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Rockwell Paintings Net $800,000 for Financially Ailing LibraryIn the wake of massive losses in its investment portfolio, the financially troubled Wagnalls Memorial Library in Lithopolis, Ohio, has raised some $800,000 by selling a pair of Norman Rockwell paintings. Christie’s auction house in New York sold Grandpa’s Christmas Visit for $119,500 and Rewards for Patience for $701,900—several times their pre-auction estimate.The library’s reserve funds have plummeted from $10 million in 1998 to $3 million this year. The loss has raised questions, and the Ohio attorney general is investigating the matter, the Associated Press reported December 6. The library was built in 1925 by Mabel Wagnalls Jones in honor of her parents, who grew up in the town. Her father, Adam Willis Wagnalls, was cofounder of the Funk and Wagnalls Publishing Company. Rockwell gave the two paintings to the couple, and they later went to the foundation that operates the library, which is the only privately funded library in Ohio. Charles Spencer, the foundation’s executive director, said the board was considering the sale of two more Rockwell paintings, as well as pieces of Chinese art from its collection. Posted December 10, 2004. |
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