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Museums acquire. They keep. They care for their objects. And it always causes a bit of a stir when a Museum decides to sell something from its collection. In May of 2018, at Christie’s in Hong Kong, an 18th century Chinese vase owned by Philbrook Museum of Art sold for $14.5 million. On this episode we chat with Philbrook Director Scott Stulen to learn the real story behind this potentially controversial decision.

October 2, 2018 – Your hosts, Steve Schindler & Katie Wilson-Milne.
Bonus Episode: Berkshire Museum Litigation Update (It’s not over!)

May 17, 2019 – As a Mark Rothko painting is sold by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, we talk to Christopher Bedford from the Baltimore Museum of Art about deaccessioning works by white male artists in order to diversify museum collections. And we speak to Marz Saffore, an organiser for Decolonize This Place, and Adam Weinberg, the director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, about the protests that have greeted this year’s Whitney Biennial. They relate to Safariland, a company owned by the museum’s vice-chairman Warren Kanders, which manufactures tear gas canisters and other military products that have been used against asylum seekers along the US-Mexico border.

October 2, 2018 Josh Landes, WAMC Radiolab – Mayor Linda Tyer, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, and Democratic Berkshire District Attorney candidate Andrea Harrington in Pittsfield Monday. ©2018 Photo by Josh Landes/WAMC
MA Attorney General Healey Endorses Harrington, Discusses Berkshire Museum In Pittsfield.
June 11, 2018 Your hosts, Steve Schindler & Katie Wilson-Milne.

Bonus Episode: Berkshire Museum Deaccessioning Begins


June 6, 2018 – Trustees of the Berkshire Museum head into their first board meeting since selling artworks at a “turning point,” having raised more than $42 million to ensure their 115-year-old institution’s survival. But big decisions lie ahead.
Key decisions lie ahead, Berkshire Museum trustees say. by Larry Parnass, The Berkshire Eagle

Your hosts, Steve Schindler & Katie Wilson-Milne

April 18, 2018

Bonus Episode: Berkshire Museum Update, Settlement Approved


Your hosts, Steve Schindler & Katie Wilson-Milne

February 26, 2018

Bonus Episode: Update on the Berkshire Museum Saga – the AG and Museum Agree to Sales


After intervening in the Berkshire Museum’s planned sale of $60-million worth of art works, including paintings by Norman Rockwell, the Massachusetts Attorney General reached a settlement with the museum that allows for the potential sale of all 40 works included in the institution’s original plans. Larry Parnass of the Berkshire Eagle interviewed.

Berkshire Eagle / February 13, 2018


Your hosts, Steve Schindler & Katie Wilson-Milne

February 12, 2018

Can a Museum Sell Your Art?: The Berkshire Museum Saga As a Cautionary Tale


https://soundcloud.com/newenglandpublicradio/berkshire-museum-injunction-hearing-november-1-2017
Berkshire Museum Injunction Hearing, November 1, 2017 by newenglandpublicradio . Judge John Agostini of Berkshire County Superior Court in Pittsfield reserved judgment on whether to grant requests for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction that would pause the Berkshire Museum’s plan to sell 40 works from its collection.

The Artsy Podcast – No, 46 When Museums Sell Their Art, Where Should the Money Go?

The Artsy Podcast
August 31, 2017

The Artsy Podcast, No. 46: When Museums Sell Their Art, Where Should the Money Go?