Derek Fincham's column "The Empty Frame" on "Detroit and the Difficult Deaccession Question" in the Fall 2013 issue of The Journal of Art Crime

"Detroit and the Difficult Deaccession Question" is the topic of Derek Fincham's column "The Empty Frame" in the Fall 2013 issue of The Journal of Art Crime.

The city of Detroit has declared itself bankrupt. It also has a world class collection of art at theDetroit Institute of Art (DIA). The first to consult about what should happen to Detroit's art must surely be Detroiters themselves. Yet one remarkable arts blogger referred to the potential sale of art as a "rape of its collection." This kind of angry criticism reveals much more about the sorry state of certain arts commentary than it does the difficult decisions confronting Detroit. Because the same critics who pile on the city leaders in Detroit are often the same who angrily criticize efforts by nations of origin like Italy for attempting to repatriate works of art that have left the country. You cannot have it both ways. There must be some organizing logic other than: "I want it here."

Derek Fincham is an Assistant Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law and served as Academic Director of ARCA. His research focuses on the intersection of law with art and antiquities. He holds a Ph.D. in cultural heritage law from the University of Aberdeen, and a J.D. from Wake Forest University and is a trustee of ARCA. He maintains a weblog at http://illicit-cultural-property.blogspot.com/.

Design for this issue and all issues of The Journal of Art Crime is the work of Urška Charney. Here's a link to ARCA's website on The Journal of Art Crime (includes Table of Contents for previous issues).

"Detroit and the Difficult Deaccession Question" is the topic of Derek Fincham's column "The Empty Frame" in the Fall 2013 issue of The Journal of Art Crime.

The city of Detroit has declared itself bankrupt. It also has a world class collection of art at theDetroit Institute of Art (DIA). The first to consult about what should happen to Detroit's art must surely be Detroiters themselves. Yet one remarkable arts blogger referred to the potential sale of art as a "rape of its collection." This kind of angry criticism reveals much more about the sorry state of certain arts commentary than it does the difficult decisions confronting Detroit. Because the same critics who pile on the city leaders in Detroit are often the same who angrily criticize efforts by nations of origin like Italy for attempting to repatriate works of art that have left the country. You cannot have it both ways. There must be some organizing logic other than: "I want it here."

Derek Fincham is an Assistant Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law and served as Academic Director of ARCA. His research focuses on the intersection of law with art and antiquities. He holds a Ph.D. in cultural heritage law from the University of Aberdeen, and a J.D. from Wake Forest University and is a trustee of ARCA. He maintains a weblog at http://illicit-cultural-property.blogspot.com/.

Design for this issue and all issues of The Journal of Art Crime is the work of Urška Charney. Here's a link to ARCA's website on The Journal of Art Crime (includes Table of Contents for previous issues).