Detroit authorities are considering the sale of works from the collection of the Art Institute, in order to cover part of the debt of the city, reaching $ 18 billion. In the museum's collection includes works by Brueghel, Van Gogh, Bellini

Painting "Wedding Dance" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in the exhibition The Art Institute of Detroit
Source: bloomberg.com

largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history has been dubbed the current situation in the media Detroit. The city's budget deficit and external debt once the main center of the U.S. auto industry reached 18 billion dollars. July 18 Detroit authorities have submitted a petition to the court for recognition of the bankrupt. Crisis manager Kevin Orr seeks repayment of the debt and that does not exclude the possibility of selling works from the collection of the Art Institute of Detroit (Detroit Institute of Arts, DIA). The collection is valued at more than $ 1 billion and employs approximately 60,000 works - from Egyptian mummies to cutting edge art.

Gems of the collection - "Portrait of the Postman Roulin" hand of Van Gogh's "Wedding Dance "Pieter Bruegel the Elder and" Madonna and Child "by Giovanni Bellini. Each of these masterpieces can bring at least $ 150 million. Art market experts believe that if the authorities decide to go ahead of Detroit to sell works from the Art Institute, the abrupt release of such a large number of masterpieces can shake the situation on the market - even this will not pull Qatar. Evaluators of Christie's, is rumored to have frequented in the DIA in the hope that they will be asked to evaluate. Museum employee Pamela Martz says he does not know who invited people from Christie's. Museum manages an independent nonprofit organization, the land, the building and the exhibits belong to the city of Detroit. Defenders of the collections are ready to fight in court for a ban on the sale of the national patrimony.

Prepared by Mary Onuchina, AI

Sources : bloomberg.com , artinvestment.ru