muni meltdown

Detroit Is Having Its Art Collection Appraised

Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Detroit’s emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, has said the city has no plans to sell its famed art collection, but it’s hired Christie’s to appraise the works because it just needs to know how much the stuff is worth for its bankruptcy process. The Detroit Institute of Arts is not ready to take the city at its word. Officials there have hired their own attorney to represent the museum’s interests, and pointed out to The Wall Street Journal that the museum is held in a “public trust” that prevents it from being forced into a sale. Still, Orr hasn’t taken such a sale off the table, CNN reports. It’s all very uneasy, but at the very least the appraisal will put a dollar value to this one shining asset in a city that is otherwise crumbling. And that will be interesting, if a bit salacious.

Detroit Is Having Its Art Collection Appraised