Donations to Museums Decrease as Collectors Build Their Own

According to Lauren A.E. Schuker, The Firestorm over Private Museums, online.wsj.com, April 4, 2008:

Collectors looking to show off their riches used to donate their art to a museum. Now many are building their own museums instead, and directors at existing institutions are up in arms.***

To fight back, museum directors are resorting to a variety of tactics, such as expanding their space to display more works and appease donors who don’t want their gifts sitting in the basement. Others are appointing collectors with their own spaces to their boards, in hopes of eventually getting important work.***

In another blow to established museums, more collectors are forgoing donations and starting foundations that essentially serve as lending libraries, loaning out works to institutions around the world.***

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.