Thank you for considering the Mobile Museum of Art, Inc. as a beneficiary of work from your collection!
We recommend prospective donors contact the Museum leadership regarding the intention to donate works of art. Following are several points to help guide and inform that process:
- OWNERSHIP OF THE MUSEUM’S ART: Gifts of art are donated to the Mobile Museum of Art, Inc., which is the Museum’s private, non-profit entity with ownership of the Museum Collection (overseen by a private, non-profit Board of Directors and managed by the museum’s professional staff). The Collection is housed (exhibited or stored) in a facility owned and maintained by the City of Mobile, but the art is not owned by the City of Mobile.
- WHAT DONORS MUST PROVIDE: Required paperwork must include the donor’s assertion of legal ownership and provenance of the artwork (prior ownership or sources for the work) as well as a current image of the work offered. A donor questionnaire should be completed for each object offered to the Mobile Museum of Art, Inc. Download the donor questionnaire here. Once completed, please email the form(s) along with an image of the offered artworks to Rachel Young at rachel.young@cityofmobile.org or mail completed form and images to:
Attn: Rachel Young
Mobile Museum of Art, Inc.
4850 Museum Drive
Mobile, AL 36608
tel: 251-208-5278
rachel.young@mobilemuseumofart.com
- THE PROCESS: Following receipt and processing of the required donor form, the offered gifts of art are presented to the Museum’s Collection Committee at meetings held several times per year, whose recommendations are then presented to the Board of Directors for their approval. Consideration for inclusion in the Collection includes a variety of factors, including the artwork’s furtherance of the Museum’s mission in promoting understanding of the history of art, its enhancement of the existing Collection, the artist’s reputation in the history of art, the work’s quality and physical condition. Please allow 2-3 months for this process. The Museum recommends prospective donors contact the Museum leadership regarding their intention to donate works of art, or with any questions.
- RESTRICTIONS: Museum best practices and ByLaws prevent The Mobile Museum of Art, Inc. from accepting gifts of art that include donor stipulations regarding the work’s future disposition (such as duration or manner of display), nor can the Museum consider works of art with serious condition problems (unless adequate funds for required conservation treatment and housing are provided by the donor).
- TAX QUESTIONS: Giving art to the Mobile Museum of Art, Inc. in your will or estate plan is not subject to income tax limitations, nor is the value estimate of your art a significant issue. The Museum cannot provide prospective donors or collectors with appraisals or authentication of works of art. However, once a work is accepted by the Museum’s Board of Directors, the donor may wish to claim the work’s value on their taxes as a charitable deduction (the Museum is a 501c3 non-profit, educational charity). Below are sources for locating authorized appraisers who can provide proof of a work’s value for IRS:
International Society of Appraisers
312.981.6778
www.isa-appraisers.org
American Society of Appraisers
Virginia 703.478.2228
or 1.800.272.8258
www.appraisers.org
Appraisers Association of America
212.889.5404
www.appraisersassociation.org
