Deaccessioning and its Discontents by Martin Gammon - ISBN: 9780262037587
Hardcover
The first history of the deaccession of objects from museum collections that defends deaccession as an essential component of museum practice.

Deaccessioning and its Discontents

A Critical History

$104.24

  • Hardcover

    448 pages

  • Release Date

    24 July 2018

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Summary

The first history of the deaccession of objects from museum collections that defends deaccession as an essential component of museum practice.Museums often stir controversy when they deaccession works-formally remove objects from permanent collections-with some critics accusing them of betraying civic virtue and the public trust. In fact, Martin Gammon argues in Deaccessioning and Its Discontents, deaccession has been an essential component of the museum experiment for centuries. Gammon offer…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780262037587
ISBN-10:0262037580
Author:Martin Gammon
Publisher:MIT Press Ltd
Imprint:MIT Press
Format:Hardcover
Number of Pages:448
Release Date:24 July 2018
Weight:1.28kg
Dimensions:254mm x 178mm x 29mm
Series:The MIT Press
Audience Age:18
What They're Saying

Critics Review

With its echo of Freud in the title, Deaccessioning and Its Discontents is as much a fascinating, penetrating study of psychological unease as it is an indispensable art-historical account.

Art Fund

Gammon, in his fascinating observation of the goings-on of American museums, is a new world man, [and] the case studies he presents in the book are extraordinary…

The Key Reporter

A valuable contribution to the literature on museums, filling gaps in our knowledge and offering thought-provoking insights about the formation and alteration of collections. Each book is beautifully printed and, for nerds like me, the appendices and notes amplify the authors’ observations and invite further inquiry.


It is to the credit of Martin Gammon that his approach to the subject is not deeply polemical (although he certainly has views he wishes to express), but rather historical and analytical. After outlining his topic in a lengthy introduction, he presents first the British experience and then the American, with several extensive case studies and an appendix covering further notable cases from 1622 to 2014.

BURLINGTON MAGAZINE

About The Author

Martin Gammon

Martin Gammon, formerly Managing Director of Museum Services in North America for Bonhams Auctioneers, is a founder of the Pergamon Art Group, which advises museums and private collections on bequests and collection management. He appears regularly as an appraiser on the PBS series Antiques Roadshow.

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