Define deaccession and give three commonly accepted criteria used by museums and collectors.

• A. Deaccession is formal removal of a work from a collection; criteria: no longer fits collection scope, poor condition beyond reasonable repair, lack of provenance or misattribution, or risk to public benefit
• B. Deaccession is cleaning and restoration
• C. Deaccession means borrowing from another collection
• D. Deaccession means replacing a work with a copy

Answer: (A)

Deaccession means the formal removal of a work from a collection, carried out under a proper policy and due process. Common criteria guiding this decision include whether the object still fits the collection’s scope or mission, whether its condition is beyond reasonable repair, questions about provenance or attribution (such as lack of clear ownership history or misattribution), and the impact on public benefit (whether keeping or disposing of it would better serve educational access and stewardship of resources). Each criterion helps ensure the collection remains coherent, defensible, and responsibly managed, with proceeds from any disposal typically used for acquisitions or care of the remaining collection. The other options describe conservation, lending, or reproduction activities, not deaccession.