PITTSFIELD, MASS.- Thirteen of 39 works approved for sale will be offered at May auctions by Sothebys, the
Berkshire Museum announced today. The sale of Norman Rockwells Shuffletons Barbershop will be completed with a nonprofit American museum which has agreed to place it on prominent display in its collection and loan the painting to the Norman Rockwell Museum for a period of up to two years.
We are moving forward to secure the future of the Berkshire Museum. We had identified for deaccession and sale 40 works of the museums 40,000, protecting the vast majority of the museums collection, said Elizabeth McGraw, President of the Museums Board of Trustees. We now hope we can raise what the museum needs by offering for sale fewer than half of the works originally anticipated. Thats good for the museum and the community we serve.
On Thursday, April 5, Justice David Lowy of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court approved the joint proposal of the Museum and the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) authorizing the sale of works to generate the $55 million the museum needs to create a sustainable endowment ($40 million) and fund needed renovations and repairs to the Museums more than 100-year-old building. With the sale of Shuffletons Barbershop, and assessments of the value of other works, the Museum hopes sales at auction of 13 other works will raise the needed funds.
At the May auctions, the Museum will be offering these works:
William Bouguereau, LAgneau Nouveau-Né
William Bouguereau, Les deux soeurs (La Bourrique)
Alexander Calder, Double Arc and Sphere
Frederic Edwin Church, Valley of Santa Isabel, New Granada
Charles François Daubigny, Paysans allant aux champs (Le Matin)
Adriaen Isenbrant, The Flight into Egypt
Adriaen Isenbrant, The Temptation of Adam and Eve
John La Farge, Magnolia
Henry Moore, Three Seated Women
Alberto Pasini, Faubourg de Constantinople
Rembrandt Peale, George Washington
Francis Picabia, Force Comique
Norman Rockwell, Blacksmiths Boy Heel and Toe
The Museum notified the AGO of the identity of the 13 works selected for auction.
The Museum hopes to retain the other 26 works approved for sale, which include Albert Bierstadts Giant Redwood Trees of California, Alexander Calders Dancing Torpedo Shape, and Thomas Morans The Last Arrow.
In addition, in an effort to help keep works sold by the Berkshire Museum in the public domain, Sothebys and the Museum will offer extended payment terms to public institutions who will do so. While Sothebys standard payment schedule is 30 days, installments over six months or longer will be available to interested public institutions. *
We recognize the strong feelings of those opposed to any sale. We worked hard, particularly in the case of Shuffletons Barbershop, to address their concerns and keep the painting in public view and even in the Berkshires for a time. We are hopeful that the sale of these other 13 works will allow us to hold the remaining works that had been approved for deaccession, said McGraw.
McGraw said the Museums Board of Trustees carefully reviewed all of the 39 works that had been approved for sale, working to protect those works of higher value to fulfilling the museums mission of Bringing people together for experiences that spark creativity and innovative thinking by making inspiring educational connections among art, history, and natural science.