Delaware Art Museum Confirms Homer and Calder Works to be Sold
- August 07, 2014 23:38
Museum officials had hoped to sell the works privately, but may resort to offering them at public auction this fall. They hope the sales will cover a nearly $20 million expansion debt.
A goal to replenish the museum's endowment has faded since the first painting sold. "Isabella and the Pot of Basil," by Pre-Raphaelite artist William Holman Hunt. went for far less than expected at Christie's in June. It hammered down to $4.25 million, nearly half of its low estimate of $8.4 million. The sale brought on a swift action of sanctions from the AAMD.
Next facing the auction block is Homer's iconic scene of mother and son along a fence, titled "Milking Time," from 1875. It will head to Sotheby's in the fall if a buyer doesn't appear beforehand.
The third work to be sold is Calder's "The Black Crescent," a large mobile which hung in the museum's East Court.
When asked about how the museum came up with the works to be sold, CEO Michael Miller said he consulted auction houses, providing them with a short list of possibilities from museum-purchased works.
