Opponents of Randolph College art sale drop lawsuit

By: Christa Desrets / Lynchburg News & Advance | Lynchburg News and Advance
Published: March 08, 2008

Opponents of the sale of four Randolph College paintings filed to withdraw their lawsuit Friday on the matter.
They're now seeking to preserve the collection through another route.
"We do not see this action as either a concession or as giving up," said Ellen Agnew, a plaintiff in the case that was "nonsuited" without prejudice Friday, meaning it's on hold but could be refiled within six months. "The intent is to keep the focus on the collection as a whole, and it's really through (a different) case that we can best protect the permanent collection."
Another ongoing lawsuit protesting the former Randolph-Macon Woman's College's decision to adopt coeducation argues that the school is a charitable trust that may not use its assets for anything other than its original mission of the education of primarily women.
On Saturday, both sides confidently asserted they would win the case.
Randolph College spokeswoman Brenda Edson said the college and Lynchburg Circuit Court Judge Leyburn Mosby Jr. have to sign off on the nonsuit order before it becomes official.
"We're really pleased with this development," she said.
The college has had the legal right to sell the artwork since Feb. 15, when the plaintiffs failed to make the bond that would have finalized an injunction halting its sale.
"The decision to sell has not changed - We will sell when it's in the best financial interest of the college," Edson said.
In a statement Saturday, College President John E. Klein said he's pleased with the progress, although challenges remain.
"The hard decisions we have made have positioned this college for a strong future," he said.
The board of Preserve Educational Choice, a nonprofit organization that has funded the suits, alerted their supporters of the order in an e-mail Friday night.
"The art lawsuit … would only protect a few pieces in the Maier's permanent collection," the e-mail states. "In contrast, the charitable trust lawsuit may provide protection for all of the art in the permanent collection by recognizing that Randolph College does not have the right to use the assets of R-MWC for coeducation."
That case and another that argues students had an implied contract with the women's college are scheduled to go before the Virginia Supreme Court in mid-April. A decision on the cases is expected around late May to mid-June.
Edson said the coed cases and the art case are not connected.
"The courts have said they're unrelated, and we agree," she said. "We're very confident in our legal position. I don't think the board (of trustees) has any doubts about its decision to go coed."
Agnew, a former employee of the Maier Museum of Art, said she does not regret filing the art lawsuit because it prevented the sale of the four paintings - George Bellows' "Men of the Docks," Edward Hicks' A "Peaceable Kingdom," Ernest Hennings' "Through the Arroyo," and Rufino Tamayo's "Troubador" - which originally were slated for auctions held by Christie's auction house in November.
"We have shown the broad support of the people who want to keep the collection intact," Agnew said. "We are trying to be the best stewards of people's generosity in supporting this cause."
The paintings were expected to raise at least $32 million, which college officials say is needed to boost its $153 million endowment and lower its spending rate from endowment.
The paintings remain in a Christie's storage facility in New York.