Reynolds Foundation Art Collection Management

Purpose:

To document the basic policies that guide the development and care of the J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Educational Foundation (Reynolds Foundation) Art Collection. Through this policy, the college ensures that

• the collections are accounted for and documented;
• the collections are protected, secure, cared for, and preserved;
• acquisition and deaccessioning of works in the collections are conducted in a manner that conforms to the college and the Reynolds Foundation mission, complies with applicable law, and reflects the highest ethical standards;
• disposal of works from the collection through sale, exchange, or other means is solely for the advancement of the college’s and the Reynolds Foundation’s mission(s); and proceeds from the sale of such works are used only to strengthen the Reynolds Foundation Art Collection;
• access to the collection and access to collection information is permitted and appropriately regulated; and
• collection-related activities promote the public good rather than individual financial gain.

Definitions:

Deaccession: when a work is removed from the collection and considered for sale, exchange, or disposal.

Policy:

The purposes of the Reynolds Foundation Art Collection are to (1) be a resource that can strengthen teaching and learning for the college's curriculum; (2) encourage and develop an appreciation of art and the abilities of art to enrich lives; (3) enhance an understanding of the world; and (4) help strengthen a person’s interest and involvement in his/her community.

The mission of the Reynolds Foundation Art Collection is to collect, preserve, study, exhibit, and stimulate appreciation for and advance knowledge of works of art that collectively represent the broadest spectrum of human achievement, all in the service of the college’s students, staff members, and greater community.

The college president will work with the curator of the Reynolds Foundation Art Collection to

• assess the benefit of gifts or bequests of works of art to the college;
• recommend acceptance by the Reynolds Foundation of gifts or bequests of works of art; and
• recommend deaccession of works of art for sale, exchange, or other means of disposal irrespective of market value.

1. Acquisitions

   1. General principles

      Works of art for acquisition must enhance the collection's stated mission. All works should be in, or capable of being returned to, an acceptable state of preservation, unless the deteriorated physical condition is integral to the meaning of the work. The college must be able to house and care for the proposed acquisition.

      Reynolds and the Foundation are committed to the principle that all collecting be done according to the highest standards of ethical and professional practice.

      While Reynolds shall assure practical care and attention for its artworks, Reynolds is not an accredited museum and thus shall not accept seminal artworks that are most highly desired by museums.

   2. Procedures for accepting gifts or bequests

      For all gifts and bequests, the person recommending acceptance shall write a brief description of the work, its condition, the importance to the collection, justification for acceptance, and its provenance. The president and curator shall review all proposed gifts or bequests and recommend to the Reynolds Foundation whether to accept or decline the gift.

      The college requires donors to transfer all rights of reproduction to the Reynolds Foundation, unless the donor does not own such rights or the gift is made by a living artist of the artist's own work. In such cases, the college shall recommend the Reynolds Foundation seek a nonexclusive right of reproduction from the copyright owner.

   3. Accompanying the acquisition of an artwork, the college and the Reynolds Foundation shall require that the donor provide a written statement assuring the donor’s full ownership of the artwork and the transferal of that ownership to the Reynolds Foundation.

   4. Legal considerations

      Acquisitions must comply with all applicable local, state, and federal U.S. laws.

2. Staff policies related to acquisitions

   1. Appraisals

      It is the responsibility of the art donors to determine tax-relevant monetary values of donated artworks. The college and the Reynolds Foundation are legally prohibited from providing assistance in determining values.

   2. Dealing in art by staff

      An employee may not use his or her influence with the Reynolds Foundation Art Collection in the art market.

3. Deaccessioning

   1. General principles

      Any deaccession of a work should be solely for the advancement of the Reynolds Foundation Art Collection’s mission. The criteria for determining whether an object should be deaccessioned include, but are not limited to, the following:

      1. The object is not relevant to the mission or has little value to the Reynolds Foundation Art Collection.
      2. The object is redundant or is a duplicate and is not necessary.
      3. The object is of lesser quality than other objects of the same type in the collection or about to be acquired.
      4. The object lacks sufficient aesthetic merit or art historical importance to warrant retention.
      5. The Reynolds Foundation is ordered to return an object to its original and rightful owner by a court of law; the college or Reynolds Foundation determines that another entity is the rightful owner of the object; or the college or Reynolds Foundation determines that the return of the object is in the best interest of the college or Reynolds Foundation.
      6. The college is unable to preserve the object in a responsible manner.
      7. The object is unduly difficult or impossible to care for or store properly.

      The college will act on behalf of the Reynolds Foundation. The college may deaccess, but generally does not dispose of works determined to be forgeries. The college may retain these works for study or other appropriate purposes. Works incorrectly attributed or dated may be deaccessioned, provided that the new information or attribution is provided.

      No trustee, officer, employee, volunteer or their family members may purchase deaccessioned works of art directly from the college or at auction if consigned by the college.

      All funds received from deaccessioned works shall be used to support the Reynolds Foundation Art Collection.

   2. Guidelines for deaccessioning gifts

      The Reynolds Foundation shall honor all legal restrictions attached to the gift or bequest of any work of art. In addition, donor requests that do not impose any legal obligation accompanying the bequest or gift of any work of art shall be respected to the extent feasible, unless modified by the donor, or if the donor is not living, the donor's heirs or legal representatives.

      The college president is responsible for recommending deaccession of an artwork to the Reynolds Foundation. Before proceeding to recommend that a donated work be deaccessioned, the curator shall consult with the college president who shall review the records of the gift to confirm that deaccession is allowed.

4. Care of the collections

   The college shall preserve works of art in accordance with reasonable standards of conservation. The college shall provide a safe and practical environment for the collection’s artworks.

5. Records and inventories

   The college shall maintain accurate, up-to-date records on the specific location and condition of all objects in the collection. The college shall make an inventory of the collection at least once during every calendar year and provide it to the Reynolds Foundation for audit processes.

6. Access to the collection

   The college and the Reynolds Foundation shall support and encourage awareness and understanding of art by disseminating information through the development of publications, programs, and its website for a variety of audiences. These shall have the purpose of stimulating aesthetic engagement and promoting familiarity with art in its historical, cultural, and material contexts.

7. Outgoing loans

   Although not the mission of the college or Reynolds Foundation, the Reynolds Foundation may occasionally loan works from the collection. All loan requests shall be reviewed by the college president and curator who must be satisfied that the work shall be properly cared for and protected adequately from fire, theft, mishandling, insects, and from extremes of light, temperature, and humidity. The borrower must provide a satisfactory facilities report, or the curator shall conduct a physical inspection of the borrower's premises.

   No object shall leave the college unless adequate insurance coverage is provided by the borrower.

   On an exceptional basis, loans may be made to dealers for scholarly examination, special scholarly exhibitions, or one-person or retrospective exhibitions of a particular artist. Such loans are subject to the approvals required for other loans.

   Loans may be made to individuals in two (2) cases. First, a loan may be authorized if there were a specific agreement with the donor of the object allowing such a privilege at a time when the tax laws permitted such arrangements. Second, the Reynolds Foundation may make loans of works jointly owned with an individual (the tenant-in-common with the Reynolds Foundation) to that individual. Such loans are subject to the approvals required for other loans.

8. Display/exhibition policy

   The Reynolds Foundation Art Collection shall continually display 100 percent of its artwork, unless loaned or undergoing conservation treatment. No artwork shall ever be consigned to storage.

Procedures:

N/A

Other Information:

N/A