Even for Philanthropists, Museums Can Make Art a Tough Give<br />“Is it better to go for a midsize regional museum where your works will be a focus,” he asked,<br />“or an encyclopedic museum where your works will see the light of day every five years?”<br />Of course, museums are not the only place to donate art.<br />“The first thing people are surprised with is when the museum comes back<br />and says, ‘I’ll take your painting if you give us an added endowment to care for the work of art,’” Mr.<br />“Usually, a museum will want one or two specific items in your collection to fill gaps,<br />and they look at everything else as cost because they’re going to have to store it.”<br />Being asked for money after offering works of art may sound ungrateful.<br />Usually, the museum has approached them and said, ‘This is a weak part of our collection.’”<br />Stephanie Ingrassia, who is a trustee of the Brooklyn Museum of Art, which named a contemporary art gallery after her<br />and her husband, Tim, made her first donation to the museum in 2007.<br />“You may have some great Egyptian artifacts and you’d love to have them in the museum when you die,<br />because who else is going to take them?” Mr. Schindler said.
