Now you see it.....now you don't

A thorny problem indeed at the Detroit Institute of Arts

The current controversy over the fate of the artworks held by the bankrupt city of Detroit reminded me that you can't always take it for granted that publicly owned works will always remain public. Alarm bells rang when it was discovered that Christie's had been called in to value the Detroit Institute of Arts' collection, as it was feared all or some of the collection would be sold to help pay off Detroit's debts. The city authorities have denied this is their intention, and Christie's are saying they are trying to find a way to keep the collection in the public domain, not simply carrying out a valuation for auction purposes.  It's true that the city authorities are obliged to disclose all Detroit's assets as part of the process of applying for bankruptcy, to ensure creditors get the best possible deal, so the move may not be as sinister as it sounds. In any case, this is a world-class collection so a sudden release of a large number of paintings of this quality onto the market would cause chaos and seriously depress prices. And the sum raised would not make much of a dent in Detroit's debts.  A further complication has arisen in that the suburban townships surrounding Detroit, who provide much of the funding for the Gallery, have threatened to withdraw this funding if works are sold, which would cause the institution's collapse anyway.

This situation recalls the case of a Henry Moore sculpture of a reclining woman, known as Old Flo, which he sold at a low price to the old London County Council on condition it remained in public ownership and display. The leader of Tower Hamlets Council, the East End successor to the LCC, is threatening to sell it to shore up the Tower Hamlets budget. Again, it is being said the sum raised would not be very useful and would be soon gone. Again, outside bodies have involved themselves. Bromley Council, who took over residual duties from the old Greater London Council, the successor to the London County Council (yes, this is as complicated as it sounds), have claimed ownership of the sculpture. The London Museum in Docklands have offered the piece a home, plus the cost of insurance and maintenance and transport from the Yorkshire Sculpture Park were the work currently resides (the original home of the sculpture, a council housing estate, has been demolished).

Then there is the case of the Wedgewood Museum, threatened with bankruptcy and the breakup of its unique ceramics collection because of well-meaning but nonsensical pension law (a few employees worked for the old Waterford Wedgewood company, whose pension fund has a huge black hole, as a result of which the authorities are saying the hole must be plugged by the Museum - again, this is as complicated as it sounds).

None of these cases has been resolved to date, but decisions will be needed soon (by the end of 2013 in the case of the Wedgewood Museum). In Detroit's case, the huge Diego Rivera murals of the city's famous car industry would fortunately be difficult to remove, and it would be particularly invidious to attempt to do so as the work not only commemorates the city's raison d'etre, but was specially commissioned from the 20th-century's most distinguished muralist. Still, you could make a similar case against the removal of altar pieces, which hasn't stopped many of them being stripped from their original church surroundings.

Then there are cases where public works are stolen, like the Hepworth sculpture in Dulwich Park I blogged about earlier in the year, or the recent case of works stolen from a Dutch gallery which were feared to have been burned in a Romanian oven (though the thieves are now reported to be trying to negotiate a deal). Not to mention the innumerable goldsmiths and silversmiths whose work was melted down for its bullion value or to make new pieces. And the works destroyed in wars, like those that disappeared in the Dresden fire bombing.

All of which only strengthens my resolve to experience as many artworks as I can while they (and I) are still around.