Focus on Artemis and the Stag and explain the Deaccessioning from the Albright-Knox Gallery.
In November 2006, the Albright-Knox Gallery announced its intention to deaccession Artemis and the Stag from its collection. The statue was much-beloved by the public and had been part of the permanent collection since 1953. Director Louis Grachos defined Artemis and the Stag along with about 200 other works of art from the museum's permanent collection as falling outside the institution's historical "core mission" of "acquiring and exhibiting art of the present." The decision to deaccession was made by a vote of the museum's Board of Directors, was voted on and ratified by the entire membership (at a meeting forced by opponents of the sale), and followed the guidelines of the American Alliance of Museums, according to Albright-Knox officials. Nevertheless, announcement of the sale set off a firestorm of dissent.The sale raised questions about how museums can remain vital when they are situated in economically declining regions and have limited means for raising funds for operations and acquisitions.
Albright-Knox Gallery Artemis deaccession American Alliance of Museums