Dallas Museum of Art

Criteria for the Deaccession of Artworks

A work being considered for deaccessioning must meet at least one of the following criteria:

Inappropriate for particular department/collection

the work has an erroneous attribution or is known to be inauthentic (an inauthentic object shall be marked indelibly as such and shall never be returned to the market)
the work is inappropriate for the particular collection
the work is inferior to or a near duplication of another object in the collection or being considered for the collection
the work is in poor condition and unworthy of treatment even for curatorial study or technical research

Restitution/Returned to rightful owner

the work has been legally requested for restitution
the work has been legally claimed by another party or entity as stolen cultural property or stolen property

Infrequently or never exhibited

the work is exhibited infrequently or never exhibited (not applicable to textiles, works on paper, or other materials that are exhibited infrequently due to their sensitivity to light exposure)