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When a museum, through its curator(s), board or leading donors decide to expand its collection with the work of a living artist they may approach the artist to donate a work. Sometimes artists do this as having a work in a significant collection can boost reputation and sales.

However, since the IRS only allows the artist to deduct the costs of the supplies for the work, it means the artist is usually giving the work away totally. For instance, under the IRS ruling, if Van Gogh or Rembrandt were painting today and donated a painting to a museum (or other non-profit) then that donation would be work the cost of the canvas and the paint.

This is currently under great protest because some artists, including Judy Rey Wasserman , take a lot of time on each painting and so they cannot afford to give many works away.

Often a donor is found who buys a painting from an specified artist and then donates the painting to the museum. The donor can deduct the cost of the painting, whereas the artist cannot. The problem is compounded by the fact that many artists have exclusive agreements with a gallery and the gallery relies on their artist to pay their staff, bills and make a living. The gallery cannot take an IRS deduction when it advises an artist to donate a painting to an important museum to help further her career. The gallery, like the artist just loses out!

When a museum really wants a work by an artist it will work to find the funds or donors to pay for it.

Donors who are collectors who encourage the museum to collect work by an artist are important.

One of the things that encourages a museum to select the work of a living emerging or mid career artist is that members and the public want to see that artist's work. Further, by allocating funds towards museum collecting, Judy Rey Wasserman is donating at a reasonable level without causing any potential hardship for her gallery or her own business. Plus, by asking collectors to choose which museums to allocate these funds towards, our collectors become part of the process and can select their favorite venues where others can see the art they value. This offer to have collectors choose from selected museums for funds is made only when prints are purchased through the website or through the artist herself (for instance during a studio tour, at a fair or expo), and not through an exhibit that is a fundraiser for another cause, nor are the artist's galleries or agents responsible for this commitment. It is only viable towardsthe purchases of prints, not paintings, unless otherwise specifically stated in writing by the artist or gallery ownership.

To be fair to the IRS, this ruling that is so blatantly unfair to real artists and galleries is being addressed and considered. It came about to right another wrong by circumventing those who were donating works to museums and claiming deductions for works that were inflated or not even especially wanted by the museum in question. This included bequests. The question is how to rule to be fair to real artists, not con artists.