Detroit8217;s creditors eye its art collection to deal with debt

As Detroit files for bankruptcy the largest American city ever to do so the impressive collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts

RANDY KENNEDY amp; MONICA DAVEY

As Detroit files for bankruptcy the largest American city ever to do so the impressive collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts DIA has become a political bargaining chip in a fight that could drag on for years between the city and its army of creditors,who have said in no uncertain terms that the artworks must be considered a saleable asset.

We havent proposed selling any asset, said Bill Nowling,a spokesman for Kevyn D Orr,the state-appointed emergency manager appointed to deal with Detroits debts,which could amount to more than 18 billion. But we havent taken any asset off the table. We cant. We cannot negotiate in good faith with our creditors by taking assets off the table. And all of our creditors have asked about the worth of the DIA. And weve told them that theyre welcome to find out.

Unlike most art museums in the country,which are owned by non-profit corporations,the institute is owned by Detroit,as is much of its collection 8211; which is not particularly deep but includes gems by artists like Bruegel,Caravaggio,Rembrandt and van Gogh. It is considered among the top 10 encyclopedic museums in the country.

Museums do not generally appraise the market value of their works beyond a blanket amount for insurance policies. But experts have speculated that the institutes works could bring more than 2 billion if sold.

About a month ago,the institutes officials were contacted by Christies auction house,which asked for an inventory of works and asked if appraisers could visit to assess the collection. It is unclear whether such a visit took place and whether it was creditors or someone else who enlisted Christies to begin an appraisal.

But as Detroits financial fate comes before a federal bankruptcy judge,it is clear that the desire of creditors to determine the collections worth will not go away.

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The museum,which has hired a well-known bankruptcy lawyer,Richard Levin,to advise it on its possible exposure,declined to comment on Friday. But on its Facebook page,the museum said: As a municipal bankruptcy of this size is unprecedented,the DIA will continue to carefully monitor the situation,fully confident that the emergency manager,the governor and the courts will act in the best interest of the City,the public and the museum.

Few large American art museums have found themselves in the financial cross hairs quite as often as the DIA. Not long after it was founded in 1885,it became enmeshed in a lawsuit that led to a loss of city appropriations,putting it in budgetary straits. And in 1973,during another economic downturn,it had to close temporarily.

Last month,after the first rumblings that creditors were pressing the issue of the collection as an asset,Bill Schuette,Michigans attorney general,issued a forcefully worded opinion saying that the artworks under the states trust law and other laws were held in trust for the public and could be sold only for the purpose of acquiring additional art,not for satisfying municipal debts.