The James Prendergast Library

JAMESTOWN – The James Prendergast Library Board of Trustees will wait until at least the fall before it determines whether or not it will change its bylaws to determine how future trustees are selected and whether or not to establish a residency requirement.

The Prendergast falls under the category of an Association Library in New York State. Earlier this month residents approved a proposition to create an Association Library District for the library, which allows it to raise $350,000 each year through a library property tax that will be added to the Jamestown School District tax bill. The library district – which follows the same boundaries as the school district – was established to help offset a recent reduction in funding from city government. The new $350,000 levy also can not be adjusted or eliminated unless another public vote takes place.

As a library board, the trustees have the fiduciary responsibility of overseeing the annual budget, which now will include the annual library tax paid by all property owners in the district.

If the Prendergast were a Public Library instead of an Association Library, it would be required by state law to hold elections for its board members or have them appointed by other elected officials, such as the mayor and city council. There is no state law mandating a process for selecting trustees for association libraries, but the New York State Education Department (NYSED) states at its website that an association library can emulate the basic characteristics of a public library by providing a process for, among other things, the public election of its trustees. NYSED also states, “Association Library bylaws should be amended by the board of trustees to ensure that all eligible voters within the library’s service area can ‘join’ the library association as members and participate in annual elections to select library trustees.” NYSED also states that while not mandatory, residential requirements for the board of trustees may be established in an association library’s bylaws.

As it currently stands for the Prendergast Library, only those individuals who serve on the board of trustees are considered “members” and have the ability to select any new trustees to join the board.  And anyone is invited to apply to be a member of the board of trustees, regardless of residency. The bylaws also state that the number of trustees shall not be less than seven nor more than fifteen. As of this month, there are seven trustees who reside within the district and five who do not.

Prior to the vote approving the $350,000 library tax levy, one of the questions that was raised in the community was whether or not there would be a residency requirement for the board of trustees if the district was approved – or even if city residents would be able to directly vote for who they want to serve on the board, similar to what currently happens with the school board.

“This board could vote to institute that. If that’s important to people, let us know,” explained recently-retired Prendergast executive director Tina Scott during a “community conversation” meeting last October. But Scott also added that there hadn’t been a lot of interest in board participation from within the community, or for there to be stricter requirements on who would serve on the board. “It’s tough to get people to sign up to be on the board and [if there was a required public vote] we would need to pay to hold a vote. But if that’s what the community would want, then absolutely. We’d love the participation,” Scott said.

The library’s new executive director Anne Greene also told WRFA earlier this month that changing the bylaws is something the board is willing to consider.

“The board is open to this idea. However, this year it is impossible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve been focusing on providing service and adhering to public safety guidelines that we have to maintain. But they are definitely open to that and they’ve been discussing it. There would have to be candidates, a campaign, and elections and what not, but they definitely are investigating it,” Greene said.

Because the board doesn’t typically meet during the summer months, the next time it meets wont be until September 17. Whether or not there will be discussion on changing the bylaws for selecting future trustees and also a implementing a residency requirement at that time remains to be seen.

The James Prendergast Library

JAMESTOWN – The first of two community conversations involving the future of the James Prendergast Library will be taking place Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier this month the library board of trustees wrote an article in the Jamestown Post-Journal saying the library could possibly close down within three to four years unless recently cut funding can be restored to help balance its annual operating budget.

Library officials say recent cuts in aid by the city of Jamestown is the main reason why it may be forced to close.

Up until three years ago, the city was committed to giving $350,000 or more to the library – which help to cover anywhere between 25 to 33% of its annual operating budget. But in 2017 the city reduced its aid by $250,000 and another $50,000 was cut in 2018. So for the last two years, the libary has seen just $50,000 a year from the city, which only covers about 6% of the library budget.

Compounding the challenge is an upcoming reduction in state aid. The state library aid formula includes funding from a library’s host community and if that funding sees a significant cut, then the state aid is also cut. Library officials say that means an additional $110,000 in state aid will be eliminated from the library’s revenue stream for next year.

The library’s operating budget for this year is $817,500 (See Chart Below for 11-year budget figures). Just four years earlier in 2016 – when city funding was $350,000 – the total expenses for the library was over $1,280,000. Most of the cuts over the past four years has come out of staffing. In 2016 total salaries and benefits for library staff amounted to over $820,000. This year it is at just $556,000.

But if the library is to see its community funding fulling restored, it’s not likely to come from the city government. Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi has presented a city budget for next year that includes $60,000 for the library – a slight increase over the current year but no where near what the library says it needs. And because of the city’s own financial challenges, it’s unlikely it will be able to fully restore funding back to the $350,000+ level on an annual basis.

As a result, the library board last week said they would be pursuing a 259 vote next May as part of the Jamestown School budget vote. Under New York Education Law §259, libraries are permitted to seek funding directly from school district voters. The matter will simply appear on the school ballot as part of the annual budget vote.

Library officials said they will propose an annual tax levy of $350,000 for the library – the same amount that the city of Jamestown had been giving the library up until two years ago.

The tax rate for the city of Jamestown is currently $23.85 per $1,000 assessed value, but only 3 cents of that rate is earmarked for the library. If the 259 vote is approved, the library “tax rate” would be 23 cents per $1,000 assessed value. That would mean a property in Jamestown valued at $50,000 would pay $11.30 a year for the library.

The library attempted a similar taxing district vote in June 2016, but the total amount it wanted to raise then was $850,000. That effort failed by a vote of 1306 against and 856 in favor. The Library Board is hopeful that reducing that amount by more than half this time around, along with the message that the library could likely close in 3 to 4 years if funding isn’t secured, will lead to a positive outcome this time around.

Wednesday’s meeting begins at 3:30 p.m. in the library fireplace room. A second meeting is also scheduled for Thursday night at 6:30 p.m.

The above chart shows the Prendergast Library budget figures for the past 11 years. The information is based on past 990 Tax Forms as well as the finalized budget numbers provided at the library website for both 2018 and 2019.  Some information is listed as “NA” due to the 990 tax forms not being available for those respective years. Categories including total Expenses, total staff Salary expenses (including benefits),  Total Revenue, All Community/Grant Contributions (includes city funding), All Government Grants (including city funding), Fundraising Revenue, the % of Public Support (5-year average), City Funding total (and the % of Total Expenses it covered for the respective year), Endowment Fund Total, the amount of Endowment Money used for the respective year, and the Total number of employees and volunteers provided.

The James Prendergast Library

JAMESTOWN – The James Prendergast Library is once again proposing a new tax in order to help it solve its financial challenges.

The Jamestown Post-Journal reported Friday that the Prendergast Library Board of Trustees met on Thursday afternoon and said they would be pursuing a 259 vote next May as part of the Jamestown School budget vote.

Under New York Education Law §259, libraries are permitted to seek funding directly from school district voters. The school district is not required or even needed to give permission. The matter will simply appear on the school ballot as part of the annual budget vote.

Library officials said they will propose an annual tax levy of $350,000 for the library – the same amount that the city of Jamestown had been giving the library up until two years ago, when funding was reduced by $250,000. An additional $50,000 was removed last year, bringing the total amount of money the city provides for the library down to just $50,000 for the current year.

Library officials have said that the significant reduction in funds by the city has created a domino effect with their state funding and the library will now lose $111,000 unless it can restore the local tax contribution. That’s because the state funding formula is based, in part, on the amount of local community contributions the library also receives.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi has proposed restoring $10,000 of the recent city cuts in next year’s city budget, but that still won’t be enough to save the state aid. As a result, library officials are hopeful the 259 vote will pass in May 2020 in order to restore community support and bring back the state library aid.

Library officials said last week that unless they can get the local funding restored, the library is in jeopardy of closing down within three to four years.

The tax rate for the city of Jamestown is currently $23.85 per $1,000 assessed value, but only 3 cents of that rate is earmarked for the library.

If the 259 vote is approved, the library “tax rate” would be 23 cents per $1,000 assessed value. That would mean a property in Jamestown valued at $50,000 would pay $11.30 a year for the library.

The library attempted a similar taxing district vote in June 2016, but the total amount it wanted to raise then was $850,000.  That effort failed by a vote of 1306 against and 856 in favor. The Library Board is hopeful that reducing that amount by more than half this time around, along with the message that the library could likely close in 3 to 4 years if funding isn’t secured, will lead to a positive outcome this time around.

• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN VIA SOUNDCLOUD

Originally airing Thursday, May 2, 2019

WRFA’s Jason Sample talks with James Prendergast Library Executive Director Tina Scott and Board President Joni Blackman about the library has been able to cope in 2019, given some recent financial challenges.

The James Prendergast Library

More than three dozen pieces from the Prendergast Library’s art collection (some shown above) was deaccessioned in 2017 by the library board and sold at auction in an effort to held address financial challenges facing the library. Developer Arnold Duke purchased seven of the pieces and has loaned them to the Fenton History Center for one year. They will be put on display in the summer of 2018.

JAMESTOWN – Seven pieces of artwork that were recently sold at auction by the James Prendergast Library have found a temporary home at the Fenton History Center.

According to Noah Goodling, Fenton executive director, developer Arnold Duke – who owns property in downtown Jamestown including both the former Key Bank and the former Marine Midland Bank, both on N. Main Street – recently purchased seven of the Prendergast paintings and has agreed to loan them to the Fenton for one year.

Goodling tells WRFA that the Fenton and Duke completed the loan paperwork and transferred the paintings on Thursday, although they aren’t yet publicly available for viewing just yet.

“We plan to have them hung up within the next couple weeks, and incorporate them into a temporary exhibit about the Prendergast family which should open in late June or early July,” Goodling said via email to WRFA.

After several years of discussion, the Prendergast library board of trustees made the decision in 2017 to sell more than three dozen classic art paintings it had in its possession, valued at $1.18 million, due to financial challenges.

The seven paintings that will be on display at the Fenton later this year include:

1. Jean Paul Clays – Ostende
2. Georges Jean Marie Haquette – The Fisherman’s Wife
3. Leo Hermann – Painting a Madonna
4. Adolf Humborg – Amusing News
5. Ambrose Macneil – Sunrise on the Isle of Mull
6. Georg Oeder – German Forest Interior
7. Frederick Ballard Williams – In a French Garden

German artist Emilie Preyer’s Still Life with Peaaches and Grapes on a Table sold for $30,000 during the Feb. 1, 2018 auction at Sotheby’s. The painting was one of dozens from the Prendergast Library’s classic art collection that was to be sold in order to raise funding for operational costs.

NEW YORK – Fourteen more paintings from the James Prendegast Library Art Collection sold at auction on Thursday.

According to the Sotheby’s website, the 14 paintings that sold as part of the “Fine Old Master & 19th Century European Art,” had a combined hammer price with buyer’s premium $139,375.  After the buyers’ premium is removed, the library would net $111,500.

With a couple pieces selling well above their estimated price, the total amount from Thursday’s auction was considerably higher than the combined estimated value of the 14 paintings, which was between $45,500 and $68,500.

In addition, one painting – the most valuable of the 15 up for auction on Thursday – Leon-Jean-Basile Perrault’s Sleep, Baby, Sleep – did not receive a bid matching the reserve price and as a result, did not sell. That painting was estimated to be worth $30,000 to $50,000.

A complete list of each painting that was sold can be found below.

Counting Thursday’s auction, a total of 27 classic oil paintings from the Prendergast Art Collection have now been sold, with the library receiving an estimated net of $881,000 – though that number has not been confirmed by library officials.

It’s believed there are over a dozen more paintings that have yet to be sold by the library. The total value of the library’s art collection prior to any painting be sold was listed at $1.17 million.

Last year the library board approved the sale of the vast majority of its art collection – which featured dozens of classic 19^th and early 20^th century oil paintings from various internationally known artists – in order to help address a shortfall in funding from both donations and the city.

In addition to the 27 paintings that have sold at auction, another six paintings have also been sent to auction, but failed to sell.

The library plans to place the money generated from the auctions into its endowment fund so it can generate more interest, with that interest then being applied to annual operating budgets.

PRENDERGAST PAINTINGS SOLD
(as of Feb. 2, 2018)

Feb. 1, 2018 Southeby’s Auction

• Wilhelm Schutze’s The Schoolmaster
  Estimate: $3,000-$5,000
  Sold for $8,125 (Hammer price with buyer’s premium)
• Leo Herrmann’s Painting a Madonna
  Estimate: $1,000-$1,500
  Sold for $1,000 (Hammer price with buyer’s premium)
• Alberto Pasini’s The Passageway
  Estimate: $3,000-$5,000
  Sold for $7,500 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Paul Jean Clays’ Port Of Ostend
  Estimate: $2,000-$3,000
  Sold for $2,250 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Georges-Jean-Marie Haquette’s The Fisherman’s Wife
  Estimate: $2,000-$3,000
  Sold for $4,375 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Luis Jimenez Aranda’s Washday on the Seine
  Estimate: $5,000-$7,000
  Sold for $27,500 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Paul Louis Narcisse Grolleron’s Sharpening the Knife
  Estimate: $2,000-$3,000
  Sold for $2,000 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Etienne Prosper Berne-Bellecour’s Reminiscences of the War
  Estimate: $2,000-$3,000
  Sold for $3,750 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Emilie Preyer’s Still Life with Peaches and Grapes On A Table
  Estimate: $5,000-$7,000
  Sold for $30,000 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Emilio Sanchez Perrier’s Autumn
  Estimate: $8,000-$12,000
  Sold for $17,500 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Charles-Olivier de Penne’s Awaiting the Master
  Estimate: $3,000-$5,000
  Sold for $6,875 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Jean-Baptiste Robie’s Roses
  Estimate: $3,000-$5,000
  Sold for $21,250 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg, R.A.’s A Landscape with Herdsmen, Animals
  Estimate: $5,000-$7,000
  Sold for $5,250 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• John Lewis Brown’s On Guard
  Estimate: $1,500-$2,000
  Sold for $2,000 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)

Jan. 18, 2018 – Post Auction Sale Approved by Library Board

• Jehan-Georges Vibert – LE NOUVEAU COMMIS
  Estimate $30,000 – $40,000
  (Unsold at Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction)
  Sold for $25,000 Post-Auction

Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction

• Giovanni Boldini – IN THE GARDEN
  Estimate $400,000 — 600,000
  Sold for $399,000 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Alfred Stevens – LA NEIGE
  Estimate $70,000 — 100,000
  Sold for $68,750 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Anton Mauve – CARTING THE LOG
  Estimate $10,000 — 15,000
  Sold for $40,000 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)

Oct. 28, 2017 Stair Galleries Auction

• Otton Von Thoren – THE RELAY
  Estimate $2,000-4,000
  Sold for $5,000 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Walter Gay – AFTER THE HUNT
  Estimate $ 5,000-10,000
  Sold for $4,000 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• Douglas Duder – EAST RIVER
  Estimate $ 800-1,200
  Sold for $900 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)

October 6, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction

• Jasper Francis Cropsey – LAKE GEORGE
  Estimate: $30,000 — 50,000
  Sold for $275,000 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
  
• Chauncey Foster Ryder – CAMEL’S HUMP
  Estimate $3,000 – 5,000
  Sold for $16,250 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• William Trost Richards –EBBING TIDE
  Estimate $15,000 — 20,000
  Sold for $15,000 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
  
• Chauncey Foster Ryder – SNOW IN NOVEMBER
  Estimate $3,000 — 5,000
  Sold for $11,875 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
• John Francis Murphy – THE DAY IS DONE
  Estimate $1,200 — 1,800
  Sold for $5,625 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
  
• Charles Warren Eaton – AN OCTOBER SUNSET
  Estimate $3,000 — 4,000
  Sold for $4,750 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)

PRENDERGAST PAINTINGS UNSOLD
(as of Feb. 2, 2018)

• Charles Victor Thirion – PAYSANNE DE LA CREAUSE
  Estimate $50,000 – $70,000
  Unsold at Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction
• Jules Joseph Lefebvre – FATIMA
  Estimate $60,000 – $80,000
  Unsold at Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction
• Emilio Sánchez Perrier – ENVIRONS DE TANGERE
  Estimate $80,000 – $120,000
  Unsold at Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction
• Martín Rico y Ortega – PONTE DELL’ANGELO
  Estimate $80,000 – $120,000
  Unsold at Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction
• Johann Mari Henri ten Kate – BEHIND THE RAMPARTS
  Estimate $50,000 – $70,000
  Unsold at Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction
• Leon-Jean-Basile Perrault’s Sleep, Baby, Sleep
  estimate: $30,000-$50,000
  Unsold at Feb. 1, 2018 Sotheby’s Auction

Leon-Jean-Basile Perrault’s Sleep, Baby, Sleep is one of 15 paintings on the Feb. 1, 2018 auction block at Sotheby’s. It was part of the Prendergast Library’s Classic Art Collection before the board voted to sell the collection in mid 2017.

JAMESTOWN – The Post-Journal is reporting that more Prendergast Library oil paintings are available for purchase Thursday during an auction hosted by Sotheby’s.

The auction, titled “Fine Old Master & 19th Century European Art,” will include 15 oil paintings from the Prendergast Classic Art Collection with a total estimated value between $75,500 and $118,500:

• Wilhelm Schutze’s The Schoolmaster – estimate: $3,000-$5,000
• Leo Herrmann’s Painting a Madonna – estimate: $1,000-$1,500
• Alberto Pasini’s The Passageway – estimate: $3,000-$5,000
• Paul Jean Clays’ Port Of Ostend – estimate: $2,000-$3,000
• Georges-Jean-Marie Haquette’s The Fisherman’s Wife – estimate: $2,000-$3,000
• Luis Jimenez Aranda’s Washday on the Seine – estimate: $5,000-$7,000
• Paul Louis Narcisse Grolleron’s Sharpening the Knife – estimate: $2,000-$3,000
• Leon-Jean-Basile Perrault’s Sleep, Baby, Sleep – estimate: $30,000-$50,000
• Etienne Prosper Berne-Bellecour’s Reminiscences of the War – estimate: $2,000-$3,000
• Emilie Preyer’s Still Life with Peaches and Grapes On A Table – estimate: $5,000-$7,000
• Emilio Sanchez Perrier’s Autumn – estimate: $8,000-$12,000
• Charles-Olivier de Penne’s Awaiting the Master – estimate: $3,000-$5,000
• Jean-Baptiste Robie’s Roses – estimate: $3,000-$5,000
• Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg, R.A.’s A Landscape with Herdsmen, Animals – estimate: $5,000-$7,000
• John Lewis Brown’s On Guard – estimate: $1,500-$2,000.

It’s the fourth auction of the library’s art collection, which the library board approved the sale of in 2017, in order to help address a shortfall in funding from both donations and the city. So far 13 other paintings have been sold in three prior auctions and one post-auction sale, totaling $871,150.  An additional five paintings had also been sent to auction, but failed to sell.

In 2016 the collection was assessed at $1.17 million dollars. The library plans to place the money generated from the auctions into its endowment fund so it can generate more interest, with that interest then being applied to annual operating budgets.

PRENDERGAST PAINTINGS SOLD
(as of Jan. 31, 2018)

(Total Sale Proceeds: $871,150 with 13 Paintings Sold as of Jan. 31, 2018)

Jan. 18, 2018 – Post Auction Sale Approved by Library Board

• Jehan-Georges Vibert – LE NOUVEAU COMMIS
  Estimate $30,000 – $40,000
  (Unsold at Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction)
  Sold for $25,000 Post-Auction

Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction

• Giovanni Boldini – IN THE GARDEN
  Estimate $400,000 — 600,000
  Sold for $399,000
• Alfred Stevens – LA NEIGE
  Estimate $70,000 — 100,000
  Sold for $68,750
• Anton Mauve – CARTING THE LOG
  Estimate $10,000 — 15,000
  Sold for $40,000

Oct. 28, 2017 Stair Galleries Auction

• Otton Von Thoren – THE RELAY
  Estimate $2,000-4,000
  Sold for $5,000
• Walter Gay – AFTER THE HUNT
  Estimate $ 5,000-10,000
  Sold for $4,000
• Douglas Duder – EAST RIVER
  Estimate $ 800-1,200
  Sold for $900

October 6, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction

• Jasper Francis Cropsey – LAKE GEORGE
  Estimate: $30,000 — 50,000
  Hammer Price: $275,000
  
• Chauncey Foster Ryder – CAMEL’S HUMP
  Estimate $3,000 – 5,000
  Hammer Price: $16,250 
• William Trost Richards –EBBING TIDE
  Estimate $15,000 — 20,000
  Hammer Price: $15,000
  
• Chauncey Foster Ryder – SNOW IN NOVEMBER
  Estimate $3,000 — 5,000
  Hammer Price: $11,875
• John Francis Murphy – THE DAY IS DONE
  Estimate $1,200 — 1,800
  Hammer Price: $5,625
  
• Charles Warren Eaton – AN OCTOBER SUNSET
  Estimate $3,000 — 4,000
  Hammer Price: $4,750

PRENDERGAST PAINTINGS UNSOLD
(as of Jan. 31, 2018)

• Charles Victor Thirion – PAYSANNE DE LA CREAUSE
  Estimate $50,000 – $70,000
  Unsold at Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction
• Jules Joseph Lefebvre – FATIMA
  Estimate $60,000 – $80,000
  Unsold at Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction
• Emilio Sánchez Perrier – ENVIRONS DE TANGERE
  Estimate $80,000 – $120,000
  Unsold at Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction
• Martín Rico y Ortega – PONTE DELL’ANGELO
  Estimate $80,000 – $120,000
  Unsold at Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction
• Johann Mari Henri ten Kate – BEHIND THE RAMPARTS
  Estimate $50,000 – $70,000
  Unsold at Nov. 21, 2017 Sotheby’s Auction

The Prendergast Library Board of Trustees during its Nov. 30, 2017 special meeting.

JAMESTOWN – The James Prendergast Library board of trustees held a special meeting Thursday determine how to proceed with six classic oil paintings by European artists that were not sold during a recent auction at Sotheby’s. On Nov. 21 a total of nine paintings from the library’s classic art collection were put up for auction, but only three were bid on.

The library board decided earlier this year to sell the classic art collection in order to help address financial challenges, including a decrease in fundraising and a reduction in aid from the city.  The state attorney general’s office permitted the sale of the artwork, but only if done through an auction house.

So far, 12 of the more than 2 dozen classic art paintings from the library have sold for a total of $846,000. The estimated value of the collection is $1.17 million.  The estimated value of the six paintings that didn’t receive a bid at auction is $350,000 to $500,000.

Library board president Tom Rankin informed the board that the two options available is to wait and put the oil paintings back up for auction next year, or they could entertain post-sale offers, in which a prospective buyer could offer Sotheby’s a price below reserve for a painting or paintings and the library board can then determine if it is acceptable or not.

The board voted that the library would try again to auction the artwork through Sotheby’s at a date to be determined, which would most likely be in November 2018.  In the meantime, the board’s finance committee will review any offers that are made and make a recommendation to the full board on whether or not the offer is acceptable, at which time the board would then vote on selling the artwork.

“We’re not trying to solicit offers. If they come in and Sotheby’s sends them to us, we will look at them, but we’re not at this point putting out the word to send us offers,” Rankin said. “Our official position is that we are going to relist them in November 2018.”

Rankin said that currently Sotheby’s has received two offers for two of the six paintings, although he could not disclose what those offers were for.

Rankin also said that despite another recent push on social media calling on residents to request the library keep the six paintings that were unable to receive a bid during the Nov. 21 auction, no one has reached out to library officials to make that request formally known.

“No one has contacted me directly about ‘saving the art’ – to use that term. No one has contacted the board officially. And no one on the board has mentioned that they’ve heard anything,” Rankin said. “The comments I have heard in general are supportive. I think, in general, nobody is happy that we don’t have the art anymore, but people understand, given the way the city has decided to cut our funding in a very draconian way, that we really don’t have choice anymore.”

On Monday the Jamestown City Council approved its 2018 budget, which slashes library funding by $50,000 – a 50 percent decrease  from the current year and a more than 85 percent reduction in funding from what the library was getting in 2015.

Only two members of the public where at Thursday’s meeting and only one person addressed the board, asking questions related to Jesse and Cathy Marion and their offer in 2016 to purchase the artwork and keep it in Jamestown. The Marion’s are a philanthropic couple from Texas who have roots in Chautauqua County and wanted to preserve the art collection for the residents of the city. However, the library was instructed by the state attorney general that it could not sell the collection to a private buyer, but would instead have to sell it through an auction house.

Prior to offering to purchase the collection outright in 2016, the Marions also pledged a $60,000 donation in 2015 if the library would hold off on selling the art collection for one year and work with them on finding an alternate solution. On Thursday night Rankin said the Marions made a donation of just, $30,000 – not the full $60,000.

The library’s finance committee will meet on Dec. 7 to review the two bids, as well as discuss and finalize the 2018 budget. The meeting begins at 4:30 p.m. is open to the public, although any discussion related to the offers for the art collection will likely take place in executive session.

The Prendergast Library’s board of trustees during its Oct. 19, 2017 meeting.

JAMESTOWN – The James Prendergast Library board of trustees will hold an emergency meeting Thursday afternoon, Nov. 30,  to determine how  to proceed with six paintings in its classic art collection that failed to sell at auction earlier this month.

On Nov. 21 a total of nine paintings were auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York City, with three of the paintings selling for $507,750. However, six other paintings were not sold. Those paintings estimated value was $350,000 to $500,000.

Following the auction, Library board president Tom Rankin said that the library went with a reserve price for each of the paintings that was recommended by Sotheby’s, and the high reserve may have been what prevented the pieces from being sold.

The board will discuss what to do with the paintings that didn’t sell during its meeting Thursday at 5:30 p.m.  That meeting is open to the public and some individuals in the community who are against the art sale could be on hand to urge the board to not sell the paintings. However, another news outlet has reported that Rankin has already stated the paintings will go back to auction and today’s meeting will focus on the process of selling them, not whether or not they should remain in possession of the library.

So far, 12 of the more than 2 dozen classic art paintings from the library have sold for a total of $846,000. The estimated value of the collection is $1.17 million.

The library has been faced with financial challenges in recent years due to a decline in donations from the community, as well as a reduction in aid from the city of Jamestown. In response, the library board made the decision to auction the vast majority of pieces in its art collection.

According to the Jamestown Post-Journal, the library board recently met and discussed officers for 2018, with current board vice president Joni Blackman expected to assume the role of president for next year.

Blackman will replace Tom Rankin, who is terming off of the board next month.

The board has been faced with challenges and criticism in recent years. A drop in donations from the public, combined with significant reductions in funding from the city has led the library board and executive Director Tina Scott scrambling to find ways to make ends meet. They’ve done so by cutting back on hours of operation, reducing staff size, and also auctioning off the library’s classic art collection, valued at $1.17 million.

So far nine paintings have been sold and have brought in $338,400, with an additional nine paintings going to auction at Sotheby’s tomorrow.

The library’s annual operating budget for this year is just under $1 million.