The Detroit Institute of Arts issued a statement this morning saying it believes the financially strapped City of Detroit cannot sell DIA artwork under the terms of the museum’s operating agreement with the city.
The DIA also cited the “exacting standards required by the public trust (and) our profession” in saying the city could not sell artwork to satisfy its creditors.
The issue of a possible sale of artwork broke publicly Thursday evening when the Free Press reported that Kevyn Orr, the city’s emergency financial manager, was considering a sale of artwork to raise money as part of broad-based resolution of the city’s massive debt problems.
The Free Press also reported Thursday evening that the DIA retained a top-level bankruptcy attorney Richard Levin of Cravath, Swaine & Moore to represent its interest and to protect the artwork.
It was unclear from the DIA’s brief statement what terms in the operating agreement between the museum and the city would prohibit such a sale.
The Free Press will be updating this story throughout today.
The DIA’s statement in full reads:
“The DIA strongly believes that the museum and the City hold the museum’s art collection in trust for the public. The DIA manages and cares for that collection according to exacting standards required by the public trust, our profession and the Operating Agreement with the City. According to those standards, the City cannot sell art to generate funds for any purpose other than to enhance the collection. We remain confident that the City and the emergency financial manager will continue to support the museum in its compliance with those standards, and together we will continue to preserve and protect the cultural heritage of Detroit.”
Contact John Gallagher: 313-222-5713 orgallagher@freepress.com
