Information about the sale of paintings from the State Art Museum’s collection on the OLX portal recently spread on the Internet.
Social media users said paintings by famous artists, including works by Ural Tansykbayev and Medat Kagarov, were listed for sale on OLX. Public activists linked this to the closure of the State Art Museum for renovations, believing the listed paintings were from the museum’s collection.
The Cultural Heritage Agency reported that inspections and thorough examinations of the aforementioned artworks established that the paintings are not part of the museum’s collection. They also emphasized that there is no connection between the sale of these paintings and the closure of the State Art Museum of Uzbekistan for reconstruction.
“All exhibits of the State Art Museum of Uzbekistan are fully digitized, and the number of electronically identifiable museum items and collections in state museums continues to grow steadily. Currently, the number of museum collection items in state museum funds is 2,525,023, of which 1,815,211 are in the main fund, 709,812 in the reserve fund, and 82,067 are on display in museums,” the statement reads.
The Agency expressed gratitude to active social media users for their concern about the preservation of artworks and reminded the authors of the posts of their responsibility to the audience.
“We urge you not to rush to conclusions in such matters, to adhere to the ethics of information dissemination, and to verify the accuracy of the information. We also recommend refraining from undermining the trust and reputation of museums. Please report to the Agency and law enforcement authorities if future cases of illegal handling of cultural heritage objects arise,” the Agency concluded.
