Injunction Issued Stopping Sale of Randolph College Artwork|ABC 13

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Injunction Issued Stopping Sale of Randolph College Artwork

posted 11:08 pm Fri November 09, 2007 - Lynchburg, VA

tags: randolph college • rmwc • randolph macon • maier

He ordered the art not be sold. Thursday a Lynchburg Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of students, alums and donors to Randolph College's Maier Museum, stopping the college from selling four pieces of artwork.

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Four hours of arguments.

Laura McKean-Peraza, Randolph College Student - "It's completely taking away from its heart. You take anything away from its whole, it's now apart."

Included in the potential sale, four pieces valued by the College at $32-million. The one most prized -- Men of the Docks by George Bellows. The painting many call the cornerstone of the collection. And it was that painting, the educational value that students and citizens get from the Maier, that made the judge step in.

Anthony Troy, Plaintiffs' Attorney - "He weighed the harms. He realized there's a harm on the college and there's a harm on the community and us, the plaintiffs and he found that our harm weighed greater."

An injunction granted, Randolph College now left with a different picture.

Brenda Edson, Randolph College - "No one likes change, no one likes cuts, but we have to make these decisions and we're trying to make the ones that least impact the college as a whole."

The school says they have to sell the art to boost its endowment. Otherwise they say accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges is on the line.

Edson - "To us the greater loss is the loss of the college."

A loss they'll work to overcome. The College did ask the court to dismiss this injunction saying the plantiffs had no cause for action or standing. They say they will appeal first thing Friday morning to the State Supreme Court.

In the meantime, this injunction will only go into effect after the plaintiffs post a $10-million bond. That money is basically an insurance policy. If the court sides with Randolph College later, the college could get that money.

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