Attorney General’s Office Voices Concern about Sale of Hudson River School Painting

The New York Attorney General’s office has voiced its concern over the possible sale of a large oil painting by Thomas Cole that once hung in the Seward House Historic Museum in Auburn, N.Y.

The 1839 painting â€" “Portage Falls on the Genesee” - by Cole, the founder of the Hudson River School, was given to Gov. William H. Seward in gratitude for his work expanding the Erie Canal. It hung in his house in Auburn, now known as the Seward House Historic Museum, until April, when the Fred L. Emerson Foundation, which owns the artwork and once oversaw the museum, removed it for possible sale.

The foundation says the landscape â€" appraised five years ago at $18 million â€" is too valuable to be left in an institution that does not have adequate resources to protect it.

But Seward’s great-great-grandson, Ray Messenger, has gone to court to stop the sale and secure the return of the painting to the historic house.

In its letter, the Attorney General’s office questioned the foundation’s justification for the sale and said it still had “obligations under the Will to maintain and support the Seward memorial.”

The attorney’s general office is empowered to oversee the sale of assets by charitable organizations and any sale of the painting would have to be approved by the courts.

In the June letter, which several media outlets took notice of in recent days, Jason Lilien, the Charities Bureau chief, told the foundation that the organization’s most recent tax return indicated that it was “financially able to continue to provide the necessary financial support for the memorial. Accordingly, we do not see any justification for the sale of the Painting or why the Painting has not yet been transferred to the Seward House Museum.”

The foundation said it recognizes the concern of the Attorney General and others and remains committed to working out “a plan to safeguard the painting and protect the long term financial viability and well-being of the Museum.”

The organization has previously said it plans to sell the painting at Christie’s, share the proceeds with the museum and hang a copy in its place. The painting’s removal stirred an outcry among members of the Seward family, patrons of the museum, Auburn residents and museum professionals.

At a hearing Thursday, a New York State surrogates court judge ordered the foundation to respond by Sept. 27 to Mr. Messenger’s petition that seeks to block the sale.