In order to raise money to pay victims from a sexual abuse scandal, the trust responsible for the settlement of claims against the Boy Scouts of America is selling off 321 works of art, said to be appraised at nearly $60 million.
Sale of the art will begin with 25 pieces consigned to Heritage Auctions, which is auctioning off paintings by Norman Rockwell, Joseph Christian Leyendecker and Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius.
The Rockwell paintings are the prize of the first group, led by "Homecoming" (1961) and "Boy and Dogs" (1958). With a Nov. 15 sell date, "Homecoming" is currently up to $300,000, including buyer's premium, and "Boy and Dogs" is at $287,000 in total.
Rockwell paintings are known to sell for big price tags. His "Saving Grace" painting sold for $46 million in 2013, his "The Rookie," a painting of the 1957 Boston Red Sox locker room, sold for $22.5 million in 2015, and "Breaking Home Ties" sold in 2006 for $15 million.
The Boy Scouts of America Settlement Trust has thus far given $41 million to some 63,000 scouts who filed abuse claims. The total Boy Scout payout, which was approved for $2.46 billion, was the largest settlement in U.S. sex abuse history.
The settlement led the group to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 and to yield its art to the settlement fund to pay the victims.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.