Museum Madness

A lot of art museums have huge collections that are not on display - that are in storage somewhere. I knew that one reason was that old rich people like to donate art works to museums, partly because of tax incentives. But I've always wondered why the museums are interested in amassing all this stuff, because the irony is that stuff in storage is stuff that nobody is getting to see.

So I was fascinated to read about the plight of the Delaware Art Museum, which wants to sell off some paintings to pay off a debt. It turns out that the "art world" doesn't approve of such a reason.

'Disposing of art for a reason except to buy more art violates the ethics policy of the Association of Art Museum Directors. The group warns it may sanction the museum, which could block it from sharing works with most other U.S. museums.'

This is the sort of nonsense
with which I have to grapple
as I pursue my plan
to purchase the Sistine Chapel.