State Awarded Trove of Art At Armory

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The New York Sun

A priceless collection of Civil War-era art and other artifacts housed in the Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue belongs to the state, not to the veterans’ group that purchased the items for $1 more than 50 years ago.

Judge Richard Braun ruled that the Seventh Regiment Fund does not control the armory’s contents, including three paintings by Sanford Gifford that are on loan indefinitely to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The state Supreme Court held that the veterans’ group has no right to the property it purchased in 1952 for $1 from 107th Infantry Regiment. The sale price was set so low because the infantry regiment, fearing that the unit would be called to fight in the Korean War, wanted to keep the federal government from wresting control of the items.

The defendant has claimed that even if the infantry regiment did not have the right to transfer the property to the Seventh Regiment Fund – an issue determined in an earlier ruling – the state exceeded the statute of limitations to repossess the contents.

Judge Braun wrote that the defendant’s position was “ironic” and that resorting to a statute of limitations defense “sullies its predecessors’ reputation just because this argument suits the litigation position.”

However, he rejected the state’s request for compensation from the Seventh Regiment Fund. “Plaintiff has not proven that defendant Fund has lost, damaged, or destroyed any of the subject property, other than what was damaged and defendant Fund had repaired, so that plaintiff is not entitled to the restitution, damages and surcharge sought.”

The judge, who called the defendant “a conscientious guardian of the property over the decades,” urged the state to allow the items housed in the armory and the Metropolitan Museum to remain there. “In that way, the people of our state, and others, can have the opportunity to learn about the rich history of the Seventh Regiment and appreciate these valuable historical artifacts,” Judge Braun wrote.

A former armory curator, Lisa Weilbacker, said she hoped the items would not be moved. “Their only significance lies within that building,” she said. “They have no meaning and no context if you put them somewhere upstate. It’s a New York military collection, it should not be taken out of New York City.” Ms. Weilbacker, who served as curator between 1989 and 1996 and testified on the defendant’s behalf, said it would be impossible to estimate the value of he collection, which comprises paintings, silverware, flags, sculptures, and historic documents.

This ruling, which came down Wednesday, is the latest development in a case that began in November 1996, when a former attorney general of New York, Dennis Vacco, charged the fund with illegally taking control of a collection that had been state-owned.

The water-damaged and visibly rundown armory has been at the center of several legal battles. A related veterans’ group, which says it wants to turn the armory into a military museum, is attempting to block the Seventh Regiment Armory Conservancy’s plan to repair the structure, open it to the public, and turn its exhibition hall into a part-time 1,500-seat performing arts venue. The urban planner who oversaw the redevelopment of Times Square in the 1990s, Rebecca Robertson, is leading the efforts of the Conservancy – a nonprofit group selected by the state to oversee the estimated $150 million restoration.

A lawyer representing the Seventh Regiment Fund, Philip Chiappone, who has appeal the latest decision, said, the veterans’ fear that the state will move or sell off the relics at issue. “My client does not believe that the state has the same reverence for the artifacts in the building,” he said.

The founder and chairman of the conservancy, Wade Thompson, said that he knows of no plans to sell or redistribute the armory’s contents. “We are a conservancy, and that means not only conserving the building, but conserving the artifacts within the building,” Mr. Thompson said. “We will be much better stewards than the veterans, who have allowed artifacts including flags to deteriorate without any attempt to preserve or conserve them.”

A spokesman at the office of the attorney general would not comment on the case; three phone calls to Governor Pataki’s press office were not returned yesterday.

Among the artwork and artifacts housed in the Armory are Rembrandt Peale’s 1949 oil painting of George Washington and a handwritten letter from Abraham Lincoln.


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