CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN BERNARDINO

ROBERT V. FULLERTON ART MUSEUM
COLLECTION POLICY

RECOMMENDED BY ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL:  February 4, 2002

APPROVED BY PRESIDENT KARNIG:    February 6, 2002

FOR INTERPRETATION OF THIS POLICY, PLEASE CONTACT:
    Director of Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum, 909/880-5493

The following guidelines establish the procedures to be followed by the director, the curators, and others in undertaking the accessioning and deaccessioning of works of art and other objects in the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum.  In the absence of a policy which may apply to an entity of the University, this policy shall apply to collections offered to or held by university departments.

I.    Collection Ownership and Mandate

The collection of the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum is owned by the Foundation for CSUSB.  The Foundation insures all the objects borrowed for the Museum's visiting exhibitions.  The Museum shall also maintain a separate, specialized art insurance through the American Federation for the Arts or other professional organization.  Both the Museum and the Foundation are committed to maintaining the collection as public trust, for which they will provide conscientious care indefinitely.

In establishing the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum, the California State University, San Bernardino has made a commitment to the creation of a unified and comprehensive facility devoted to the development, preservation, study and display of its permanent collection.  The museum staff should make the collection available to the public through popular and scholarly, on-site and traveling exhibits and professional quality publications.  The collection should become an important resource of knowledge and ideas for life enrichment to the university students, faculty and staff, as well as to the region's communities and visitors.  In addition, it should provide opportunities for the training of museum professionals, such as collection and exhibition curators, registrars, museum educators, and gallery technicians.

II.    Collection Department

The present collection has been acquired mainly through donations.  The collection has five major emphases and, in the future, it will be developed according to them.  The Museum will collect only exquisite and good quality objects, which are representative of the following categories:

World Pottery
This collection includes objects that are representative examples of the history of the world's pottery.  It currently consists of about 300 objects, and best represents such regions as Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and ancient Italy.

Ancient Art
This collection so far consists of ancient pottery from Italy and ancient Egyptian art.  The Italian pottery collection represents different cultures of the Peninsula, such as the Villanovan, Etruscan, Daunian, and the Apulian.  The ancient Egyptian collection consists of objects on extended loan from the Harer Family Trust, objects donated to the Museum by the Trust, and other objects independently acquired by the Museum.

African Art
The Matthews Collection of African Art is a study collection, which consists of about 100 objects from the sub-Saharan regions of Western Africa.

Contemporary Art
This collection consists of mostly two-dimensional works such as paintings and works on paper representing period from 1960 to present, mostly in the U.S., with the focus on local and regional art.  It will be developed to include nationally recognized artists and a representation of international contemporary art from 1960 onwards.

Outdoor Sculpture
Three-dimensional contemporary outdoor sculpture and installation on campus grounds.

III.    Acquisitions

1.    Objects shall not be accepted or otherwise acquired for Museum collection unless the following conditions are met:

a.    the objects are relevant to and consistent with the purposes and activities of the Museum.

b.    the Museum can provide for storage, protection and preservation of the objects under conditions that assure their availability for Museum purposes and comply with the accepted professional standards.

c.    the objects have a demonstrated authenticity, established provenance, and a clear proof of title.

d.    the objects, especially antiquities, should have proven both legal and ethical integrity; if there is a suspicion that the objects had been looted, stolen or otherwise illegally obtained, they should not be accepted in the collection.

e.    the objects are either in a display condition or a condition which the Museum has the resources to restore and maintain.

2.    It is intended for all the acquired objects to have permanency in the collection, unless otherwise designated in the acquisition record or decided afterwards for the benefit of the collection, its quality and consistency.

3.    Museum acquisitions shall be accepted as property of the CSUSB Foundation.  Accurate records of the collection shall be maintained in both the Foundation and the Museum.  Inventory reconciliation shall be conducted at the end of each budget year.

4.    If the object is donated to the Museum by a living artist, a copyright agreement shall be signed by the artist so that the Museum can arrange to use reproductions of the work for educational, catalogue, publicity, and professional purposes without infringing on the artist's copyright.

5.    The approved acquisition methods are:

• Gifts

• Bequests

• Purchase

• Deposits

• Extended loans

6.    All objects proposed for acquisition shall be reviewed by the Museum Acquisition Committee.  The Acquisition Committee shall make recommendations regarding acceptance.

• The Acquisition Committee shall conduct an analysis to determine compatibility of the object with collection categories, its value, and its storage and display requirements.  The Committee shall also analyze requirements stipulated by the donor and other potential issues before making their decision.
  

• The Committee shall make certain that there is no conflict of interest between the donors or lenders of objects and the Museum's best professional interest and its legal integrity.
  

• Before the object is accepted, its value, provenance, and title shall be verified by a fully qualified independent appraisal service recommended by the Acquisition Committee.
  

• Prior to acquisition, arrangements shall be made to properly insure the item, including identifying and securing insurance funds to pay for the insurance. 
  
  The decision about accepting the object into the collection shall become final if supported by a majority of voting members of the Committee.
  

7.    The Museum Director shall inform the Vice President for University Advancement and the Provost on the Committee's final recommendation regarding acquisitions and de-acquisitions (deaccessions) of museum objects and obtain their final approval.

8.    The structure of the Museum Acquisition Committee.  (All members are voting members.)

Museum Director

Museum Curator
An artist recommended by the Art Department faculty
An art historian recommended by the Art Department faculty
Dean, College of Arts and Letters
Chair, Art Department
Director of the Foundation, or designee
Director of Development for the College of Arts and Letters, as a designee of the Vice President for University Advancement
President of ASI, or designee, if the funds for proposed acquisitions at least partially come from ASI.

9.    The Museum Acquisition Committee shall:

1. Carefully review objects being considered for acquisition (see Article IV, section 6).
   

2. Recommend disposition of each object.

            Possible outcomes:

Acceptance to the Museum's permanent collection.

Acceptance with the possibility of future deaccession.

Acceptance to the Museum study collection, with the possibility of deaccession or distribution throughout campus.

Non-acceptance.

    c.    Advise the Museum Director on matters of object conservation, storage, and insurance.

    d.    Recommend all deaccessions of collection objects to the Vice President for University Advancement and the Provost.

    f.    In offers of large, outdoor sculpture, obtain the acceptance of the Capital Planning, Design and Construction Department (CPDC).

10.    All procedures as set forth in the University policy regarding solicitation, acceptance, and acknowledgment of gifts will apply to gifts of art and other museum objects.

11.    If a quick response to a donor is necessary, the decision can be made jointly by the Museum Director, the Director of the Foundation for CSUSB, and the Vice President for University Advancement and then presented to the Provost for final approval.  In such cases, the following conditions must be met:

• All the other previously stated requirements have to be met.
  

• Objects accepted to the collection cannot have any restrictions made by the donor.
  

• Objects shall only be accepted into the study collection, not the permanent collection.  They may be later moved to the permanent collection, if approved by the entire Acquisition Committee.

IV.    Deaccessions

1. Works of art or other objects from the Museum collection, which are the property of the Foundation for CSUSB, held by the Foundation at the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum, may be removed from the collection (deaccessioned) only according to the Foundation policy, and then deleted from the Foundation inventory.
   

2. Works of art or other museum objects may be deaccessioned only if the Director of the Museum, in consultation with the museum staff, deems the deaccession appropriate.  The recommendation about deaccession shall be made by the Museum Director, and accepted by the majority of the Acquisition Committee.  Then it shall be presented to the Vice President for University Advancement and the Provost for their approval.
   

3. The above objects may be removed from the collection only for specific purposes which benefit the Museum --- the integrity, consistency, and development of its collection.
   

4. Funds received from the sale of the collection objects cannot be used for operating expense of the Museum.  They may be allocated only for purposes that clearly benefit the collection, such as acquisition fund to expand the collection or conservation fund to maintain it.  These funds shall be kept in a specially designated museum Foundation account, as the asset sold to generate the funds was an asset of the Foundation.
   

5. There will be no private sale to staff or members of the governing authority of the University or the Museum, or to their representatives.
   

6. No part of the collection will be given as a gift to any individual, institution, or other entity.
   

7. The preferred form of deaccessioning is an auction.

V.    Procedures

This policy will be administered and enforced by the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum, in cooperation with the CSUSB Foundation --- the legal owner of the collection.  The Museum and the Foundation staff, and all the members of the Museum Acquisition Committee, are responsible for compliance with this policy.

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