First batch of Boy Scout art raises over $3.7 million for those abused while scouting

[November 16, 2024]  By JAMIE STENGLE

DALLAS (AP) — The first batch of artwork from the Boy Scouts of America's collection raised over $3.7 million at auction Friday to help pay the compensation owed to those who were sexually abused while in scouting.

The 25 works that sold are among over 300 from the Boy Scouts that Heritage Auctions in Dallas will be offering up over the next few years. With the standard buyer's premium added to the final hammer price, the 25 works sold for over $4.6 million.

Hoping to survive a barrage of sexual abuse claims, the Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy in 2020. The $2.4 billion bankruptcy plan allowed the organization to continue operating while it compensated survivors. The plan went into effect last year.

In addition to the art, other contributions to the survivors' settlement trust are coming from sources including insurers and the sale of Boy Scout properties.

Many of the works being sold are as interwoven into American life as the 114-year-old organization itself, having been featured on magazine covers, calendars and even used to sell war bonds. Friday's auction included five of the nearly 60 works by Norman Rockwell that are part of the collection.

Rockwell's painting “To Keep Myself Physically Strong” shows a Cub Scout standing on a chair to measure the chest of his older brother, a Boy Scout who has taped his fitness record to his bedroom wall. It sold for over $1.1 million, including the buyer's premium.

Aviva Lehmann, Heritage Auction's senior vice president of American art, responds to a question as she stands by paintings in Dallas, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, that are some of many works from the Boy Scouts of America's art collection — including some paintings by Norman Rockwell — that will go up for auction this month to help compensate tens of thousands of people, mainly men, who were sexually abused while in scouting. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

J.C. Leyendecker’s painting “Weapons for Liberty,” which depicts a Boy Scout clutching a sword in front of a flag-draped, shield-wielding depiction of Lady Liberty, sold for $312,500, including the buyer’s premium. It was featured on a cover of The Saturday Evening Post in 1918 and was adapted as a poster to sell World War I bonds.

Barbara Houser, a retired bankruptcy judge overseeing the survivors’ settlement trust, has said over 82,000 people filed abuse claims during the bankruptcy case, and of those, over 64,000 have filled out a detailed questionnaire to assert their claims.

Houser said in a news release Friday that she was grateful to those who participated in the auction, noting that the proceeds “play an integral part in acknowledging decades of silent pain” that survivors suffered.

The Boy Scouts announced this year that it is rebranding to Scouting America, a change intended to signal the organization’s commitment to inclusivity. The group now welcomes girls, as well as gay youth and leaders.

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