NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The Metropolitan Museum of Art is considering selling off some of its artwork to help cover revenue losses amid the pandemic and related restrictions.
The controversial idea comes after the powerful Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) temporarily relaxed rules for museums, allowing them to sell off artwork and use the funds for more than acquiring new art.
Max Hollein, the director of the Met Museum, told WNBC this week: “We are currently considering using that exception to help support our budget and our staff during this unprecedented crisis.”
“If we do it, it will be a very temporary measure,” Hollein said.
Hollein further addressed the issue in a recent posting on the museum’s website, writing, “The Met is now reviewing how to identify works that meet our deaccession standards and how to dedicate the revenues raised from these sales to support the costs of caring for our collection.”
Hollein wrote that the museum’s estimated revenue losses have grown to $150 million through June 2021 and that larger losses are projected in the years ahead as tourism revenue continues to take a hit.
“As we address these shortfalls, our first priority will be to preserve the mission of the institution, which also requires preserving the staff as best as we can,” Hollein wrote.
Among those criticizing the potential move is the museum’s former director, Thomas Campbell, who wrote on Instagram, “I fear that this is a slippery path.”
“The danger is that deaccessioning for operating costs will become the norm, especially if leading museums like the Met follow suit,” Campbell wrote. “Deaccessioning will be like crack cocaine to the addict – a rapid hit, that becomes a dependency.”