Judge dismisses lawsuit against Valpo U to stop sale of artwork, including piece by Georgia O’Keeffe
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Valparaiso University and its president, José Padilla, in a bid to stop the sale of millions of dollars of artwork to fund dorm improvements for first-year students.
Sale of the artwork isn’t going forward yet, as the Indiana Attorney General’s Office still has to rule on whether the Percy H. Sloan Trust, which provided directly or indirectly for the three renowned pieces of artwork, would allow for the artwork to be auctioned off.
Richard Brauer and Philipp Brockington claim in their lawsuit — as do many on campus and in the art world — that the sale of the artwork to fund dorm renovations would be a violation of the trust agreement, because the funds would not go directly back to the museum for the preservation or purchase of artwork.
“We are disappointed, but not surprised. We always knew the standing argument was a close call,” said Portage attorney Patrick McEuen, who is representing Brauer and Brockington in the case.
Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Thode, serving as special judge in the matter, released the ruling Friday. He stated that Brauer, the museum’s founding director for whom the facility is named, and Brockington, a retired VU law professor and museum benefactor, “lack standing to bring this cause of action against the defendants.”
“We are pleased with the court’s decision. We will continue our due diligence before any final decision is made regarding the artworks,” the university said in a statement released to the Post-Tribune.
Thode also gave Brockington and Brauer 10 days to amend their complaint against Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, who also was named in the lawsuit.
“The court determined Mr. Brockington and Mr. Brauer cannot sue the university, but he left open a suit against the attorney general. Our side will need to decide if we need judicial relief, or need to closely monitor the AG’s process of determining whether the trust allows the auction,” McEuen added.
“We believe it does not, but whether there is any way to enforce that in court is the question.”
He added that there is an appeal option, and he will be discussing all of the options for an appeal with his clients.
Thode held a hearing on the case on Sept. 27 and took the matter under advisement.
“I’m disappointed and not surprised, though I had not expected the judge to have taken this long to come to a decision so I assume the issue was complicated. It remains so for me,” said John Ruff, a senior research professor in English at VU and longtime supporter of the museum, as well as a close associate of Brauer and Brockington.
“In the hearing prior to the one with Judge Thode, a representative for the Attorney General’s Office stated clearly that the Attorney General’s Office does have standing, so the question remains if and how the Office of Consumer Protection will act on what appears to be a violation of a charitable trust.”
Brauer, too, is pinning his hopes on the Attorney General’s Office, and said many people against the sale have been sending letters to Rokita’s office, at McEuen’s behest, to lay out why the artwork should remain at the museum.
He has threatened to remove his name from the museum if the sale goes forward.
“I feel that we hopefully have made a strong case that this would be a terrible thing to do and a terrible example for museums,” Brauer said, adding he hopes Rokita’s office comes to the conclusion that selling the paintings would be a breach of the trust.
Brauer and Brockington filed the lawsuit in late April against Padilla, the university and Rokita. In turn, Padilla, the university and Rokita’s office asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed, claiming that Brauer and Brockington don’t have standing in the case to file the lawsuit.
The lawsuit argues that Brauer and Brockington have standing to challenge the sale because of Brauer’s longtime association with the museum and personal stake in it, and because of an endowment for the museum established by Brockington to “acquire, restore, and preserve” works of art and artifacts for the museum.
Padilla first announced the possible sale of three renowned works of art to fund the dorm renovations in early February. The paintings are considered cornerstones of the museum’s collection and have an estimated worth of millions of dollars. They are “Rust Red Hills” by Georgia O’Keeffe; Childe Hassam’s “The Silver Veil and the Golden Gate”; and Frederic Edwin Church’s “Mountain Landscape.”
The O’Keeffe and Hassam paintings were purchased through the Percy Sloan Trust; Church’s work was a direct gift from Sloan.
The projected cost of renovating Brandt Hall and Wehrenberg Hall for first-year students is approximately $8 million, a university spokesman has said.
In mid-September, Padilla announced that, given the court case, the paintings had been removed to a safe, secure location for the time being.
The announcement, first reported in the Post-Tribune, set off a firestorm of criticism from students, alumni, faculty and the art world and included a wide range of concerns, from possible sanctions against the museum by the nation’s art museum associations to the loss of donations for fear that the university would not respect donors’ wishes, as well as the violation of the trust that provided for the artwork to begin with.
