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In the public trust

By Intellectual Property Law, Esq.

In the midst of a post on the announcement of the opening date of the Crystal Bridges Museum, Lee Rosenbaum mentions that one of the works in its collection used to belong to the Corcoran:

"The D.C. museum had included it in several special exhibitions (scroll down)---most recently in its 2004-2005 show of 'The Human Form in American Art'---before deeming it expendable."

But that must be a misprint. After all, it's a very core principle that museums hold their works in trust for our community. You know, once an object falls under the aegis of a museum, it is held in the public trust, to be accessible to present and future generations. Everyone knows that.

So I'm sure it's all just a big misunderstanding and Lee will be running another major correction in the coming days.

Full post as published by The Art Law Blog on November 18, 2010 (boomark / email).