Boy Scouts Selling Rockwell Collection Amid Sex Abuse Claims
The association between the Boy Scouts of America and Norman Rockwell spans more than six decades but the debt laden organization, faced with tens of thousands of sex abuse claims, is poised to sell its collection of Rockwell’s art.
The New York Times reports that as part of a reorganization plan filed in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware this week, the Boy Scouts listed nearly 60 pieces of art by Rockwell. The sale of which would help raise money for a settlement fund of at least $300 million for sexual abuse victims.
According to the publication, the names of the paintings include “The Right Way,” “On My Honor” and “I Will Do My Best.” The works in the collection range from 1916 to a lithograph completed in 1976.
The Boys Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy protection last February as the organization faced multiple sex-abuse claims that now exceeds 82,000 cases, according to the story in the Times.
The article says that it was not immediately clear whether the collection had been appraised and for how much, and the Boy Scouts did not elaborate on how much the organization would seek for the collection.
Many of the paintings are oil on canvas and were commissioned over the decades by the Boy Scouts. Many of Rockwell’s paintings for the Boy Scouts have been on display at the Medici Museum of Art in Howland, Ohio as part of a free exhibition since last year.
The bulk of Norman Rockwell’s work is displayed at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge.
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