Deaccession. The people of WNY became very familiar with this word when the Albright Knox announced that it would be selling a small number of its antiquities in order to increase the size of its endowment and adjust its collection to more closely focus on its core strength, that being contemporary art. The move spawned protests, campaigns and law suites by a small group who believed the museum was selling its soul. The controversy dragged out for many months, finally resulting in the planned sale which brought in far more money than was expected. The money from the sale came back to Buffalo and will hopefully allow the Albright to grow its strengths.
All during this period I could not help but think about the massive sell-off and destruction of Buffalo’s artistic heritage that has been going on for decades with nary a sigh by the public (not to mention the applause from many). Of course I am talking about the loss of Buffalo’s precious architectural heritage.
This loss is most greatly manifested in the quickening destruction of the city’s magnificent churches as the Catholic Church (and other denominations but mostly the Catholic Church) closes down parishes and “deaccessions” its buildings and the dense collection of art that goes with them. Yesterday, the wonderful Our Lady Of Lourdes church on Main Street was sold at auction for a measly $25,000. It had been vacant for over 10 years since it closing. In that period its intricate interior had been stripped of almost every bit of its once intricately crafted detail. Pews, windows, altar, statues, wood work, and decorative plaster were stripped away. Murals were scraped from the walls. Even decorative columns were removed, simply cut off with a with a saw. All of this art was created by the ancestors of the people of Buffalo. All of it was paid for by parishioners who had attended the church over more than 10 decades. All of it is gone, probably decorating a restaurant in a mall someplace in the southwest. What does Buffalo get from this deaccession? Nothing! If we wait long enough perhaps the rest of the building will be removed, and the city will gain a new parking lot.
The interior images here were provided by David Torke’s fixBuffalo Blog. Check out more of his pictures and David’s story on the auction here http://fixbuffalo.blogspot.com/2008/09/church-auction-follow-up.html . Be prepared for a shocking and visually violent tour through one of Buffalo’s former gems. Then check out my story here http://www.buffalorising.com/story/this_building_has_been_schedul highlighting the beauty of a recently closed Buffalo Church. Are you ready for this building to follow the same path as Our Lady of Lourdes?
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