The planned sale has implications far beyond Pittsfield, Mass., which is why the San Francisco Chronicle‘s art critic is writing about it. “There is a real sense in which these collections belong to all of us. These institutions exist for the benefit of the public, and they subsist through public support, whether directly with government dollars, through tax deductions for their donors, or both. The law can be unclear on the particulars, but there is little doubt that, ethically, museums hold works of significant cultural value in the public trust.”