Creating a Collection: A Tour Through the Smith College Museum of ArtMain MenuHow do museums build and unbuild collections?How This WorksInstructions on How to Use this WebsiteHow to Read a Museum LabelThis will help you navigate the SCMA and other museumsWhat is "Public Trust"?Why Museums CollectHow Museums CollectWhy Museums Remove Objects from their CollectionsHow Museums Remove Objects from their CollectionsSamantha Page4d4aad3cbb232d6b14d08c9a79a502129237df5c
12017-04-02T11:01:30-07:00Sale or transfer of objects14structured_gallery2017-05-05T12:53:56-07:00When removing an object from its collection, a museum may choose to sell the work, transfer it to another institution, or destroy it (in extreme circumstances, when the condition is in bad shape).
Here we will focus on selling or transferring objects.
When the SCMA sells, exchanges, or transfers an artwork, it might go to another institution or to an established dealer. The SCMA might sell an artwork at public auction, or it might give the artwork to another museum that can take better care of the artwork.
In the 1940s deaccessioning, the SCMA sold artworks to dealers and through Gimbel Brothers Department Store.
The card of Harry Eichleay, a dealer from Pittsburgh, PA, whose interest sparked a sale of 15 artworks in 1941.
An advertisement of artworks sold by Smith College via Gimbel Brothers Department Store in 1946-47.
The museum also could exchange the artworks for another by the same artist or with a gallery. For example, this Roman ewer was acquired through an exchange with Brummer Gallery.
Transfers of works of art are often internal, within the museum or affiliated institutions. For example, the SCMA has a lot of artworks that were transferred from the Rare Book Room, a special collection housed in Neilson Library.
