Dbq Museum Collection Analysis

When accumulating a collection of art, there are many considerations to take into account. Museum curators need to make the important decision of which new pieces to add on a regular basis. While there are hundreds of things to take into consideration when picking new art or artifacts to add to a museum, there are certain factors that matter above all else. These are the validity of the addition and the cost of it. They can make or break your collection depending on the precision and price of the piece.

In many cases, in which museums wish to possess art that they cannot obtain or that they wish to make themselves, accuracy of the recreation is key. In source E, Ada Huxtable critiques the reconstruction of Colonial Williamsburg. In the

This is the problem of money, and it affects all collectors of art. John Rockefeller explains in Source A the financial struggles of MoMA and how it was an inescapable burden. He states, “The recurring deficit approached $1 million a year and was worsening.” (Source A). On top of that, even when the museum raised over a quarter of a million dollars for its thirteenth anniversary, the funds were consumed almost immediately by overwhelming debt. The struggle wasn’t made any easier when there were debates over which style of art the museum should hold. “Some trustees strongly advocated continuing to collect the work of emerging contemporary artists while carefully culling the collection of its less outstanding holdings to finance new acquisitions.” The museum had to sell portions of their collection just to afford the new works of art, just in order to stay open. Faced with this same debacle, Mary Miley Theobald discusses a common business practice of museums that is essential to stay financially stable. Source D outlines the main source of income for art museums. She writes, “The standard apology for museum sales activities, ‘Because we need the money.’”(Source D). This describes the gift shop aspect of the museums and how it is not well regarded among both museum patrons and art connoisseurs alike. Even though this system of earning money is not what the public would like to see, it is still essential to running the