Denver Art Museum cut ties with a disgraced donor—but critics say that’s not enough

via the Art Newspaper, 07 August 2023: The Denver Art Museum removed references to Emma C. Bunker due to her association with notorious art smuggler Douglas Latchford, but her influence remains significant in the institution.

So has the museum now entered a post-Bunker era? Not if transparency is the standard. The institution turned down a request from The Art Newspaper to interview its director, but a press representative noted by email that “the museum’s collecting policies are in alignment with AAM and AAMD best practices, and have evolved in lockstep with the museum field… The Denver Art Museum is committed to ethical collecting practices, and has a track record of working proactively and collaboratively with US and foreign governments to return artworks proven to belong to another nation or individual.”

The museum also declined to talk to Tabachnik of the Denver Post over the year that he spent writing his series on Bunker and art smuggling. “There was no conversation. They never spoke to me. They never gave me an interview,” he said. Nor would members of the Denver Art Museum board talk to Tabachnik.

Source: Denver Art Museum cut ties with a disgraced donor—but critics say that’s not enough