In reporting on Detroit-area’s Oakland County picking up the challenge of having Detroit Institute for Arts’ collection appraised, Reuters reveals two interesting points. The first is that the surrounding counties are fighting back against the city’s Emergency Manager. Oakland County is firing a warning shot that it will no longer fund nearly $10 million annually of DIA’s operating budget if “Detroit’s emergency manager decides to sell any of its artwork or divert funds from the museum to pay the city’s creditors.”

In response, the Emergency Manager’s spokesman, Bill Nowling, added these vague but tantalizing suggestions about how Detroit might take advantage of its art as an asset once the appraisal commissioned from Christie’s is finished:

“Christie’s wants to come to the table with alternatives that generate revenue, substantial revenue, without changing the ownership of the art,” Nowling said. “They didn’t just want to come and value the art. They wanted to come and find a solution that would preserve the art.

Detroit Area Tries to Protect World-Class Art from Bankruptcy (Reuters)