Many museums accept large gifts and squander them in bad storage and no accession to scholars. Then they sell many off anyway, if the curator is managing limited resources for educational objectives.
A private collector is more likely to store them well and share them privately. Private museums are often wonderful though they may not have the longevity or scholarship of some state institutions.
It is Michael himself, his generosity, his huge learning and his legacy in friendships, in teaching and writing, and his preserved photography with information that we latecomers can share that really are most important. Even though it is only by his posts here for many of us, we remain his friends and remember his generosity.
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