The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia is hosting the show Deaccessioning Bernard Smol (1897-1969), which is putting a unique spin on the standard museum exhibition. Due to limited storage space and an evolving collection, the museum has decided to deaccession all but one of Smol’s works. Visitors to the exhibition will vote for the piece that they would like to remain in the museum’s collection and curatorial staff will work this feedback into their final decision.
The process of deaccessioning artworks is lengthy and closely regulated. A museum must make the public aware of its intent and the museum’s collections committee and Board of Advisors must approve that intent. Only when all parties are on board is a work able to be removed from a collection. Oftentimes, the artwork heads to auction and the proceeds from the sale are used for future acquisitions that will bolster the museum’s collection.
Deaccessioning Bernard Smol presents five oil paintings by the French artist, which have not been shown at the Georgia Museum since their initial exhibition in 1959. The Georgia Museum was inspired by DePaul University’s exhibition, The Good the Bad, and the Ugly, which helped them decide what works to deaccession from their own collection in 2010.
