DIA leaders would file a legal challenge to any artwork-liquidation sale as part of Detroit's bankruptcy process, its director tells The Detroit News.
Asked whether he would sue in the event of a move to take the museum’s art, Graham Beal said, “Absolutely.”
He warned that such litigation could take years: “There’s no precedent for this. It all depends on the (bankruptcy judge’s) rulings.”
Beale meets this week with two representatives from Christie’s Appraisals, a New York-based auction house being paid $200,000 by the city to assess the value of DIA holdings, according to the article by arts writer Michael Hodges and Chad Livengood of the paper's Lansing bureau.
The museum several months ago hired an attorney to help develop strategies to protect its collection. . . .
Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr and Gov. Rick Snyder have repeatedly said the DIA’s art is not for sale, but have not ruled out an auction of the assets as part of an overall plan to pare down debt and restructure the city’s finances.
