Moore is not averse to culling irrelevant material from the collection, and neither was the special commission. Still, both agree that the collection must not be viewed as a monetary resource, and that all funds derived from deaccessioning should be returned to the AMAM for new purchases. Legitimate artists aren't creating works of art to turn a buck. They're doing it to express ideas. If a work has become valuable as property, it's because other people recognize it as a significant touchstone to our collective heritage.
Museums are repositories of ideas, of culture, of civilization.
Here at Oberlin we have an extraordinary slice of that.