Gifts to the Collection

MOLAA Permanent Collection - Policy And Procedures

The MOLAA Permanent Collection of Latin American Art is a public collection formed solely from art donations given directly to the museum. The institution encourages art donations from private individuals-artists and collectors-to add to its holdings.

ART POLICY:

The art must be a representative work of contemporary Latin American art created by a Latin American artist who has lived and worked in their respective country in the later half of the 20th Century (1945 to the present).

• The artist must be a native of one of the four Spanish/Portuguese regions of Latin America-Mexico, Central or South America or the Caribbean.

• The art must be considered a work of Fine Art-a painting, limited-edition print, drawing, sculpture or photograph.

POLICY FOR THE DONOR:

• All art donations to MOLAA are in accord with the provisions of the US Federal income tax law. The art donor can exercise their right to receive a tax-deduction for their gift to the non-profit institution of MOLAA.
• The donor is responsible for providing an Art Appraisal (the market value) for the art signed by a licensed art appraiser. The appraisal is to be at the expense of the donor (museum employees cannot, in their official capacity, give appraisals for the purpose of establishing the tax-deductible value of donated items).
• If the donor does not desire to exercise their legal option to seek a tax-deduction, the appraisal may be waived.
• If the donor is an artist, the artist is requested to provide a biography of the artist, Certificate of Authenticity and a License to Reproduce the image for the art created by them.
• The expense to transport the donated art to the museum site is the full responsibility of the donor (unless other arrangements have been approved).
• MOLAA will not accept any works of art from the donor until all documents have been signed and the art is insured by the museum for transport.

• By submitting an offer to donate a work of art to the museum, the donor agrees to fulfill all steps of the procedure requested by the museum.

PROCEDURE FOR THE DONOR:

Step 1. Exchange of Information:

• When a donor approaches the museum with an offer, they will receive a Letter of Acknowledgement and the Art Donation Form by email and regular mail.
• The donor is requested to fill out the Art Donation Form, and send it to the Curatorial Department:
  - Attach either a digital image or a photograph or a slide of the art.
  - Provide the artist's name, birth and death date and country, title (Spanish and English), date, media, size and provenance.
  - Include a short biography, short exhibition and collection history; any additional materials.
  - Indicate the condition of the art - good, damaged, etc.
  - Specify whether the art is framed or unframed; requires pedestal, etc.
  - Indicate transportation/ installation requirements.

Step 2. Committee Review:

• The documents for the donation will be reviewed and either accepted or rejected by the Gift Committee at their next meeting

• When the Gift Committee has made their decision, the donor will be contacted and informed, receiving either a Letter of Acceptance or a Letter of Non-Acceptance.

Step 3. Documents to Proceed with the Donation(s):

• Upon acceptance of the offer, the donor who is an art dealer or collector will receive a Letter of Acceptance and the request to submit an Art Appraisal. The donor who is an artist or the gallery representative will receive a Letter of Acceptance, the License to Reproduce the art, and the request to submit a Certificate of Authenticity. These documents legally establish the market value of the work of art. The documents need to be signed by the donor and returned to the Curatorial Department.
• Upon receipt of the documents mentioned above, the donor will receive a Thank You Letter, the Deed of Gift and Tax Identification Status for their donation; all three documents are for the donor to seek a tax deduction. Additionally, these documents ensure that the artwork will have the appropriate art insurance covered by MOLAA before it is transported to the museum.

Step 4. Transport, Receipt and Acknowledgement of the Art:

• The Collections Manager will contact the donor to arrange the method of transport and date of delivery of the art to the museum.
• Upon final receipt of the art, a Thank You Letter will acknowledge the completion of the donation. The art will become an asset of the MOLAA Permanent Collection, and the donor will be recognized on the object label when the work of art is displayed in the gallery (unfortunately, limited exhibition space precludes that all the art in the collection may be displayed at one time; display is intermittent as the Permanent Collection is rotated twice a year).

Step 5. Thank you for furthering the mission of the Museum of Latin American Art and sharing with our public!