Museums Send Deaccessioned American Art To Auction, While One Sells Privately For New Acquisitions April 20, 2021 12:19 Subject Line Please provide verification code Email is invalid (detail) Alma Thomas, “Alma’s Flower Garden,” circa 1968 (oil on canvas). Greenville County Museum of Art via Facebook Pandemic-induced impacts on museums, many temporarily closed for months to over one year, have caused widespread staff lay-offs and furloughing as revenue shrunk. Museums directors estimated that their institutions would be losing the equivalent of 35% of their annual operating income in 2020, according to an October survey by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). Museum deaccessions have since been ticking up with the spring sales in New York offering up several prime examples by historic American artists from Childe Hassam to Georgia O'Keeffe.