Artwork donations
This section is addressed to people and businesses wishing to donate art to the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (hereinafter the “MNBAQ” in this section). It specifies the information required by the MNBAQ to study the donation proposal and lists the steps in the MNBAQ’s acquisition process. For the purposes of this information section, the term “art donations” includes bequests. If you are planning to bequeath a work, the MNBAQ recommends undergoing this process now to ensure that your bequest will be accepted by the MNBAQ once your will is executed.
The MNBAQ’s process for acquiring works, by donation or otherwise, is described by the Regulation regarding acquisition in effect at the MNBAQ.
THE MNBAQ’S MISSION AND COLLECTION
The MNBAQ’s primary mission is to make known, promote and preserve Québec art. While it is open to international art, its national collection is primarily a testimony to Québec’s art.
The MNBAQ’s collection, composed of nearly 42,000 works from more than 4,400 artists, is exceptionally rich and diverse. Spanning from the 16th century to today, it includes paintings, sculptures, graphic art, photographs, decorative art and design, installations and videos/films.
WHY DONATE ART TO THE MNBAQ?
The MNBAQ needs to develop its collection to fulfill its mission. To do so, it relies on the generosity of a growing number of donors who wish to ensure the continuity of their national collection. In fact, the MNBAQ’s collection grows primarily through art donations and financial donations that allow it to purchase art.
HOW TO DONATE ART TO THE MNBAQ
DONATION PROPOSAL
The MNBAQ accepts donation proposals at all times. All donation proposals must be submitted through the donation proposal form, which can be filled out at the bottom of this page or printed, filled out and mailed. Questions can be sent to collections@mnbaq.org.
In some cases, the MNBAQ may ask the donor for additional information that is needed for preliminary analysis of the work.
Following the preliminary analysis of the work, it will either be declined (in which case the donor will be informed in writing) or subjected to a more thorough analysis.
IMPORTANT: Please note that the submission period for acquisition proposals is now over for 2021. All proposals received since April 1st will therefore be processed in 2022 or later, depending on the nature of the donation.
DONATION
If the donation proposal is retained for more thorough analysis, an MNBAQ representative will communicate with the donor to confirm their desire to donate and start the acquisition process.
MNBAQ ACQUISITION PROCESS AND DONATION PROCESSING TIMES
Before entering the MNBAQ’s collection, donated works are subjected to a thorough analysis process by internal and external committees. The acquisition is then subject to approval by the MNBAQ’s Board of Directors. Acquisitions are generally assessed twice per year, in the spring and fall.
THE MAIN STEPS IN THE ACQUISITION PROCESS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
1. Examination and study of the donation by the internal acquisition committee
This committee is composed of the Director of Collections and all of the MNBAQ’s curators. They will recommend or reject the acquisition based on the reputation of the artist and the work, its history, its critical reception and its relevance to the national collection’s mandate and to other works by the same artist that are already in the collection.
2. Evaluation of condition
The work’s state of conservation is assessed by the MNBAQ’s restoration and/or conservation team. If its state is deemed acceptable, the work will begin the acquisition process. It will remain at the MNBAQ throughout this process.
3. Evaluation by an independent expert
The MNBAQ retains the services of an expert to establish the fair market value of the work. The MNBAQ assumes the costs of the evaluation by this expert, provided that the potential donor donates the work(s) evaluated. In the rare case that the potential donor decides to withdraw their offer during the acquisition process, they must reimburse the MNBAQ for any external evaluation fees incurred.
4. Assessment and analysis of the donation by an external acquisition advisory committee
The members of this committee are named by the MNBAQ’s Board of Directors. They may include collectors, art critics, artists, art historians or people passionate about art history and museology. The external committee’s role is to examine and study a work submitted for acquisition by the MNBAQ and make recommendations to the Board of Directors. The external acquisition advisory committee generally meets twice per year, in the spring and fall.
5. Submission of acquisition recommendation to the MNBAQ’s board of directors
The MNBAQ’s Board of Directors is ultimately responsible for approving the acquisition. It does so by resolution. The Board of Directors generally issues its approvals twice per year, approximately one month after the acquisition committees have met.
6. Donation agreement
Once the acquisition has been approved by the Board of Directors, a donation agreement for the work is established between the donor and the MNBAQ.
PROCESSING TIME
Once the file is complete, meaning that the MNBAQ has all of the information needed to assess the relevance of acquiring the proposed donation, processing the proposal generally takes between 3 months and 1 year. Several conditions may affect processing time, such as an inability to transport the work to the MNBAQ on time, a need to further evaluate the work, or a need to have the work declared a cultural property by the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board (CCPERB). (Learn more in the next section, “Tax Benefits.”)
TAX BENEFITS
The federal and provincial governments have implemented various tax measures to encourage people to donate art.
If the proposed donation meets the criteria for outstanding significance, the MNBAQ may consider it appropriate to submit a request to the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board (CCPERB) to have the work declared a cultural property. This declaration allows the donor to receive a tax exemption on the capital gain, based on the work’s value as determined by the CCPERB.
For all art donations, the MNBAQ, as a registered charity, issues a tax receipt for the eligible donation amount.
REQUESTS FOR EVALUATION
The MNBAQ does not evaluate or document works that are not undergoing its acquisition process. Additionally, for reasons of independence and impartiality, the MNBAQ cannot provide references to individuals who wish to have their works evaluated.
The MNBAQ reserves the right to change its process at any time.