The Board of Trustees of the Delaware Art Museum announced that the museum’s $19.8 million bond debt, issued in 2003 to finance an ill-timed expansion, will be paid in full on September 30.
After years of attempting to retire the debt through fundraising, refinancing, and strategic partnerships, the Museum’s Trustees voted unanimously in March 2014 to sell up to four works of art from its 12,500-object collection.
The bond debt will be paid with proceeds from the sale of William Holman Hunt’s Isabella and the Pot of Basil (1868), the recent private sale of Alexander Calder’s Black Crescent (1959), and funds from the museum’s investment portfolio. Proceeds from the sale of Winslow Homer’s Milking Time (1875) and a possible fourth work are expected to replenish the investment portfolio when the sales are completed. No works of art acquired through gifts will be sold.
“Payment of this debt is a critical milestone in the history of the Delaware Art Museum,” says Delaware Art Museum CEO Mike Miller. “This process has been excruciatingly difficult for everyone involved. Thankfully, we have been bolstered and supported by our loyal Members and donors. We are so appreciative of the overwhelming support from our community.”
The museum has paid a high price for the sales. It lost accreditation and was the subject of a critical article in the New York Times.
Miller previously stated the museum might have to close if the debt was not retired.
The museum found itself with a heavy debt load after the expansion that came as corporate support was dwindling, due to corporate buyouts and downsizings.
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