deaccession

American  

[dee-ak-sesh-uhn] / ˌdi ækˈsɛʃ ən /

Or de-accession

verb (used with object)

1. to sell (a work of art) from a museum's or gallery's collections, especially with a view to acquiring funds for the purchase of other works.

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verb (used without object)

1. to deaccession a work of art from a museum's or gallery's collections.

noun

1. a deaccessioned work of art.

Etymology

Origin of deaccession

First recorded in 1970–75; de- + accession

Example Sentences

I tried to deaccession her from this story, to put her out of my mind, but I couldn't.

From Salon • Oct. 19, 2022

A museum of imaginary history, “Nights of Plague” is stocked with stuff that a more frugal curator might choose to deaccession.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2022

The board of the National Gallery of Art voted to deaccession its bronze fowl in May 2020 and is still working to complete the process.

From Washington Post • May 11, 2022

The BMA paused a sale of artworks that could have violated deaccession rules.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2020

But she added, “We will continue to deaccession things that have no place in our library or that we can’t take care of.”

From New York Times • Dec. 27, 2010