Detroit’s world-class art collection has been a subject of constant contention during reorganization proceedings. Creditors have suggested selling the city’s collection, which includes pieces by van Gogh, Bruegel and Matisse, calling it an untapped source of cash for a city with an estimated $18 billion in long-term liabilities and shrinking revenues. But the notion has outraged others, who say a sale would rob the struggling city of one of its most valuable assets. Museum officials have also argued that selling masterpieces could lead to the museum’s closing because donors would feel betrayed and stop giving.

Last year, Kevyn D. Orr, the state-appointed emergency manager in Detroit, hired Christie’s to appraise a portion of the museum’s masterpieces. The auction house said selling those works would net up to $867 million, a number that has since been criticized by some of the city’s creditors as being below market value.

As part of a larger deal forged amid federal bankruptcy court mediation sessions, the Detroit Institute of Arts agreed earlier this year to raise $100 million to help rescue itself over the next 20 years. The money would join more than $370 million in private philanthropic donations and nearly $200 million in state funds, which were approved last week by the Michigan Legislature.

The arrangement would funnel those financial contributions toward lessening pension cuts for Detroit retirees. It would also put ownership of the art museum under a private nonprofit organization that currently operates the museum, a common governing structure for large public art institutions across the country, shielding the city’s 66,000-piece art collection from future municipal threats.

Still, potential roadblocks remain. Creditors have objected to the deal, saying that it favors retirees over banks and that they could get more by selling the art outright. And the city’s 20,000 retirees must first voice support for Detroit’s bankruptcy plan, which will require them to vote for cuts to some of their benefits. In the end, a federal bankruptcy judge must sign off on the deal after a trial scheduled for this summer.