Bond issue settled in Randolph College art sale

One of the final vestiges of the case filed in hopes of stopping the sale of art from Randolph College’s Maier Museum was settled by court order Friday afternoon.

Lynchburg Circuit Court Judge Leyburn Mosby signed an order distributing the $500,000 bond that secured the temporary injunction that barred the sale of the art in late 2007.

The bond is to be divided with $300,000 going to Randolph College. The remaining $200,000 and the interest on the bond is to be returned to the plaintiffs who raised the money in an attempt to stop the sale of four paintings from the museum: George Bellows’ “Men of the Docks,” Edward Hicks’ A “Peaceable Kingdom,” Ernest Hennings’ “Through the Arroyo” and Rufino Tamayo’s “Troubador.”

“While we are pleased with this settlement, it in no way recovers all of the damages incurred by the College as the result of the injunction preventing the sale of the paintings at a high point in the art market,” said college president John E. Klein, in a news release. “It does, however, provide closure.”

The Tamayo painting alone sold for a record-breaking $7.2 million at Christie’s auction in 2008. The remaining three paintings have not yet been sold, said college spokeswoman Brenda Edson. The college is waiting for improvements in the art market before selling those paintings.

The settlement also bars all parties from pursuing any future litigation regarding the sale of the three remaining paintings. The plaintiffs and the group that funded the litigation also agreed not to pursue future litigation against potential buyers of the paintings.

The school had sought to sell the four paintings in two auctions in November 2007, but opponents filed an injunction and raised $500,000 toward a bond that temporarily halted the sale. The injunction was later lifted after opponents were unable to raise the rest of the $1 million bond requirement. The two parties have been battling since April 2008 over who would receive the $500,000.

The bond was intended to offset any damages incurred by the college while the litigation was ongoing. The suit has been over for many months, but the bond issue was left outstanding.

The college argued that the money should be used to offset damages incurred as a result of postponing the sale. The sale’s opponents argued that 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 best time for us to sell those paintings was when they were originally scheduled to be sold,” Edson said. “The litigation and injunction prevented us.”

According to the lawsuit filed over the bond, the school estimated it would have received about $50 million for the four paintings, which plaintiffs have called local treasures that are masterpieces of American art. The interest alone from the sales would have generated thousands of dollars in income daily for the school, the suit stated.

“We are glad this is finally behind us, and we believe the outcome is fair,” Klein said. “… the end of this litigation allows the college to continue our move forward and to invest our financial and human resources into creating the best possible educational experience for the students of today — and tomorrow.”