Randolph College and opponents seek bond money after art sale delay

Two months after an injunction that prevented the auction of four Randolph College paintings was lifted, both sides are now seeking the $500,000 bond that secured the barring of the sales.

Randolph College on Monday afternoon filed a lawsuit stating the money should be used to offset damages incurred as a result of postponing the sale.

Sale opponents also have filed motions stating the college does not have the right to receive the bond money and that any damages to the school would have occurred before the bond was posted.

The school sought to sell the four paintings from its Maier Museum of Art in two November auctions, but opponents filed an injunction and a $500,000 bond that halted the sale.

That injunction was later lifted after opponents were unable to raise the rest of the $1 million bond requirement.

“We don’t welcome the need for additional litigation, but the college has been forced into this situation because of the damage caused,” school spokeswoman Brenda Edson said Tuesday. “We incurred damage from being prevented from selling the four paintings in the fall auction, and we continue to incur damages every day.”

According to the lawsuit, the school estimated it would have received about $50 million for the four paintings that opponents have called local treasures that are masterpieces of American art. The paintings are George Bellows’ “Men of the Docks,” Edward Hicks’ A “Peaceable Kingdom,” Ernest Hennings’ “Through the Arroyo” and Rufino Tamayo’s “Troubador.”

The interest alone from the sale would have generated thousands of dollars in income daily for the school, the suit states.

“The bond was put there for the purpose of compensating the college in the event that we can prove damages, which we believe we will be able to do,” Edson said.

Anthony F. Troy, an attorney representing sale opponents, said they should not be held accountable if the college chooses to auction the art at a time when their sale would generate less money.

“You have to mitigate your damages,” Troy said Tuesday. “They should be held to bear responsibility for that.”

He seeks to have the bond released and reinstated to plaintiffs of the original lawsuit, he said.

A motion that opponents filed in late March further states that only the commonwealth can sue to recover the bond and that the college cannot collect on hypothetical earnings when the paintings may not have even sold in November.

The motion states that money from the bond also cannot be used for damages incurred before it was posted.

Since the bond was not posted until after the paintings’ sales were canceled, the motion states, it cannot be used to compensate for those damages.

Edson said the school still has a need to sell the paintings and add the proceeds to the college’s $153 million endowment.

“We have been evaluating the market, and we’ll have to make the decision to sell when the market dictates that that’s the right time,” she said. “The best time was in the fall, and we missed that opportunity.”