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

UCLA’s thoughtful plan to deaccession the Picasso to benefit future acquisitions is exemplary, while the Met’s monetizing is dangerously crass.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 18, 2021

More controversially, the Baltimore Museum of Art followed suit soon after by announcing that it would deaccession paintings by Brice Marden, Clyfford Still and Andy Warhol.

From New York Times • Feb. 5, 2021