
sell any works, he raised the antennae of art pundits earlier this
summer when he asked the museum to supply an inventory of its
stock. The 128-year-old institution represents considerable assets: The Free Press assessment
found the bulk of the DIA collec-
Auguste
Rodin’s “The
Thinker”
stands
outside
the Detroit
Institute of
Arts’ front
entrance.