HIRSHHORN MUSEUM DEACCESSIONS THREE WORKS BY THOMAS EAKINS

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has decided to auction three paintings by Thomas Eakins, the nineteenth-century American artist, to raise money for its acquisition fund, reports the Washington Post. The works, which are being sold by Christie’s in a public sale May 20, have been culled from the 220 pieces by Eakins in the museum’s collection. The three have not been exhibited at the Hirshhorn since a survey of the artist’s work in 1977. The paintings are a study for Portrait of Mrs. Charles L. Leonard, a study for William Rush and His Model and a portrait of Robert C. Ogden.

Valerie Fletcher, a senior curator for the Hirshhorn, said the decision was based on a survey that took place from 2005 to 2007. “With a major artist and a large collection, you assess how other people see your collection, such as how many are borrowed over the years, what works are on view . . . what is its condition,” said Fletcher. Joseph Hirshhorn, an American industrialist and philanthropist, gave the Smithsonian hundreds of paintings, and the collection became the basis of the museum, which opened in 1974. In his initial gift in 1966 and later in his will, Hirshhorn stipulated that the museum could sell work if the proceeds went to acquire new pieces. That approach complies with the policies of the American Association of Museums, writes Jacqueline Trescott in the Post.