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| Shared Passions |
Framing the Future
Regan Good
08/02/2004
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It turns out, according to wealth advisors,
that most of us have not devised a complete plan to manage our art. Even if we
have imagined a wing of our own, many among us might feel it is presumptuous to
say so. Eventually, however, every art collection changes hands, usually due to
one of the “three Ds”: divorce, debt or death. If we want these possessions,
which represent our intellectual and aesthetic pursuits at their finest, to
delight future generations, we must define a strategy. Do we want to leave our
collection to our children, or to the art-appreciating public? Is it an asset
that our heirs might need to liquidate someday, or would we prefer to bequeath
it to people in need of an uplifting view?
Admittedly, many collectors are
stirred by the ego gratification of a brass plaque that reads “From the
collection of…” But the fact is that without such egos, most of the art museums
in this country would stand nearly empty. Charitable donations comprise nearly
90 percent of the art we see on exhibit in American museums. Still, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art does not knock on many doors. If we do want our art
collection to be in the public eye, we have to guide it there.
Museum Pieces
Some in the pantheon of famous collectors—Albert Barnes,
Peggy Guggenheim and Dominique de Menil come immediately to mind—enjoyed the
distinct luxury of keeping their collections intact by virtue of having owned
ideal venues to transform into museums. Guggenheim’s home on the Grand Canal in
Venice became the permanent exhibition space for her collection of modern art.
Barnes’ museum, however, is now under threat of having to move from his mansion
outside Philadelphia to a downtown space, one closer to the path of ticket
buyers. In his will, Barnes was adamant that not a single painting, drawing,
African mask or hinge (he owned more than 1,000 pieces of Pennsylvania German
ironwork, including shoe buckles and door-pulls) be moved from the spot where he
had lovingly placed it. (The courts have yet to render a final decision, but
most observers believe the museum will have to move.)
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