New York Board of Regents Adopts New Rules Regarding Deaccessioning of Artworks
August 2011 – Art & AdvocacyNew rules for the deaccessioning of artwork by museums and historical societies chartered by the New York Board of Regents went into effect on June 8, 2011. Pursuant to a new amendment to § 3.27 of the Rule of the Board of Regents, such institution may deaccession an item from its collection, consistent with its mission statement and collections management policy, where the item:
- is inconsistent with the mission of the institution; has failed to retain its identity;
- is redundant;
- has preservation/conservation needs beyond the institution’s capacity;
- is deaccessioned to refine the collection;
- is inauthentic;
- is being repatriated or returned to its rightful owner;
- is being returned to a donor whose donor restrictions can no longer be met;
- presents a hazard to people or other collection items; and/or has been lost or stolen.
Institutions must include in their annual reports a list of all items deaccessioned in the past year and all items disposed of in the past year.