To follow up on a post from earlier this month, Michigan attorney general, Bill Schuette, has issued a formal opinion stating that the collection in the Detroit Institute of Arts cannot be sold to satisfy city debts or obligations. In early June, Kevyn Orr had asked the museum to inventory its works with an eye towards possibly selling some of the major works in the collection. Orr, the state-appointed emergency manager, is in charge of restructuring the city’s $15-17 billion debt but has since said he has no plans to sell the art. While the “opinion” does not settle the legal issue of weather or not the art could ever be sold, Schuette’s actions may provide some protection should the matter ever be heard in court.
Michigan AG: DIA art pieces can’t be sold to pay Detroit debt