Heritage Watch - Preserving the Past, Enriching the Future.

Denver Post, Denver, CO (February 6, 2009)
  The Denver Art Museum recently employed a controversial new method  
called ‘fractional deaccessioning’ to purchase an 1892 painting by  
artist Thomas Eakins. In order to fund the purchase, the museum gave  
Denver collector and billionaire Philip Anschutz 50 percent ownership  
of the piece, in return for a monetary donation, as well as 50  
percent ownership in an important piece already in the museum’s  
collection, Charles Deas’ “Long Jakes.” The deal has drawn  
attention, particularly since it suggests that items in a museum  
collection could be sold to wealthy individuals for the right price.  
The museum’s director Lewis Sharp has argued that the museum could  
not afford to purchase Eakin’s work without fractional  
deaccessioning. Two committees from the Association of Art Museum  
Directors have conducted a review of the transaction and the  
organization’s board released a statement strongly discouraging  
member museums from using the same method to grow their collections.  
Sharp’s own statements have wavered on the topic, at first  
suggesting he would use this method again if need be and later  
stating the opposite. http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_11639503? 
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