#ArtnetNews: It was a painful decision when the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) sold its Edward Hopper painting. Not everyone on the board of trustees agreed with the decision, even if there was a broad consensus that the institution—as old as the United States—needed an update. Those changes would not come in the form of new galleries or an expensive remodel, but the beginning of a new acquisition fund aimed at diversifying PAFA’s collection with more works by women and people of color. There were similar plans at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) during the pandemic: sell expensive works by Andy Warhol and others to expand the institution’s budgets. Only in this case, museum director Christopher Bedford was accused of going too far, declaring that funds would go toward acquiring more women and nonwhite artists while also funding some staff salaries. As part of the Burns Halperin Report, a newly-released exploration of representation in U.S. museums and the international art market, Zachary Small (@zacharyhsmall) considers the effectiveness of deaccessioning in order to diversify—click the link in our bio to read more.