For release February 2007
Albright-Knox Art Gallery Determines Final Auction List, in Initiative to Enhance Its Important Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art
In November 2006, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery announced a vital step toward ensuring its ability to build and enhance its collection of modern and contemporary art, considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Gallery made known a decision by its Board of Directors, reached unanimously in October 2006, to sell at auction a number of antiquities and other historic works that are not central to the Gallery's mission “to acquire, exhibit, and preserve modern and contemporary art.” At that time, the Gallery was able to specify some of the more prominent works to be sold.
The Gallery determined its final auction list in early February 2007, following careful curatorial research. The Gallery can now announce that it will sell 207 objects, 84 of which are a group of Chinese export porcelain, such as plates, platters, tureens, and teacups.
Media Inquiries.
The sale will be held through a series of auctions conducted by Sotheby's, beginning in March 2007. All proceeds from the sale, expected to be more than $15 million, will be placed in a restricted endowment fund. Investment proceeds from the fund (approximately 5% of the principal per year) will support the Gallery's annual art acquisitions budget.
The Board's decision came after serious and lengthy consideration, with the foundation for the initiative being the Gallery's 2001 Strategic Plan (Executive Summary available online). That plan, developed with extensive community input, confirmed the Gallery's mission and outlined its vision to be “one of the world's best and most dynamic modern and contemporary art institutions.”
After exploring every available means to ensure the Gallery could continue to acquire significant artworks by purchase, the Board formed an advisory committee of scholars and museum professionals to review the deaccessioning process, a regular and accepted practice at major museums across the nation. The Gallery has followed the guidelines for the process set forth by the Association of Art Museum Directors.
The Gallery recognizes that its members, the community, and others may have additional questions concerning the sale of works from the collection. We have therefore provided additional information in our answers to frequently asked questions.