Sons of artist protest plans by museum
BOSTON — Norman Rockwell’s three sons were among several people who went to court on Friday seeking to halt a museum’s plans to sell 40 works of art, including two by him.
A complaint seeking a temporary restraining order filed in Berkshire Superior Court alleges the board of trustees at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Mass., contracted with Sotheby’s for a public auction of the works before it announced its plans publicly, acted in breach of its fiduciary duties and trust and acted without legal authority to sell the art.
The planned sale is against Massachusetts laws establishing the museum, which requires the museum to maintain any gifts it receives “for the people of Berkshire County and the general public,” the complaint says.“Once sold, it is highly unlikely that any of the pieces will remain in Berkshire County or in a public institution where they can be seen and enjoyed,” the complaint says.
Besides Thomas, Jarvis and Peter Rockwell, the plaintiffs include two local artists and several members of the museum.
The complaint says the museum’s financial troubles are greatly exaggerated.
The museum has consistently stood by its decision to sell the art. The works for sale include Rockwell’s “Shaftsbury Blacksmith Shop” and “Shuffleton’s Barbershop,” both of which the illustrator gave as gifts to the museum when he lived in nearby Stockbridge, Mass.
The artist died in 1978.