Philly schools' art is worth millions

The district won't sell any of the art, an official said.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- In the city's cash-strapped public schools, a multimillion-dollar treasure trove of art has been discovered in basements, boiler rooms, closets and hallways.
The collection encompasses about 1,200 works in all, many of them paintings but also sculpture, wall murals, tapestry, ancient artifacts and works on paper. The collection is likely worth tens of millions of dollars, school officials and art experts said.
"This is an incredibly unusual and extraordinary find. From the collection, over 100 of them are very important works," said art consultant Kathleen Bernhardt-Hidvegi of Chicago-based Corporate Art Source, who conducted the inventories in the city's 264 schools.
A specific value has yet to be determined but a conservative estimate easily would reach $20 million to $30 million, once the art is appraised and authenticated, Bernhardt-Hidvegi said.
What's included
The collection includes paintings by Thomas Eakins and Henry Ossawa Tanner, who both attended Philadelphia's prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, as well as landscapes by "Pennsylvania Impressionists" Edward W. Redfield, Walter Emerson Baum and Henry B. Snell. Nearly all the works range in age from the early 19th century to the present, with a large number dating between 1900 and the late 1930s.
Some were hanging in hallways and offices but many were not as lucky. As decades passed, many apparently were forgotten along with any knowledge about their history -- and worth.
"Art often gets taken down when the school is painted and they don't get put up again. So many valuable and important works were forgotten in boiler rooms, locked closets, bicycle rooms," Bernhardt-Hidvegi said.
"When we walk into a school and see hooks sticking out of walls, we really get excited. It's a rush."
The survey began quietly in March 2003 and is similar to one conducted for the Chicago school system, where Philadelphia schools chief executive Paul Vallas and chief of staff Natalye Paquin previously worked.
"We went through every building, every classroom, every basement, every boiler room, every closet, and under every stage" in Philadelphia's schools and about 200 of the most significant pieces were moved to storage, Paquin said.
Many are damaged
Many need restoration and conservation, however, after sitting for untold years in dank basements and dusty storage rooms. The degree of damage varies from slight to severe, and includes dirt and water damage, holes, rips and paint loss.
Vallas said that some art may have disappeared from schools over the years, but the extent of missing works is tough to determine because records are often scant and inconsistent.
School officials are looking this summer for art historians and other experts to form an arts advisory council, which will conduct further research to pinpoint the collection's value, determine ways to raise money for restoration, establish how to secure and display the collection once it's restored, and suggest how to use the work as a teaching tool.
However, Paquin made it clear that one option was "absolutely not" being pursued: selling some or all the collection. The school district has grappled with finances and this spring passed its first balanced budget in seven years.
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