Van Gogh’s ‘Still Life Of Carnations’ Not For Sale, Says DIA

Van Gogh’s infamous painting, Still Life of Carnations, is not being sold.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit Institute of Art has decided not to sell Vincent Van Gogh’s picture, says DIA director Graham Beal.

“This painting is not for sale and has never been offered for sale,” said Beal. He did not say that the Van Gogh would ever be sold. The painting, which was donated by Catherine Kresge Dewey in 1990, was given to the DIA with the provision by Dewey that it be sold to acquire more modern day art for the DIA.

Beal said that with the city of Detroit currently in Chapter 9 bankruptcy, now is not the time to sell the Van Gogh. The 1886 art work, which at one time had been considered a fake, can be legally deaccessioned — that is, sold by the museum and the proceeds go to buy more art that fits the motif the museum is trying to portray. Van Gogh’s painting was “bound for sale” at one time by many critics.

The DIA stopped deaccessioning artwork during the Detroit bankruptcy because they were afraid that the city would sell art work to raise money to run the city. However, the artwork was given to the DIA in trust, meaning it is to be used for either an exhibit or to sell for deaccessioning.

The Detroit News is reporting that another reason for the cessation of deaccessioning is that Beal is retiring from the museum on June 30.

“Were I not leaving, we would be getting back into gear with deaccessioning,” Beal said. When asked about whether or not the portrait was for sale, Beal said, “I had been talking to Sotheby’s and I think word leaked out. When the bankruptcy was over, I talked to Sotheby’s and decided that now isn’t the time to do it.”

But was the Van Gogh ever up for sale? Beal had never denied it, and DIA spokesperson Pamela Marcil did acknowledge that the painting was being prepared for possible sale. While in charge, would Beal ever sell the Van Gogh? “It would have to be above the auction house estimated sale value,” he said. He did not say how much that would be.

One of the biggest issues with the portrait is that it is still considered by some as a forgery. Beal, in April of 2010, put the Van Gogh next to another Van Gogh, Vase with Zinnias and Geraniums. Beal did this to prove a point. He told the Associated Press during the painting’s showing, “All of the paints, all of the technique, everything is commensurate with the way Van Gogh was working at the time.”

[Image courtesy of the Durango Herald]