Pennsylvania College says Sell the Art - 'It's outside of our mission'
July 5 2025
Picture: Albright College
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Artnet have reported on news that Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania, has been quietly selling off artworks from the college's collection. The story revolves around the families of donors who discovered this was happening under the radar, in an effort (apparently) to reduce a budget shortfall of $23m.
To quote an interview with the college's President Debra Townsley:
“When it came to the artwork, we are not a museum, that is not our business, and we don’t have the talent or the controlled environment for artwork,” she said in an interview. “It’s outside of our mission. So my feeling is, look, we should sell the artwork to people where it is their mission. They can take care of the artworks and do it right.” The college is working with area institutions that can preserve regionally significant artworks, she said, so she’s unable to say how much of the collection will be offered for sale.
But she guesses that the sale will likely only net a few hundred thousand dollars. This sale, she acknowledged, “isn’t going to save the school.”
