De-accession

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  deaccession \deaccession\, de-accession \de-accession\v. t. [de-
     + accession. Ca. 1970.]
     to sell (artwork); -- used of sales of art by museums.
  
     Note: The word appears to have been coined as a euphemism to
           avoid the negative connotations of the word "sell",


           particularly for works donated by benefactors. The
           practise is justified as a means of acquiring funds for
           purchase of more valuable artworks.
           [WordNet 1.5 +PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  deaccession
       v : sell (art works) from a collection, especially in order to
           raise money for the purchase of other art works; "The
           museum deaccessioned several important works of this
           painter"