A Cash-Strapped College Sells Treasures to Survive

Stories of the financial straits that many colleges find themselves in aren't new. Talladega College's path out is a less typical one: It will sell some of its treasures. The historically Black institution in Alabama will part with four of its prized Hale Woodruff murals, and the New York Times looks at the why and the how of what board chair Rica Lewis-Payton acknowledged was a fraught decision. The financial stress was extreme: The college's endowment is less than $5 million, its student body has fallen by 40% in five years to 745 students, and it was struggling to make payroll.

Its six Woodruff murals, painted between 1939 and 1942, are considered American masterpieces (see images of them here) and powerful symbols of the African-American struggle for freedom. They include the acclaimed "The Mutiny on the Amistad," which depicts a rebellion by enslaved Africans aboard a ship, and a mural of the Underground Railroad. While parting with them seemed blasphemous to some, they attracted only 500 visitors a year to the museum building that displayed them. The school will retain two murals depicting Talladega's own history.

The deal, estimated to be worth $20 million, will see the three Amistad murals acquired jointly by the Art Bridges Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art—which lend American art to public institutions—while the Toledo Museum of Art will buy the Underground Railroad mural. The deal was structured so that the murals' connection to Talladega will be highlighted wherever they are shown, and they will periodically return to campus for reunions. The CEO of the United Negro College Fund tells the Times he was initially appalled by the news, which he equated to the school "giving up a part of their soul." He has since changed his tune: "What is the theme of the Amistad murals?" he says. "It is freedom. And this is allowing them to have financial freedom."

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Artnet calls Talladega's plan a "win-win-win-win solution," noting that other colleges and universities that have sold pieces from their collections—it names Valparaiso University, Albright College, and Brandeis University—often sell them at auction. The result is that the works often enter private collections, depriving the public of them for good.