The Swiss branch of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) has issued an official letter in protest to the Langmatt Museum’s decision to sell three prime works by Paul Cézzane at Christie’s New York in November, the Art Newspaper reported Thursday. The museum has said the sale will save the Baden, Switzerland-based institution from going under and having to permanently shut its doors.
I wonder what would happen to the works were the museum to go bankrupt instead - then they would be sold for their “monetary value” as well, right? Then this seems more like protest for protest sake, as it’s a last resort damage control measure that can hardly be avoided from the sound of it.
I’d assume the normal procedure in the case of bankruptcy would be to donate their collection to another appropriate museum. The article seems to me to indicate the museum is a charitable foundation, so it’s not like they have investors that need to recoup their losses in the event the museum is wound up.
That makes sense, thanks