Sale of Illinois Library's Valuable
Painting Stirs Controversy
A controversial decision by the Evanston (Ill.) Public Library board to sell a painting that was donated to the library in 1925 and has recently been valued between $500,000 and $800,000 has drawn criticism from library staff who argue the painting is a part of the city's cultural heritage and should be retained, the Chicago Tribune reported July 27.
"What's going to be lost to the community is more than what's going to be gained by the sale," EPL Director of Information Services Lesley Williams told the Tribune.
Security concerns prompted the decision to move the 1897 work by French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau to a bank vault until it is sold by a New York auction house this fall. "We just don't have the security to display a painting of that value," said EPL Administrative Services Manager Paul Gottschalk.
The decision was unanimously approved by the Evanston City Council at its July 26 meeting, according to the July 29 Evanston Review.
Posted August 2, 1999.
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