R-MWC's Art Treasures

One of the defining characteristics of Randolph-Macon Woman's College is its exceptional collection of American art. Housed in the Maier Museum of Art and celebrating its centennial anniversary this year, the permanent collection was assembled through public donations and gifts as a teaching and cultural resource for the college and wider Lynchburg community.

This collection is now threatened. The College's Board of Trustees has moved to sell seminal works in the collection – including George Wesley Bellows' masterpiece "Men of the Docks " – to add funds to the College's $153 million endowment. Even if you aren't an alumna or student of the College or a resident of Lynchburg you should care about the College's proposed actions. If allowed to move forward, the precedent that this sale would set could spell disaster for other museums around the country.

Why? The works of art in the Maier collection are held in public trust. Randolph College's raid on the Maier has been universally condemned by the Association of Art Museum Directors, Association of Art Museum Curators , College Art Association, Association of College and University Museums and Galleries, and the Virginia Association of Museums .

As the New York-based Association of Art Museum Directors stated in October, "The prohibition against the sale of collection objects for general operating purposes is a fundamental covenant between museums and donors. It is a promise that exists across generations, to prevent the financial challenges of a given time – no matter how pressing or how valid they may be – from depriving future beneficiaries of such gifts."

If the Randolph sale stands, donations to other museum collections could be imperiled as donors question whether established deaccessioning policies will be overlooked like they were at Randolph. At the same time, museum curators and directors could find themselves under pressure from their own Boards to countenance the sale of cultural assets to pay for general operating expenses.

What can you do to help? Two lawsuits have been filed to stop the sale of R-MWC's art. One involves the protection of art purchased with funds from a trust established by the College's first art professor, Louise Jordan Smith. The other seeks to prevent the sale of four paintings , including "Men of the Docks," while important questions of donor intent and public trust are evaluated by the legal system in Virginia. On November 16, the Supreme Court of Virginia upheld a temporary injunction issued by the Lynchburg Circuit Court to prevent the sale of four paintings while related lawsuits proceed. The Court lowered the bond amount required to initiate the injunction by 90 percent to $1 million. The people of Lynchburg and alumnae of R-MWC have until December 3rd to raise this full amount.

We need your help to raise this amount in such a short timeframe and pay for litigation costs in the two art lawsuits. If you care about ethical deaccessioning, donor intent, the bond between museums and the public they serve, and how the sale of art to add to a generous $153 million endowment could negatively impact small museums and collections across the United States, please send a donation to the Art Defense Fund today.

To donate, please send your check to:

Preserve Educational Choice, Inc.
P.O. Box 29612
Richmond, VA 23242

Please make the check payable to "Preserve Educational Choice, Inc." and write "Art Defense Fund" on the memo line. All donations to this fund are restricted to preserving the art, not the general restoration of Randolph-Macon Woman's College. You can also make a donation via PayPal by using the PayPal link below. All donations are fully tax-deductible to the amount allowed by law.

Fund:  Art Defense Fund General Fund

Additional Information:

Press Coverage of the Art Sale

Legal Pleadings to Prevent the Sale of Art

Legal Pleadings in the Louise Jordan Smith Trust Suit