Detroit Conducting Full Appraisal of Art Museum’s Collection

Detroit’s bankruptcy attorneys told a judge Wednesday that officials are evaluating the entire collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts, a step that has been sought by creditors calling for the sale of the museum’s works to help satisfy the city’s massive debt, reports The Detroit News.

A group of creditors led by bond insurers contends an assessment last year by Christie’s significantly undervalued the museum’s collection. The auction house appraised only works purchased with municipal funds—a fraction of the institute’s holdings—at $454-million to $867-million.

The creditors want to prove the collection is worth more than $816-million, the amount private foundations, the state of Michigan, and the museum have pledged as part of a “grand bargain” to shield the art from sale while reducing Detroit’s multibillion-dollar pension liability. They bond groups demanded a full evaluation and independently solicited bids to buy all or part of the collection.