Artist Mary Miss and the Des Moines Art Center (DMAC) in Iowa have reached a settlement on a lawsuit regarding the museum’s move to deaccession Miss’s environmental artwork “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” (1989–96) without the artist’s approval after the work deteriorated considerably.
The settlement reached this week outlines that DMAC will pay Miss a total of $900,000 in exchange for the artist’s release and dismissal of all claims against the museum, and that DMAC may proceed with the demolition of Miss’s artwork.
“I hope the resurrection and reconsideration of this project will lead to further reflections on the relationships between artists, environmental issues, communities and our public cultural institutions,” Miss said in a press release distributed by the Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), which has advocated for the work since 2014. “I trust this experience can help to develop stronger bonds moving forward.”
The center commissioned Miss to develop the project in the surrounding Greenwood Park in 1989 as a part of its permanent collection. It took almost seven years and many helping hands for Miss to complete “Greenwood Pond: Double Site,” a work of land art that intentionally guided visitors throughout different levels of the pond’s wetland ecology using a variety of designed landscape features along the water’s edge.
Primarily made from wood and concrete, Miss’s work deteriorated over time and landed on the TCLF’s list of vulnerable environmental artworks in 2014. Together, DMAC and the city of Des Moines committed $1.4 million for its repair in 2015, only for the artwork to decay once again.
In October 2023, the center notified Miss, who was abroad at the time, that public access to “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” was suspended indefinitely while a third-party engineering firm conducted a “complete structural review.”
Miss told Hyperallergic earlier that she was not invited to participate in the review, but that she had expressed how the land art was a “key work” of hers.
On December 1, 2023, Miss received a letter from the center outlining its decision to deaccession the work entirely, in which DMAC Director Kelly Baum explained that the “ephemeral” nature of the artwork’s original materials and the harsh Iowa climate led to the state of disrepair, and that fundraising for the the “prohibitively expensive” $2.65 million estimate for repairing the artwork again was not financially feasible.
Miss chose to go public with the news, eliciting support from over 50 artists and arts administrators writing in favor of saving Miss’s work.
Miss sought a temporary restraining order against DMAC in April 2024, days ahead of the projected demolition start date, alleging that the center had its contract with her and breached the 1990 Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) through the planned “destruction of a work of recognized stature, and any intentional or grossly negligent destruction of that work.”
A judge granted the restraining order, agreeing that the center failed to obtain written consent from Miss to “intentionally damage, alter, relocate, modify or change the work” as outlined in the artist agreement, and noting that the city has never “ordered, directed, or otherwise ‘required’ the Art Center to remove the artwork.”
After agreeing to settle nine months later, DMAC will proceed with demolishing “Greenwood Pond: Double Site” in its entirety, as outlined in the court document and the center’s press statement, while Miss is set to receive $900,000 within 14 days.
Miss thanked her supporters from Des Moines and beyond for their continued support, as well as TCLF for its advocacy and for collecting dozens of testimonies regarding the impact of the artwork.
