Having grown up in Michigan as a young child, I fondly recall a number of visits I made to the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) as well as to the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) with my family. I felt so fortunate to live in relatively close proximity to such two world-class art institutions in the Midwest. Although I did not ultimately pursue a career as an artist or architect (I loved to draw/sketch growing up) and instead pursued a career as an intellectual property attorney (which I love), I still find myself fascinated with beautiful works of art whenever I visit museums such as the DIA and the TMA in the Midwest and the Getty and LACMA here in Los Angeles where I now live.
When I came across yesterday’s article in the New York Times that the DIA’s prized collection could be worth somewhere in the range of $2.7 billion to $4.6 billion, I am not at all surprised given that the DIA has some of the greatest masterpieces by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, van Gogh, and many other renowned artists. As you may recall, late last year Christie’s had appraised a small, but significant portion of the DIA’s collection by these great masters in which it was estimated that such works alone would bring in around $454 million to $867 million if sold.
This latest appraisal, commissioned by the city of Detroit and the DIA in advance of an upcoming federal bankruptcy trial in August, noted that “such a price tag would never be attained at sale, for reasons including donor lawsuits that would delay or prevent the sale of many valuable works, weakness in the market for some kinds of paintings, and lower sale prices because of the sheer bulk that would flood into the market at once.” It has been reported that the appraiser, Artvest Partners, a New York based art investment firm, believes that “because of these factors and the notoriety of such a forced sale from a venerable public institution, the bulk of the [DIA’s] collection might raise as little as $850 million.”
Undoubtedly, the estimated figures from this latest appraisal and the appraisal report’s conclusions will be fought over at next month’s federal bankruptcy trial. Creditors had previously accused city officials of underestimating the value of the DIA’s collection so it could be protected. The DIA’s more than 60,000 piece collection is owned by the city and is considered a municipal asset.